NAVY MEDICINE FEMALE FORCE READINESS CLINICAL COMMUNITY

Eating properly increases energy and endurance, shortens recovery time, improves focus and concentration,
and helps service members feel better. Currently, 74% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese,
increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Weight loss or
maintenance requires a commitment to long-term lifestyle change and often requires support from healthcare
providers, family, and social networks.

GENERAL NUTRITION GUIDELINES

These guidelines provide a framework for a healthy diet of 2,000 calories per day. Females ages 19-30
need about 1,800-2,400 calories per day and females ages 31-59 need about 1,600-2,200 calories per day.
VEGETABLES FRUITS

Aim for 2½ servings per day. A serving of Aim for 2 servings per day. A serving of fruit is 1
vegetables is 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables cup raw or cooked fruit.
or 2 cups leafy salad greens. Choose a • General: Apples, Asian pears, bananas, cherries, dates,
combination of vegetables each day that add up figs, grapes, guava, jackfruit, lychee, mangoes, nectarines,
to the weekly recommendations: papaya, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapple, plums,
pomegranates, raisins, rhubarb, sapote, soursop
• Dark Green (1½ cups per week): Amaranth leaves,
bok choy, broccoli, chamnamul, chard, collards, kale, • Berries: Blackberries, blueberries, currants,
mustard greens, poke greens, romaine lettuce, huckleberries, kiwifruit, mulberries, raspberries,
spinach, taro leaves, turnip greens, watercress strawberries
• Red and Orange (5½ cups per week): Calabaza, • Citrus: Calamondin, grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges,
carrots, red or orange bell peppers, sweet potatoes, pomelos
tomatoes, winter squash • Melons: Cantaloupe, casaba, honeydew, watermelon
• Beans, Peas, and Lentils* (1½ cups per week): Black
beans, black-eyed peas, bayo beans, chickpeas
(garbanzo beans), edamame, fava, kidney beans, GRAINS
lentils, lima beans, mung beans, pigeon peas, pinto
beans, split peas (does not include green beans or Aim for 6 servings of grains per day. A serving of
green peas)
grains is ½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked
*based on nutritional values beans, peas, and lentils can
be counted as either a vegetable or protein
cereal, 1 ounce (oz) dry pasta or rice, 1 slice of
bread, or 1 cup dry cereal. Choose whole grains
• Starchy (5 cups per week): Breadfruit, burdock root,
cassava, corn, jicama, lotus root, lima beans, plantains, and whole-grain products over refined or processed
white potatoes, salsify, taro root, water chestnuts, yam, grains.
yucca • Whole Grains (3 oz per day): Amaranth, barley (not
• Other (4 cups per week): Asparagus, avocado, pearled), brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, oats,
bamboo shoots, beets, bitter melon, brussels sprouts, popcorn, quinoa, dark rye, whole-grain cornmeal, whole-
cabbage (green, red, napa, savoy), cactus pads wheat bread, whole-wheat chapati, whole-grain cereals and
(nopales), cauliflower, celery, chayote (mirliton), crackers, wild rice
cucumber, eggplant, green beans, kohlrabi, luffa, • Refined Grains (3 oz per day): White breads, refined-grain
mushrooms, okra, onions, radish, rutabaga, seaweed, cereals and crackers, corn grits, cream of rice, cream of
snow peas, summer squash, tomatillos, turnips wheat, barley (pearled), masa, pasta, white rice
1
PROTEIN DAIRY & FORTIFIED SOY ALTERNATIVES

Aim for 5½ servings per day. A serving of protein is 1 Aim for 3 servings per day. A serving of
oz lean meat, poultry, or seafood, 1 egg, ¼ cup dairy is 1 cup milk or yogurt, 1½ oz natural
cooked beans or tofu, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, or ½ oz cheese, or 2 oz processed cheese.
nuts or seeds. Choose a combination of proteins each • All fluid, dry or evaporated milk (including lactose-
day that add up to the weekly recommendation: free and lactose-reduced products and fortified soy
• Meats, Poultry, Eggs (26 oz per week): Beef, goat, lamb, pork, milk), buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, frozen yogurt, dairy
game meat (bison, moose, elk, deer), chicken, Cornish hens, desserts, cheese; cream, sour cream and cream
duck, game birds (ostrich, pheasant, quail), goose, turkey, organ cheese are not included as they are low in calcium
meats (chitterlings, giblets, gizzard, liver, sweetbreads, tongue, OILS
tripe), chicken or other bird eggs
• Seafood (8 oz per week): Anchovy, black sea bass, catfish,
clams, cod, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, hake, herring,
Aim for 27 grams (approx. 2 Tbsp) or less
lobster, mullet, oyster, perch, pollock, salmon, sardine, scallop, per day.
shrimp, sole, squid, tilapia, freshwater trout, light tuna, whiting Avoid oils high in saturated fat (coconut,
• Nuts, Seeds, Soy Products (5 oz per week): All nuts (tree nuts palm kernel, palm).
and peanuts), nut butters, seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, • Oil: Canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean,
sunflower), seed butters (sesame/tahini, sunflower), tofu, sunflower
tempeh, soy flour, soy protein isolate, soy concentrate
• In food: Nuts, seeds, seafood, olives, avocado

Recommendation Serving Equivalent

Vegetables 2½ servings per day 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables or 2 cups leafy salad greens

Fruits 2 servings per day 1 cup raw or cooked fruit

½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal, 1 oz dry pasta or rice, 1
Grains 6 servings per day
slice of bread, or 1 cup dry cereal
1 oz lean meat, poultry, or seafood, 1 egg, ¼ cup cooked beans or
Protein 5½ servings per day
tofu, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, or ½ oz nuts or seeds
1 cup milk or yogurt, 1½ oz natural cheese, or 2 oz processed
Dairy 3 servings per day
cheese

FOOD & BEVERAGES TO LIMIT

Approximately 85% of daily recommended calories are needed just to meet nutritional requirements.
This leaves 250-350 calories for:
• Added sugar: 65% of women exceed recommended intake of sugars.
o Added sugar should be LESS than 10% of daily calories.
o One 20 oz soda or candy bar reaches the limit of daily recommended calories from added sugar.
• Saturated fat: 70% of adults exceed recommended intake of saturated fat.
o Saturated fat should be LESS than 10% of daily calories.
o A small fast food French fries reaches the limit of daily recommended calories from saturated fat.
• Sodium: 80% of women exceed recommended intake of sodium.
o Sodium consumption should be LESS than 2,300 mg per day.
o One large slice of frozen pepperoni pizza has more than half of the recommended daily sodium.
• Alcoholic beverages: One drink per day for women when alcohol is consumed. Pregnant women should avoid
alcohol.
• General beverages: Avoid drinking calories. Drink primarily water.
o Limit dairy products and 100% fruit and vegetable juice.
o Limit or eliminate beverages with added sugar (sodas, lemonade, most fruit drinks, mochas, lattes,
sweet tea, most sport and energy drinks, hot chocolate, beer, wine, cocktails, shakes). 2
NUTRITION LABELS
Use nutrition labels to make healthy choices. Learn more
below and at this link.
READ AND UNDERSTAND NUTRITION LABELS

Size matters: Check the serving size and

the number of servings per container or
package.
All fat is not created equal: Replace
saturated fat with unsaturated fats,
especially polyunsaturated fat. Work to
eliminate trans-fat from your diet.
Find the salt: Most salt (sodium)
consumed is found in commercially
processed or prepared food.
% Daily Value (DV): Five percent (5%) or
less is considered low and 20% or more
is considered high.
Nutrition Facts Label | fda.gov

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES

Making small changes in your diet can increase levels of important nutrients.
• Dietary Fiber: 90% of women do not meet recommended intake of dietary fiber.
o Replace refined grains with whole grains and increase vegetable and fruit intake.
o Avoid juices and smoothies where fiber is removed.
• Calcium and Vitamin D: 60% of women do not meet recommended intake of calcium and 90% of
women do not meet recommended intake of vitamin D.
o Increase dairy, fortified soy product, and seafood intake.
o Consider a vitamin D supplement if exposure to sunlight is limited.

PREGNANCY & LACTATION NUTRITION

The following are Stage of Pregnancy or

Estimated Change in Daily Calories
recommendations Lactation
for an average
1st trimester +0 calories per day
woman with a
normal pre- 2nd trimester +340 calories per day
pregnancy weight.
3rd trimester +450 calories per day
Overweight women
should have fewer Lactation 1st 6 months +330 calories per day
calories.
Lactation 2nd 6 months +400 calories per day

3
SUPPLEMENTS DURING PREGNANCY

Folic Acid: All women who are planning to get pregnant or are not preventing pregnancy should take
400 to 800 mcg of folic acid daily starting at least 1 month prior to conception through the first 3
months of pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects in the baby.
Other Supplements: Women with restrictive diets, especially vegetarian and vegan diets, should talk to
their healthcare provider to determine whether they need to consider supplementation for iron,
vitamin B12, choline, zinc, iodine, or omega-3.

FISH CHOICES DURING PREGNANCY WEIGHT RELATED RISKS DURING PREGNANCY

Pregnant women should avoid large fish to Women who are overweight or obese during
limit their baby’s mercury exposure.. Avoid king pregnancy have greater risk of hypertension,
mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, pre-eclampsia, pre-term birth, gestational
swordfish, tile fish, and bigeye tuna. Learn diabetes, macrosomia, birth injury, neural tube
more at this link. defects, and need for a c-section.

COMMON DIETS

DASH DIET MEDITERRANEAN DIET

Learn more about the Dietary Approaches to Stop Learn more about the Mediterranean
Hypertension (DASH) diet at this link. This diet incorporates: Diet at this link. This diet incorporates:
• Vegetables, fruits, and fat-free or low-fat dairy • Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• Whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils • Unsaturated fats such as olive oil or
• Lean meats such as poultry and fish canola oil
• Targets high levels of potassium (4,700 mg daily) • Protein from plant sources, lean
• Limits sodium to 2,300 mg/day poultry, or fish
• Limits alcohol • Moderate amounts of wine
• Limits red meat, sweets, and sugary beverages • Limits sweets

INTERMITTENT FASTING* KETOGENIC DIET*

Learn more about Intermittent Fasting at this Learn more about the Ketogenic Diet (commonly
link or by reading The Obesity Code by Dr. referred to as “keto”) at this link. Over weeks of
Jason Fung. Intermittent fasting focuses on the following this diet, the body goes into ketosis. This
timing of eating through either a fast for 16-20 diet is:
hours per day or alternating day fasting • High in fat (over 75% of daily calories)
(fasting 2 days per week and eating normally
• Moderate in protein (10-20% of calories)
the other 5 days).
• Very low in carbs (less than 5% of calories)

MACRONUTRIENTS

Learn more about macronutrients at this link. The macronutrients or “macro” diet focuses on getting a
certain amount (grams) of protein, carbohydrates, and fat per day instead of a calorie threshold.

*All diets can be risky with certain health conditions, especially ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting.
4
NUTRITION SYSTEM IN DINING FACILITIES

STOPLIGHT NUTRITION SYSTEM

Food options in the galley or mess hall are designated by “stoplight” color codes to help Sailors and
Marines make healthy and nutritious choices.
GREEN: These foods are great choices for overall health, physical, and mental performance.
These foods are the least processed, most nutrient dense, higher in fiber, lower in added sugar,
and include healthy fats.
YELLOW: These foods should be consumed occasionally because they are higher in total and
saturated fat compared to Green Light foods. These foods are moderately processed, lower in
fiber, and include added sugars or artificial sweeteners, as well as lower quality fats.
RED: Limit intake of these foods because they are the highest in unhealthy fats and may
decrease performance. These foods are the most processed and have the lowest-nutrient
quality, including added sugars, excess fats, and trans fats.

MEALS READY TO EAT (MREs)

Each MRE provides approximately 1,250 calories. Depending on activity levels, most Sailors and
Marines will not need all the calories that 3 MREs per day would provide (3,750 calories). Use this link
to determine your recommended daily calorie intake based on gender, age, weight, and activity level.
Consider skipping parts of the MRE, especially the candy or dessert, to minimize calories.

NUTRITION FOR ACTIVE WOMEN / ATHLETES

INCREASED CALORIE INTAKE

Very active women/female athletes require higher amounts of energy (calories) to maintain their
current weight:
• Women who are active 6-10 hours per week require 2,500 calories per day to maintain current
weight.
• Women who are active 10-20 hours per week require 3,000 calories a day to maintain current weight.

RELATIVE ENERGY DEFICIENCY IN SPORT HYDRATION

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) can result Adequate hydration is key to performance.
from not getting enough energy through what you • Hydrate prior to activity/exercise with 16
eat, using too much energy through exercise, or oz of fluid.
both. RED-S can cause exercise associated • During activity, hydrate with 4-6 oz of
menstrual dysfunction, weight loss, poor growth (in fluid per 15 minutes of exercise.
young athletes), frequent injuries or illness, fatigue,
or irritability. Learn more at this link.

5
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Topic Links

Eating for Peak Performance (Link, Link)

Female Athlete Energy and Nutrition Issues (Link)
Athlete Nutrition
Ten Things to Know about Sports Nutrition (Link)
Warfighter Nutrition Guide (Link)

Healthy Eating Eat This Not That (Link)

Choices Bad Fats vs. Good Fats (Link)

Navy Fitness Nutrition (Link)

Military Nutrition
Marine Corps Performance Nutrition (Link)

Pregnancy & Fitness and Nutrition during Pregnancy (Link, Link)

Postpartum Postpartum Nutrition Guide (Link)
Nutrition Tips for Breastfeeding Moms (Link)

Department of Veteran Affairs MOVE! Weight Management Program

Weight Loss (Link)
My Fitness Pal Calorie Tracker (Link)

REFERENCES

1. 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

2. Rethinking Drinking, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
3. Nutrition Education Resources, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
4. Pregnancy and Women’s Health, Human Performance Resources by CHAMP (HPRC)
5. Nutrition During Pregnancy, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

DISCLAIMER
The views presented in this guide do not reflect those of the Department of Defense and any medical
information is not intended to replace advice from a professional health care provider. Any mention of specific
apps or products does not indicate endorsement but is meant for an example that has worked for others.
6