The American Heart Association, the National Cholesterol Education Program, and your cardiologist, recommend the following heart-healthy diet guidelines:
Dietary Cholesterol: reduced to 300 milligrams (mg) or less per day. The cholesterol content of some common foods is listed in this section.
Dietary Fat: reduced to 30% or less of the total calories needed to maintain your ideal weight. This total amount of fat should be equally divided between the three types of fat:
Fiber increased by eating more vegetables, beans and whole grains (complex carbohydrates) and fruits (simple carbohydrates). A high-fiber diet can help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Most experts say you should increase fiber to between 25 and 35 grams per day.
Sodium (salt – if recommended by your doctor) reduced to 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams (mg) per day. The sodium content of some common foods is listed in this section.
Outlined below are some easy-to-use formulas so you can tell the amount of total calories and fat you should be eating, based on your ideal body weight.
As described above, the American Heart Association recommends that no more than 30% of your calories should come from fat. For patients with known heart disease, you physician may recommend even lower amounts. Once you're used to the 30% level, it's easier to reduce it even further, if your doctor tells you to. You simply figure again the C and D portion of the formula. The fat budget allows you to adapt the diet to your lifestyle. It is a positive approach and does not focus on all the foods you cannot have. Within your fat limit, you can still have most of the foods you like. You can plan meals you enjoy, that fit in with your life and budget.
First determine your ideal weight:
| Men | Women | |
| First 5 feet of height | 105 lbs. | 100 lbs. |
| For each inch over 5 feet add | 6 lbs. | 5 lbs. |
If you are small- or large-boned, you can increase or decrease the weight you calculate by 10%. If you figure an ideal weight that is really different from that weight (if you are honest) that makes you look and feel good, use that weight.
Your ideal weight is: _________________(A)
* From the book, "Controlling Your Fat Tooth"
Daily calories needed for maintaining your ideal weight:
| Level of Activity | Calories Needed /per Pound, per Day/ (B) |
| Inactive (no aerobic exercise/week) | 11 |
| Moderately Active (aerobic exercise 2 - 3 times/week) | 13 |
| Active (aerobic exercise 4 - 5 times/week) | 15 |
| Extremely Active (aerobic exercise 6 - 7 times/week) | 18 |
| Multiply your ideal weight (A) by calories needed for your level of activity (B) = Calories needed daily (C) x B = C | |
Your calories per day: _________________(C)
Determine your maximum fat calories per day:
Take the calories needed daily (C) and multiply by .3 (30%) = Maximum fat calories (D)* Cx .3 =
D Your maximum fat calories per day: _________________(D)
* Check with your doctor whether you should slowly decrease your percent of fat to 25% (.25), then 20% (.20) or 15% (.15).
Changing calories of fat into grams:
To determine how many grams of fat there are in your daily fat calories, take the maximum fat calories (D) and divide by 9 = total grams of fat per day (E)
Your total grams of fat per day are ____________ per day (E)
Determining the amount of saturated fat:
Take the total amount of fat allowed in one day (E), and divide by 3 = total grams of saturated fat per day (F)
Your total grams of saturated fat per day are ____________ per day (F)
Note: You do not need to eat all the fat allowed – just try not to exceed it.