Create A Diet Activity

By now you should be familiar with the Heart Healthy Diet to help you keep your blood cholesterol level and risk for heart disease low. However, you still may be asking yourself, "What can I eat?"

The goal of this activity is to show how to select foods on the Heart Healthy Diet. You will be given the opportunity to select foods from a variety of choices and then receive a report on how closely you were able to match your Heart Healthy Diet goals for saturated fat, fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories. The foods available in this activity are only a small sample of foods to choose. You don't have to limit yourself to eating only these foods. This activity was designed to provide you with an idea of how to make the best food choices on the Heart Healthy Diet.

Create-A-Diet - what to do

You will be prompted to choose foods for one day (three meals plus snacks). Choose food in the same way that you're used to doing everyday. Every food you like to eat may not be available. Do the best you can and choose foods most similar to what you normally eat. If you do not want to eat all of the meal or snack options, simply skip over that meal or snack and continue the activity.

Note: Standard serving sizes found on food labels are provided as a reference, but in some cases, these may not be the amounts that you would typically eat. For example, you would most likely eat 2 to 3 cups of pasta instead of the 1 cup standard serving size. Keep this in mind as you create your diet. Refer back to the Visual Reality activity for more information.

The Heart Healthy Diet and You

In order to determine your estimated Heart Healthy Diet goals, we will need to know:

Your Weight (pounds)	Height (feet)	Height (inches)

Sex	Male Female
Age Group
Activity Level	Activity Descriptions: The following is a list of selected activities and occupations that are factors in estimating your calorie needs. These activities have been divided into three levels: light, moderate and heavy. Please look at the list and note which types of activities you spend most of your time doing. Then select the activity level that best reflects how you spend most of your time on most days of the week. There are many other activities and occupations that do not appear on this list. Use your best judgment to select an activity level that comes closest to your actual activities and occupation. LIGHT Desk work, electrical trades, carpentry, restaurant trades, child care, leisurely walking, light housework, golf, sailing, table tennis. MODERATE Office work on feet, walking for exercise, gardening and yard work, farming, strenuous housework, downhill skiing, cycling, dancing, tennis, running. HEAVY Walking uphill, construction work and other types of physical labor, basketball, climbing, football, soccer.

Please note that the levels of saturated fat, total fat, and calories shown in this activity are just an estimate of the appropriate amounts for you. There are other factors involved in determining appropriate calorie levels. Also, if you lose weight, your calorie needs will be lower, which will reduce the amount of saturated fat and fat you could eat on the Heart Healthy Diet. For your personal calorie, saturated fat, and total fat recommendations, consult your physician or registered dietitian.