Should the USDA's 'MyPlate' guidelines remain as is, be modified or be scrapped altogether?

jgnatca

I was going to say the problem is that ChooseMyPlate does not have a twitter feed, but it does. The problem is that @ChooseMyPlate has 99K followers. Compared to Kim's 56.5 M.

Edited to add: The @TSA feed has 200K followers, twice that of ChooseMyPlate but then again they post great pictures of guns and nunchucks from attempted onboard luggage.

bmeadows380

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I do think one problem might be that people tend to think in extremes and assume they have to give up everything they like to eat healthfully and aren't willing to do that, so in that sense the focus on developing good habits a bit at a time is a good one.

This is definitely my experience with my family. I started calorie counting in January the second time around, and just like the first time, I was amazed at what an actual serving size of things looked like. Back in the summer, I took a new job and moved back to the area where I grew up, where my parents and my sister still lived. Since I'm in temporary living spaces while working on remodeling my home, I eat dinner at my mother's house, and its led to some tension between myself with my new style of eating, and my family, who resist any change. In many cases, they refuse to compromise at all. My mother will try a few of my things, but she still says "I don't like her way of cooking; I prefer my old fashioned southern cooking". And my dad and sister, but especially my sister, automatically dislike anything that has been "healthified".

My family are all large, and those three are dealing with significant health issues that would be greatly helped if they'd lose weight. And my mom and sister both moan on occasion "I need to lose weight". I've looked at both of them and told them I can tell them how to do it, but that's when the excuses get trotted out. Mom's "I can't afford to buy all the health foods you are eating" to my sister's "I'm not going to starve myself!" meaning she refuses to reduce her portion sizes to something that is considered normal.

counting_kilojoules

lemurcat12 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I think nutritional guidelines should be based on how people like to eat, not how we "should" eat. It should be balanced more healthily - not restrict fat. Differentiate better between fruit and vegetables, not count juice and dried fruit. Not get hung up in details that are bound to be misinterpreted. It could be rearranged to look more like real meals, and should aim to convey the overall message of variety, balance, home cooked and family meals. I don't know if the current model is viable even with modifications. Brazil's nutritional guidelines are almost perfect and should be the gold standard.

I think Brazil's focus is too much on the various levels of processing, although some of the recommendations are good. But people could easily freak out about terminology or focus on whether something is technically processed vs. nutrient dense or part of a balanced meal, as we see people do here.

I don't find them much more helpful than ours, but then as an American who grew up with an American pattern of eating maybe the food group approach just seems more natural and consistent with how one eats, to me.

Note: by "American pattern of eating" I don't mean SAD, but the idea that meals (especially dinner) are structured around protein (when I was growing up it was usually meat, but need not be), a starchy course (often potatoes or a grain-based food like rice or pasta or bread or beans), and of course vegetables.

Really, I think the MyPlate guidelines are quite simple and that healthy eating is really just a matter of common sense.

I don't like the focus on how a person is supposed to relate to food. I can eat perfectly healthily without eating mindfully, avoiding snacks, eating with other people, in a quiet place etc. I also don't have to learn to cook (although it's certainly easier if you can) nor do I have to teach others to do so.

The guidelines on what to eat and what not to eat are okay but I'd prefer it if there were a bit more to it. I like knowing approximately how many servings of vegetables I should eat and how many of dairy etc.