Food Guide Pyramid

The original "Four Food Groups" has been replaced with the "Food Guide Pyramid". This illustrates the relative proportions of different foods that make up a nutritious, well-balanced diet.

Calories and Fat Per Serving

Calories are the basic unit of energy within food. When you eat, your body converts calories into energy and uses what it can and stores the rest in the form of fat. A calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from a brownie or a serving of raw broccoli. The difference between them is the number of calories, nutrients, fat, and other ingredients in a typical serving.

Healthy Diet

For a healthy diet, replace unhealthy and fattening foods with healthier alternatives, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fish in Diet

Fish is a great alternative to red meat. Fish is a healthy, lean protein and contains a type of fat called "omega-3," which may help protect the heart.

Hunger Center in Brain

It takes time for the body to recognize that you have eaten and for the feeling of hunger to go away. Eating too quickly may cause you to eat more food over the same period of time as eating slowing and allowing your body to feel "full".

Muscle Cells vs. Fat Cells

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you eat. Exercise is the best way to do this. When you exercise regularly, you build stronger muscles, even if you do not work out with weights. Muscles use more calories than fat throughout the day, even while you are resting. This contributes to what is commonly called a "faster metabolism."

Yo-Yo Dieting

Slow and steady weight loss is the only way to avoid "yo-yo dieting," where you lose a great deal of weight, only to regain it within a few months or years. There are no miracles in weight loss; go for steady progress toward a healthier life.

Weight Loss

Losing excess weight by eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways of helping to prevent disease. Obesity increases the risk of illness and death due to diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease, and kidney and gallbladder disorders. The more overweight, the higher the risk becomes.