As a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Zied wants to help more people discover how easy it really is to eat right and move more. Seeing how many people who follow drastic diet plans struggle unnecessarily, she knew there was a better way: healthy eating without deprivation. “People who want to improve their eating and physical activity habits should realize they don’t need to move mountains. They should start by making small, sustainable changes in their habits, and focusing on progress, not perfection,” Zied stresses.

Her new book, So What Can I Eat?! How to Make Sense of the New Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Make Them Your Own (Wiley © 2006, www.SoWhatCanIEat.com, $14.95 paperback), offers a plan for life. In this definitive guide to the new Dietary Guidelines, Zied not only provides solutions to common dilemmas, she offers practical ideas so people can personalize the program without having to work so hard.

Most of us understand that the Guidelines are based on science, and incorporate elements that make for a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet. But the Guidelines alone are hard to put into practice without some help. In So What Can I Eat?!, Zied explains everything in a way that makes it all clear and doable.

Zied begins by outlining seven easy steps to help anyone better understand the Guidelines and find ways to make some subtle but important lifestyle changes. For instance, instead of asking people to forego their favorite foods, or eliminate or severely restrict food groups as in many popular diet books, she illustrates ways to incorporate any food in a balanced and healthful way. If you’re ready to adopt healthier eating habits, Zied suggests you get started by “finding the ideas in So What Can I Eat?! that address your particular challenges and apply those in a way that will work for you.” Later you can tackle other challenges and further create your own ideal healthy approach to food and exercise.

To make it even easier So What Can I Eat?! includes two weeks of carefully crafted and delicious menu plans (14 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, & snacks) so getting started is a snap. Zied has done all the math so you don’t have to! Plus there are 50 mouth-watering original recipes (such as Crunchy Chicken Nuggets, Asian Crab Cakes, Brown Rice Pudding, and Wholesome Sugar Cookies) that highlight many of the key foods emphasized in the Guidelines. The sample menus encourage eating enjoyment without deprivation. Charts, food lists, exercise advice, and lots of great tips make the book user-friendly each step of the way and help insure that anyone can incorporate the ideas into their busy lives.

“You don’t need to eat just the right calories,” Zied points out, “you need to eat your calories right. We can all improve upon what we’re doing now to achieve our desired results — whether that is weight loss, better nutritional status, more balance in food selections, more energy, management or prevention of diet-related conditions, or just getting a grip on how much to eat in a day.”

Whether it’s learning how to add more fruit or whole grains to any meal, or figuring out how to increase physical activity in a painless and even enjoyable way, Zied offers sensible solutions. The tips on dining out without giving in and ideas for how to move more at work (without losing your job!) are also helpful.

Learn from the past…get support…fuel frequently (keep healthy snacks on hand)…plan for plateaus…give yourself some wiggle room — these are among the recommendations that make this program one that anyone will find easy to adapt to their own needs and to stick to for the long haul.

Don’t worry if New Year’s resolutions have been abandoned, or sticking to a fad diet is driving you crazy, make today the day you begin a new way of approaching food and exercise.

Using So What Can I Eat?! is like having your own personal, portable dietitian to help you become a healthier, happy you — for life.

So What Can I Eat?!

How to Make Sense of the New Dietary Guidelines

for Americans and Make Them Your Own

by Elisa Zied, M.S., R.D. with Ruth Winter, M.S.

224 pages • 6” X 9” • 14 Menus (including breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snacks)

50 Recipes with complete nutritional information • Charts • Appendices References • Resources • Index • ISBN: 0-471-77201-1

$14.95 trade paperback original • Publication date: March 2006

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., So What Can I Eat?! is available at bookstores nationwide, at online bookstores, by calling toll-free 877-762-2974

and at http://www.wiley.com, http://www.SoWhatCanIEat.com, or http://www.elisazied.com .

© 2006 HealthNewsDigest.com