Additional Resources
Body Weight Planner
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As mentioned on the "Before You Get Started" page, the body weight planner can help you to determine your ideal calorie intake based on your activity level and your weight goals. This resource is from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Diseases. To access the Body Weight Planner, click here. Then simply follow the instructions on the site to get started.
BMI Calculator
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Also as discussed on the "Before You Get Started" page, knowing your BMI can help you gauge your overall health. Although there are many factors that determine your health status that are not accounted for by BMI, it can be a good place to start, especially if you need to change your body composition. Click here to access a BMI calculator from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html
Dietary Supplement Factsheets
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This is an excellent source for more information about vitamins and minerals. The site is from the Office of Dietary Supplements, which is part of the National Institute of Health. Listed in alphabetical order are various vitamins and minerals, as well as other dietary supplements. Once you choose a supplement, click on the "consumer" factsheet. This will give you information about what the supplement does, how much you need, signs of deficiencies, sources of the nutrient, etc. Click here to access this resource.
SuperTracker
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SuperTracker is a resource created by the United States Department of Agriculture. Its purpose is to help people track and plan their exercise and food intake. Once you create a profile, there are multiple tools available on this site. You can create goals for weight, calories, physical activity, nutrient intake, etc. You can also look up the nutrient information in your foods and create a plan to reach your goals. Click here to access SuperTracker and create your profile.
Source: https://www.usda.gov/
Recipe Ideas
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Two excellent resources for easy and healthy meal and snack ideas are the What's Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl and the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach websites. The USDA site allows you to search for recipes and/or narrow your search based on categories, such as food group, course, calories, nutrients, etc. The Iowa State site is similar in that you can choose to look at recipes from different categories like main dishes or snacks. It even gives ideas for slow cooker recipes and recipes that freeze well which can be good for someone on a busy schedule. Both sites provide nutrition information per serving and the Iowa State site even provides the cost per serving to help you choose options that are in your budget.
MyPlate
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MyPlate was started by the United States Department of Agriculture as a way to give people more information about how to eat healthy. It breaks down information in a way that makes it simple to understand and apply to our daily lives. Even the logo (to the left) acts as a visual aid to make meal planning simpler. On the MyPLate website, there is a multitude of valuable resources, including a page designed specifically for college students (located under "Audience"). The various sub pages offer information about food groups, recipes, sample meal plans, eating on a budget, making changes to your diet, physical activity, and much more information. There are also helpful infographics, print materials, videos, and online tools that could be of use.
Source: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (15 May 2015). Adult BMI calculator. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html
HHS & NIH. (n.d.) Body weight planner. Retrieved from https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. (2017). Spend smart. Eat smart. Retrieved from https://spendsmart.extension.iastate.edu/recipes/
United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.) Supertracker. Retrieved from https://www.supertracker.usda.gov
United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.) What's cooking? USDA mixing bowl. Retrieved from https://whatscooking.fns.usda.gov/search/solr-results
USDA ChooseMyplate.gov. (2015). Choose MyPlate. Retrieved from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
U.S, Department of Heath and Human Services. (2016). Dietary supplement fact sheets. Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/