I noticed on the MyPyramid.gov website, it includes “discretionary calories”. What are they and does the Live It plan have them, too?
You only need a certain number of cups, ounces and teaspoons of foods and oils to obtain adequate nutrition (vitamins, minerals and carbohydrate, protein and fat). The calories provided from these foods are the “essentials”, if you will. These are the minimum calories required to meet your nutrient needs. Then you have some “extra” calories that are important for providing you with enough energy. Think of it like a calorie budget – most of the budget is dedicated to essentials and the rest is for extras. These extras are things like higher-fat choices from the food groups and occasional treats. Instead of giving a discretionary calorie amount for each calorie range, we decided to add those calories in and distribute them for you across the food groups. For example, instead of recommending someone on a 1500-1600 calorie diet consume 1.5 cups of fruit and 5 ounces of grains, we increased these amounts to 1.5-2 cups and 5-6 ounces, respectively. We did this to encourage balance and made t
