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What I often run into with my clients is that it’s one thing to know what to eat – and why (okay, that’s two things…) – but they often get hung up figuring out how to incorporate more healthy foods into their diet. So let’s take a good look at the “whys” and – more importantly – the “how tos” of a heart healthy diet. 

Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables

Why it’s heart healthy:
Fruits and vegetables are low in calories, high in fibre and chock full of vitamins and minerals! 

How to:

Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack. Add fruit to your breakfast protein shake, yogurt or cereal; have a salad and/or steamed veg at lunch and dinner, and snack on fresh whole fruits and vegetables. When you make a point to have a fruit or vegetable every time you eat, it’s easy to get all your servings in for the day. 

Choose heart-healthy proteins 

Why it’s heart healthy:

Your protein sources should be low in fat since saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels in the blood. Meats naturally contain more saturated fat and cholesterol than poultry, and poultry has more fat than seafood. If you eat dairy products, it’s best to choose fat-free or low fat. Plant proteins – like soy proteins, beans and lentils – are naturally cholesterol-free, and low in saturated fat. And fish is a good source of heart-healthy omega-3 fats DHA and EPA. 

How to: 

Aim for a few fish meals per week. For convenience, you can’t beat canned tuna, salmon and beans – any of which can be tossed into a salad for a quick, balanced meal. Use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk in cooking and in your smoothies and fat-free yogurt or cottage cheese at meals or snacks. If you eat red meat, choose the leanest cuts and trim visible fat. Replace high fat ground meats with ground poultry breast. 

Eat plenty of fibre, especially soluble fibre 

Why it’s heart healthy: 

There are two main types of fibre – known as “soluble” and “insoluble”. Both are important, but they each have different effects on the body. Insoluble fibre is found primarily in vegetables and whole grains, and it speeds the rate at which food passes through the digestive tract, so it’s helpful in promoting regularity. But the soluble fibre (found in apples, oranges, carrots, oats, barley, and beans) traps water as well as cholesterol in the digestive tract. In doing so, it promotes fullness – which helps with weight management

How to: 

Snack on apples and carrots; add beans to soups and salads, or blend smooth into a dip. Aside from oatmeal, rolled oats can be added to protein shakes, or you can whirl rolled oats in the blender into a flour, and use to partially replace wheat flour when you cook or bake at home. 

Choose heart-healthy fats 

Why it’s heart healthy: 

Foods like fish, tree nuts, avocados and olive oil are considered some of the most heart-healthy fats because they contain very little saturated fat and are good sources of polyunsaturated fats which can help keep blood cholesterol levels in a healthy range.

How to: 

Reduce the total amount of fat you use in cooking and at the table, and use heart-healthy olive oil as much as possible when you cook. Sprinkle nuts and seeds on salads, yogurt and cooked vegetables. Try using avocado to replace other fats – instead of mayonnaise in your tuna salad or to replace the spread on your whole grain toast. Aim for a few fish meals a week; if that doesn’t work for you, consider an omega-3 supplement. 

Find and stay at a healthy weight 

Why it’s heart healthy:

I listed this one last, because if you follow the other “whats” of a heart-healthy diet – and include regular exercise – chances are good that you’ll find and maintain your healthy weight. But I could have listed this one first, however, since maintaining a healthy body weight is one of the key factors in maintaining a healthy heart. 

How to:

In addition to following the heart healthy guidelines above and getting plenty of exercise, another key issue to weight management is portion control. Plenty of people eat very well – but they still eat too much and carry too much weight. By keeping your portions moderate, you’ll control your overall calorie intake as well as the total amount of fat that you eat. Make sure to eat at regular intervals, and have some protein every time you eat, too, to help keep blood sugar levels steady and to control hunger. 

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

How much exercise do you need to burn off some of most typical ‘road foods’?  The chart below gives the calories and fat in typical foods, and the amount and type of exercise needed to burn off those calories.Keep in mind that while you’re sitting in a car or on an airplane, you’re only burning about 150 calories per hour.

 Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

Looking for a diet plan suitable for active or larger people? Three meals and three snacks a day are called for on a 2200 calorie diet plan.

A 2200 calorie diet plan can be a weight loss plan – if you’re a pretty big guy who’s getting regular exercise, but you’ve still got a bit of a spare tire. But just because you can eat a bit more than other people and still lose weight, that doesn’t give you the license to eat whatever you want. Your diet plan still needs to include all the nutrients your larger body needs – the protein, vitamins and minerals – so it’s important that you pay attention to the number of servings from the different food groups that are recommended for you. That way, you’ll be sure to meet your nutrient needs.  If you’ve looked at the lower calorie diet plans in this series, you’ll notice that your plan looks very similar – you just get a few more servings of various foods throughout the day.

Who should choose a 2200 calorie diet plan?

A 2200 calorie meal plan might be right for you if you are a large-framed, active male who is seeking weight loss. This plan may be too high in calories for you if you are female, or if you are a smaller-framed male – unless your activity level is very high. A drop of no more than 2 pounds (1 kg) per week is considered a safe rate of weight loss. If you are losing more quickly than that, you can gradually add servings from any food group to your plan until you achieve a calorie level that leads to a safe rate of loss. If you are losing too slowly, you can drop down to the 1800 calorie plan. As with any diet plan, regular exercise is not only a healthy habit, it also helps you to burn more calories to help you reach your weight goals.

2200 calorie diet plan overview

This plan calls for three meals and three snacks each day. Here is the basic breakdown for the 2200 calorie diet plan:

Breakfast: 2 Protein + 1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired) + 1 Starch/Grain

Snack: 1 Protein Snack

Lunch: 2 Protein + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Starch/Grain + 1 Taste Enhancer + 1 Fruit

Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable

Dinner: 2 Protein + 2 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 2 Taste Enhancer

Snack: 1 Fruit

Daily Totals: 6 Protein, 3-4 Fruit, 5-6 Vegetable, 4 Starch/Grain, 2 Protein Snack, Leafy Greens – no limit,  3 Taste Enhancers

To create the menus for the 2200 calorie plan, I simply plug in different foods based on my“How to Create Your Own Sample Diet Plan” article which provides all the details on portion sizes for each food group. You can follow this 3-day plan, or you can swap foods in and out depending on what you like, and what’s convenient for you to prepare. The beauty of this system is that it’s relatively simple, but it allows you to customize your menus to your liking. My 2200 calorie meal plan calls for three meals and snacks in the mid-morning, mid-afternoon and after dinner – but you have some flexibility to move things around as long as you don’t exceed the total number of servings from each food group for the day. Some people, for example, prefer to eat a larger meal at lunch, so they’ll ‘steal’ a starch/grain serving from the dinner meal and have it at lunch instead. Also, you can always swap out one or two meals for a Herbalife Formula 1 Healthy Meal Drink or an Herbalife Express Meal Bar if you’re on the go or don’t feel like cooking from scratch. Herbalife Protein Bars are also a good way to make sure your snacks contain the right level of protein.

3-day menus for a 2200 calorie diet

DAY 1 Breakfast

• 1 cup (250g) nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 cup (80g) strawberries
• Sprinkled with cinnamon
• 1 slice whole grain toast topped with:
• 3 ounces (85 gm) sliced turkey breast

Snack

• ½ cup (125g) nonfat vanilla yogurt

Lunch Large Salad made with:

• Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach) – any amount
• 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, peppers, tomato)
• 6 ounces (170g) grilled chicken breast
• ½ cup (150g) cooked white beans
• 2 tablespoons (30g) reduced-calorie salad dressing
• 1 tangerine

Snack

• 1 ounce (30g) soy nuts
• Carrot and celery sticks 

Dinner

• 8 ounces (200g) grilled salmon with lemon
• 2 cups (160g) steamed green beans with garlic
• 1 cup (300g) cooked brown rice
• large leafy green salad – any amount
• ¼ medium avocado for salad
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing

Snack

• 1 orange

DAY 2 Breakfast

• 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites scrambled in nonstick pan with pan spray
• Topped with tomato salsa
• 2 corn tortillas
• 1 cup (250g) nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 cup (80g) cut melon

Snack

• ½ cup (125g) vanilla yogurt

Lunch Chicken-veggie stir-fry. Saute together tofu, chicken and veggies:

• 5 ounces (125g) firm tofu, cut into cubes
• 3 ounces (85g) chicken breast, cut into strips
• 2 cups (80g) broccoli florets
• Large bunch fresh spinach leaves
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) oil to stir-fry
• Season with soy sauce, garlic, pepper and ginger
• ½ cup (150g) steamed brown rice
• ½ medium mango

Snack

• 4 Tablespoons (60g) prepared hummus
• 1 cup (80g) baby carrots

Dinner Grain salad with protein. Toss together:

• 8 ounces (200g) grilled shrimp
• 1 cup (300g) cooked quinoa
• 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumber, onion)
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie vinaigrette dressing
• Place on a bed of leafy greens

Snack

• 1 fresh orange

DAY 3 Breakfast

• 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites scrambled in a non-stick pan
• ½ toasted whole grain English Muffin
• 1 cup (250g) plain nonfat yogurt topped with:
• 1 banana, sliced
• Sprinkle with nutmeg

Snack

• 1 ounce (30g) lowfat mozzarella cheese

Lunch

• 8 ounces (200g) grilled halibut
• 2 cups (80g) steamed asparagus with lemon
• ½ cup (150g) whole grain pasta
• Mixed leafy greens salad – any amount
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing
• 1 cup (80g) berries

Snack

• ½ cup (125g) nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 cup (80g) chopped mixed raw vegetables
• season with salt, pepper, dried dill or chives

Dinner

• 6 ounces (170g) grilled lean steak
• 2 cups (160g) roasted Brussels sprouts (halve, toss with olive oil, roast at 400 F / 205 C  for 20 minutes)
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) olive oil (for Brussels sprouts)
• Steamed kale, spinach or Swiss chard with vinegar
• 1 small sweet potato sprinkled with ginger

Snack

• 1 cup (80g) diced fresh pineapple

I hope you can make this calorie plan work for you. Sometimes, seeing exactly how much you should be eating each day can help kick-start a new approach to healthy eating. It’s important to consume the right levels of nutrients from the right food groups each day and I hope this diet plan helped you to see how these can easily be distributed across a day.

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.