While it might be tempting to skip the planning stage and simply dive right into dieting, it is essential to devote some thought to how incorporating DASH into your meal plan will affect every facet of your life. Smart planning is one of the best ways to ensure that you are successful with the DASH diet. Normally, you might think to plan your meals only on special occasions—such as holidays, birthdays, and other social gatherings—but changing this way of thinking and creating both long-term and short-term eating plans will decrease the likelihood that you’ll fall back into old, destructive eating patterns. You wouldn’t venture out on a long road trip without a map or GPS system, so why start a journey as important as this without some forethought?
When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Planning mealtimes and snack times helps ensure that your body stays fueled and does not enter calorie-conservation mode. Start your day with a sizable breakfast, enjoy a snack about two hours before lunch, and have another snack about two hours prior to dinner. It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but try to make dinner the smallest meal of the day rather than the largest, and make a habit of not eating for at least three hours before bedtime. This way, your body uses the food you eat rather than storing it as fat.
To be successful with the DASH diet, it’s vital that you understand why you want to be healthier or weigh less. Before getting started, spend some time thinking about your reasons for beginning this program as well as considering your commitment level:
Before beginning the DASH diet, it’s important that you know your weight and your body mass index (BMI). If you haven’t stepped on a scale in years, now is the time to do it. You may also want to measure your waist, hips, chest, thighs, upper arms, and calves before beginning the plan, as these measurements will serve as another method for tracking success.
Decide on a system for recording your statistics, or use a free online weight tracker or smartphone app before taking your first set of measurements.
Begin by checking your weight, and plan to weigh yourself once each week at about the same time on a set day; for example, you can choose to weigh yourself every Wednesday morning before breakfast.
After you get your starting weight, use the table on the right to determine your BMI. Round your weight up or down to the nearest 10 pounds; then look at the point where that number intersects with your height. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and you are five feet six inches tall, your BMI is 32.
Next, interpret your BMI:
If you fall in the obese category, determine what your level of obesity is:
No matter what your BMI, and no matter how alarmed you may feel at the numbers that show up on the scale, it’s important that you view these figures as a starting point rather than as cause for discouragement. You might find it helpful to remind yourself that you are just one of the nearly 50 percent of Americans who are overweight.
Whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of berating yourself for what you see in front of you. Yes, certain actions or inaction did contribute to those numbers, but it is important to focus on where you are going rather than to beat yourself up about where you’ve been.
If you haven’t had a physical recently, get one as soon as you can. Obtaining your weight and determining your BMI are not difficult to do on your own; however, it’s equally important that you find out your cholesterol levels and blood pressure before you begin to follow the DASH diet. It’s also an excellent idea to discuss your dietary plans with your doctor before beginning. He or she will probably offer encouragement and point you toward additional resources that can increase your chances of success. As you make progress on the plan, you may want to return to your health care provider for wellness checks; seeing improvements and tracking those numbers along with your weight, BMI, and body measurements will help spur you toward your final goals and ultimately toward maintaining good health in the future.
You may have a long-term goal for weight loss or for better health; perhaps you want to reduce your cholesterol by a certain number of points, or maybe you’ve set your heart on fitting into a certain size of clothing. If you don’t have far to go to meet those goals, setting a single milestone might work well for you.
If you need to lose more than 10 pounds, or if you are in crisis where blood pressure, cholesterol, or other measurable markers of physical health are concerned, break your larger goal or goals into smaller ones that will be easy for you to achieve. As you meet one goal after another, your confidence in your ability to succeed will improve, and you will gain momentum.
Either way, it’s important that you pick specific, measurable goals ahead of time that can serve as benchmarks of your success. For example, if you set a generalized goal of losing weight and becoming healthier, you might see only a moderate amount of improvement. If, on the other hand, you focus on specific targets, such as committing to lose 1 pound per week or a specified number of pounds over the course of a month, you’ll find it easier to stay motivated, particularly when the goals you set for yourself are within easy reach. It is incredibly satisfying to keep track of each milestone and strive to complete the next one, and when you do this, you are likely to see significant results and improve your health more rapidly.
Tips for Reducing Calorie Intake
The following are some ideas for consuming fewer calories while following the DASH diet:
After you have calculated your weight and BMI, along with any other measurements, it’s time to eliminate sources of temptation. The best place to begin is in your home pantry and refrigerator.
Start by reading labels. Foods that contain a high percentage of sodium, high-fructose corn syrup, and/or hydrogenated fats or partially hydrogenated fats should be eliminated immediately, including:
Natural Is Heart Healthful
Only a very small amount of our daily sodium intake comes from the saltshaker on our table. And food in its natural state contains very little sodium; it’s processed food that is the primary enabler of our sodium addiction. The sad truth is that the more we “mess around” with our food—filling it with additives, wrapping it in plastic, and generally making it unrecognizable from its original state—the less good for us it becomes. This is why it is so important to eat natural, whole foods whenever possible.
For example, the DASH diet emphasizes the potassium content of whole foods, especially that of fruits and vegetables, which helps keep blood pressure levels healthful. Some dairy products and fish are also rich sources of natural potassium. However, fruits and vegetables are rich in a particular form of potassium that positively influences acid-base metabolism. It is believed this form of potassium helps reduce the risk of kidney stones and bone loss.
While you might think that canned vegetables are a healthful substitute for fresh ones, the exact opposite can be true: canned vegetables are sometimes laden with preservatives, and they often contain added salt. A single serving of canned cream-style corn, for example, may contain as much as 730 milligrams of sodium per cup. Choose low-sodium canned vegetables or frozen vegetables without sauces instead, and eat as much fresh produce as possible.
It can be difficult to part with old favorites, and many people are tempted to finish unhealthful items rather than waste them. Keep in mind, though, that all these foods are ultimately going to end up as waste—whether they go through your body or not. Why eat them when you could make healthful choices instead?
If your budget demands that you slowly phase out various items, do so, and watch your portions carefully. If you’re considering keeping certain items on hand because they are family favorites, keep in mind that what isn’t ideal for your own diet isn’t the best for your family’s, either. It might take a little effort to find or make replacements, but the payoff in terms of your and your loved ones’ health is worth the effort.
Next, think about when and where you typically consume unhealthful food items. If you have a tendency to hit the office vending machine when you feel hungry, bored, or stressed at work, plant some nutritious snacks within easy reach of your desk. Packages of unsalted or lightly salted nuts, dried fruit, and even certain energy bars or meal-replacement bars can prevent a binge.
Canned soups and jarred pasta sauces are convenient, but they often contain high levels of sodium as well as added sugar. For example, a single cup of canned chicken noodle soup typically contains about 744 milligrams of sodium, while a serving of condensed tomato soup contains about 480 milligrams of sodium and 12 grams of sugar. Some food manufacturers are working hard to provide their customers with healthier choices, so look for low-sodium and reduced-sugar varieties.
Perhaps you regularly grab quick lunches out or stop by your favorite fast-food joint while running errands. To curb this bad habit, store a few healthful snacks in your glove compartment so you have something to reach for when hunger strikes. If simply seeing a particular fast-food sign is a trigger for unhealthful cravings, take a different route that will limit exposure to temptation.
Many people are shocked when they discover just how much larger today’s portion sizes are than they were just twenty years ago. It’s not your fault that you are eating larger portions; you have been trained to expect them. During the 1990s, the size of the average dinner plate grew from 10 inches across to 12 inches across; at the same time, bowls and cups also expanded.
That’s not all; portions at restaurants have become massively oversized as well. In fact, current portion sizes at fast-food chains are, on average, two to five times larger than they were when those restaurants were first established. McDonald’s first hamburger weighed in at a reasonable 1.6 ounces. Today, you can get a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, which features two beef patties weighing 4 ounces apiece before cooking—that’s half a pound of meat! This monstrous sandwich contains 750 calories, 43 grams of fat, and 1,280 milligrams of sodium.
This is just one example; menu items at other restaurants have ballooned to an outrageous size as well. The good news is that if you’re planning to eat at a restaurant or enjoy a snack away from home, you can usually find solid information concerning calorie count, fat, and sodium online. Many states now require restaurants to display calorie information on menus. Knowing what is hiding in your food can be very helpful when it comes time to decide what to eat and what to leave behind.
POPULAR FOODS TWENTY YEARS AGO VERSUS TODAY
Food |
Twenty Years Ago |
Today |
Bagel |
3-inch diameter, 140 calories |
6-inch diameter, 350 calories or more |
Coffee |
8-ounce cup with cream and sugar, 45 calories |
16 ounces with cream and sugar, 350 calories or more |
Fast-food cheeseburger |
333 calories |
590 calories |
Movie popcorn |
5 cups, 270 calories |
1 large tub, 630 calories |
Pizza |
2 slices, 500 calories |
2 slices, 850 calories |
Soda |
6.5-ounce bottle, 82 calories |
20-ounce bottle, 250 calories |
Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute