My appointment with the nutritionist yesterday was pretty good.

The woman was very nice and didn’t lecture me as I expected her to. She took my food journal for the week, recorded at www.my-calorie-counter.com, and figured out my averages for Fat, Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, and Sugar intake. Then she wrote out some goals that I need to work on achieving.

Goals
1) Keep calorie intake at around 1600/day. This may have to increase with increase in exercise.

2) Limit saturated fats and trans fats to less than 7% from saturated fat based on total calories which is less than 12 grams saturated fat/day.

3) Limit cholesterol to less than 200 mg cholesterol/day (eat less than 3 egg yolks/week).

4) Eat more omega-3 fats (heart healthy fats)- to achieve 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids/day- eat two 4-oz portions of fatty fish weekly (salmon, albacore, tuna, mackerel, or sardines) or take 1000 mg/day fish oil supplement.

5) Keep total amount of fat consumed to less than or = to 53 grams total fat/day (less than or = to 25%- 30% total fat).

6) Get 20-30 grams of dietary fiber per day.

7) Work on Menu Planning: 3 servings of fruit per day, 5 starches, 5 serviings lean meat, 5 servings of fat (butter, dressing, peanut butter, mayo, etc), 3 servings of dairy, and 4 vegetables.

8) Exercise 1 hour/day, 6 days/week. This should entail brisk walks 1 mile/15 minutes or rigorous bicycling or swimming. 30 minutes of moderate level of activity per day should be a bare minimum.

Food Tips
1) Switch from 2% to 1% milk.

2) Eat whole grain cereals- oatmeal, plain Cheerios, plain Wheaties, wheat Chex cereal with 6 grams of sugar or less per serving.

3) Eat only lean meats (palm-sized servings).

4) Lean Cuisine & Healthy Choices frozen meals are fine, but watch the high sodium intake that comes with those meals.

5) Eat out as little as possible because it’s nearly impossible to eat healthy when eating out!

6) Avoid fried foods and creams whenever possible!

7) Eat lots of fruits and vegetables!

The nutritionist gave me some helpful handouts that I'll be posting about tomorrow as my WFMW contribution. Check back tomorrow if you want more details! :)

I hope this info is helpful. Although my doctor only authorized one visit with the nutritionist, I've got the nutritionist's email and she encouraged me to email her with any questions. So, if you have any burning questions about any of this, leave me a comment and I'll see if I can get you an answer!

Labels: healthy eating, lower that cholesterol