Health Tips for January 6

Health Tip: Budget Your Calories

The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that you budget calories the way you do money -- in general, don't use more than you need.

The agency refers to calories consumed beyond what are essential as "discretionary" calories. It offers these suggestions to help you manage discretionary calories while maintaining a healthy weight:

• The agency suggests you consume a relatively small amount of discretionary calories -- 100 to 300 extra calories each day. The total can vary somewhat based on how much physical activity you get.
• The discretionary calorie allowance can be used on "goodies" that contain solid fats or added sugars. Examples include whole milk, cheese, sausage, biscuits, or sweetened cereals or yogurt.
• The discretionary allowance can also be used by adding a sauce, dressing, butter or sweetened syrup to your food.
• Other goodies that may qualify for this allowance include candy, alcohol or soda.

Health Tip: Maintain a Healthy Weight

Maintaining the pounds you've lost through diet and exercise involves watching what you eat, and how much.

The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions:

• Plan on four or more daily servings of whole grains -- including whole wheat breads, pastas, crackers and cereals. Servings should be spread throughout the day.
• Get five or more servings each day of fruits and vegetables, which may include frozen, dried or canned fruits and veggies.
• Keep protein servings to two or three per day, and stick to lean proteins such as skinless chicken or turkey, eggs, fish or dried beans.
• Have at least two servings of low-fat dairy foods, such as milk, yogurt or cheese. If you're pregnant or breast-feeding, raise the amount to three or four servings per day.
• Limit fats, oils and sweets to only a small amount each day.