By: Joann Bally CSCS
Now that you know your way around www.mypyramid.gov (see
Using the Pyramid) you can go further and get personalized recommendations. Start with My Pyramid
Plan. Click that and you will be asked to enter your age, gender, and activity level. Height and
weight are optional, but you can save that for the next phase.
The system then gives you a recommended number of calories to eat per day. You will have noticed
that entering only three variables isn’t going to be very personalized, and you are right: there are
12 possible plans you can get. Although not really accurate, this can give you a good starting
point, especially if you have not been paying a lot of attention to your diet. If you are an average
size person, the recommendation will be pretty close. If you are overweight and would like to be an
average size person, the recommendation is still useful.
The next thing you want to do is to click on “click here to view and print a PDF version of my
results.” This is going to give you specific recommendations on what to eat to get the calorie
amount recommended. Based on food groups, it gives you a lot of leeway. You can have squash instead
of carrots, if you want. The recommendation is “vegetables,” but variety is good.
Go back and click around on the pyramid bands to see what specifically you can eat to meet your
recommendations. (Go ahead and count the eggplant, even if it’s not listed.) You can print out a
miniposter from the main page that will give you the main points for reference. You will find this
useful if you are a teacher or other professional helping other people eat better.
Next, print out My Pyramid Worksheet to help you keep track of what you eat. Do this for at least 2
or 3 days. I know people who have been able to lose weight after they keep a diet record and see
what they really eat. This worksheet helps you see what kinds of food you’re eating too much or not
enough of. Part 3 in this series will show you how to go deeper into the My Pyramid site and get
more specific recommendations for yourself.
Read Part 1
Here
Read Part 3
Here
Related using the H&F.com
Search:
See My Pyramid and Other Diet Reviews
Here
Revised food
pyramid
HEALTHandFITNESS.com 
