Instructions to use

To create a new diet plan using Food Exchange Diet Planner, one needs to proceed in three steps (see figure below). The tree steps are further explained in this section.

STEP 1: Definition of energy requirements

The human body needs some energy to function properly. For a diet to be healthy, it must provide this energy. Understanding how many calories one needs is the first step to achieving a healthy diet.

If the user knows the daily energy for the person he/she is designing the diet for, then he/she can go ahead and define it right at the relevant check box. Alternatively the user can press the "Estimate energy" button to bring up the Energy calculator.

STEP 2: Definition of the macronutrients

Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are the three macronutrients that contain the calories in food. Macronutrients are important substances needed for growth, metabolism, and for other body functions. “Macro” is a Greek world which means large, hence macronutrients are nutrients needed in large amounts.

During the second step, the user defines the desired percentages of carbohydrates, protein and fat. The user can manually enter the three percentages or, alternatively, he/she can choose a predefined diet type which assigns the percentages of the macronutrients according to the following table:

Carbohydrates Protein Fat
Balanced Diet 50 20 30
Zone Diet 40 30 30
High Carb diet 60 15 25

Please note that all the tree types of macronutrients are necessary. Also keep in mind that every body is different and may require different percentages of macronutrients. Having said that, it is generally recomended that, for a balanced diet, carbohydrates, should consist of about half of the daily calorie intake. This means that approximately 45%-65% of the total daily calorie intake should come from carbohydrates. Fats should consist of about 25%-35% of the total daily calorie intake and thei should never (under no circumstance) drop below 15 grams per day. Similarly, proteins should consist of about 15%-35% of the total daily calorie intake and at least 0.8g per kgr of body weight per day. This does not aply to infants and children which require a lot more protein due to the fact they are growing and need protein to build muscle tissue.

STEP 3: Preferences for diary fruits and vegetables

During the last step, the user defines the preference for the daily number of servings for three food groups (dairy, fruits and vegetables). This piece of information can be defined to reflect the personal preferences of the person that the user creates the diet for and can also be chosen from a set of predefined diet types according to the following table:

Carbohydrates Protein Fat
Balanced Diet 1 6 4
Mediterranean Diet 1 5 5
Lots of dairy products 2 6 4
Lots of fruits 1 7 4
Lots of vegetables 1 5 6
No dairy products (e.g. lactose intolerants) 0 6 4

Based on the above preferences, the program will calculate the daily number of servings for all the food groups so that the constraints for the total calories and macronutrient percentages are kept.

For convenience, fat is computed separately (i.e. we assume that all diary products are also fat-free) so that it can be added to the diet plan at the end.