B-SWEL Health and Wellness Lesson 2: Energy Balance Background:

To maintain a healthy weight, you need to balance the energy you take in from the food you eat with the energy you expend in the course of your daily life. Because of our lifestyles or the type of work that we do, many of us do not get as much exercise that we need nor do we have time to prepare healthy food ALL of the time. Excess food intake is stored in the body as fat, leading to weight gain and possibly to obesity. This, in turn, can lead to various medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and joint problems. The reverse is also true: If we expend more energy than we take in, we will lose weight.

Estimated Teaching Time: Estimated Activity and Q/A Time: I. Nutrition Education Objectives
a. Students will be able to define calorie as a unit. b. Students will be able to explain the relationship between energy from food and the energy output through physical activity. c. Students will demonstrate energy balance through a hands-on activity.

II.

Materials
a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. Large wall post-its Empty food packages Snack Calorie Handout Energy Imbalance + The Bad News Ways to eat 100 less calories Move More Exercise book MyPyramid poster Goal Sheet

III.

Preparation Prior to Class Review from Lesson 1

a. Re-visit the food groups that were discussed in Lesson 1.

IV.

i. Last week we discussed the food groups in detail. Can anyone tell me what the food groups are? (Write down the food groups on the board/paper as they are announced). ii. If you recall, each food group has a unique set of vitamins and nutrients so in order for our body to get all of the nutrients it needs, we must eat foods from all food groups. Each food group contains foods that may be healthier than others so although we can eat from all food groups, it is important to focus on the healthier options. 1. Can anyone give me an example of a food group with a healthier choice? (Name a few if the participants have a hard

time coming up with examples. For example, whole milk versus low-fat milk) iii. Another thing we talked about last week was balancing what we eat. Think back to the plate method that we discussed at the end of the class (show the plate method). We know a well balanced plate includes lots of fruits/vegetables, a portion of grains, and a portion of meat/beans/fish. iv. We are going to build on what we learned from last week and continue to discuss what it means to have a good balance.

V.

Lesson Plan
a. Introduction- Calories: (Pass out a few food packages) I am passing out

a few food packages. If I give you a food package, I want you to find the label and tell me how many calories are in the package that you have. (Allow participants to announce how many calories are in their packages) Now that we have gone around the room and read how many calories the food contain, can anyone explain to me what that actually means? What is a calorie? i. A calorie is a unit of measurement used to measure energy. For example, we use pounds to measure weight and inches to measure height. We use calories to measure how much energy food gives our bodies. For example, someone in the room had a package that contained 200 calories, which means that particular food item will give you 200 calories or energy if you eat it. ii. (Pass out the snack calorie hand out to everyone in the class). This handout shows you the calories that your body will take in if you eat pretzels or a candy bar. Which snack food gives your body more calories? 1. The candy bar has more calories than the pretzels. iii. Are calories bad for you? 1. No- your body needs calories for energy. But eating too many calories and not burning enough of them through physical activity can lead to weight gain and other health complications.

iv. (Write on the board/paper how many calories men and women

should have according to age). The energy or amount of calories we need each day depends on multiple factors. These factors include age, gender, and your level of physical activity. Someone that is fairly active will need more calories than someone who is sedentary.

VI.

Discussion
a. Now that we know a little about calories, lets talk about energy balance. b. (Write the words Energy In and the words Energy Out on 2 separate

post-it papers and the MyPyramid Poster). Does anyone know what energy-in means? i. Energy-In refers to the energy we put into our bodies. Different foods give us different amounts of energy or calories. Lower calorie foods give us small amounts of energy. They include fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, and some grains without a lot of added sugar and fat. 1. Where on the Pyramid can we find lower calorie foods? The lower calorie choices are always near the bottom. This is telling us that our foundation diet should include the items that are lower on the pyramid. ii. Higher calorie foods give us large amounts of calories. These foods, generally higher in sugar and fat, can be found on the top of the pyramid and should be eaten sparingly. 1. These foods include fried foots, cookies, cakes, etc..)

iii. Energy-Out refers to the energy we burn. We use energy for many

things: walking, running, sleeping, breathing, digesting our food, breathing, and keeping our hearts beating. iv. When we talk about energy balance, we are looking at the relationship between energy-in and energy out. 1. (Pass out the Energy In < Energy Out and the Energy in > Energy Out handouts + Energy Imbalance) a. Weight loss happens when energy in is less than energy out while weight gain happens when energy in is greater than energy out. Your weight stays the same when energy in is equal to energy out. 2. (Refer to the Energy Imbalance worksheet- On a large postin write down energy-in factors and energy-out factors and have the class discuss the factors that lead to energy imbalance. After discussing these factors, come up with some solutions as a class and ask the participants to write these solutions on the Energy Imbalance worksheet) a. What are some energy-in factors that may cause energy imbalance? i. Food is available EVERYWHERE with lots of advertising. ii. When we eat out, portions are large. iii. Common beverages have a lot of sugar 1. These few points all cause us to eat too many calories 2. On average, eating 100 extra calories a day can cause a 10 lb weight gain per year. b. What are some energy-out factors that may cause us not to burn off energy? i. More tv ii. More subway travel iii. Fewer safe walking or bike routes iv. Weather v. Working- Desk jobs c. Now that we have discussed the obstacles, lets come up with some solutions to these problems. i. Food is available everywhere: Choose healthier options. What are some healthier options? Fresh fruit from carts, raw nuts, bring snacks from home. ii. Large portions when out: Share with a friends, ask for a doggie bag, etc. iii. Sugary beverages: Opt for water or low fat milk.

iv. Subway travel: Get off at a stop early and walk. v. Weather: Try small in home exercises when the weather is bad. (Show incentive- the exercise book that will be handed out after class)

VII. Activity
a. Food + Physical Activity Balance: Eating and Physical activity for the

whole class i. Lets have a couple of baby carrots. Each one gives us about 4 calories, so each of us is eating 8 calories. ii. We can do the following things to burn off 8 calories: 1. Walk slowly for 3 minutes 2. Run in place for a little more than 1 minute 3. Jump rope for a minute iii. Instead of carrots, lets try something that is the same color and just as crunchy- cheetos. What do you think the difference is between the cheetos and the carrots? A carrot is a vegetable in its natural state, and it has vitamins and minerals. A cheeto is fried corn flour with flavoring and coloring- high in fat and has very few vitamins or minerals. 1. One other difference between carrots and cheetos is they amount of energy they contain. While each baby carrot has about 4 calories, each cheeto has about 10 calories. Remember that foods high in fat and/or sugar are generally higher in calories. Our two cheetos, which are high in fat, give us almost 20 calories. 2. To burn up allt he energy in our two cheetos, we will need to exercise twice as long as we did for the carrots. Well have to run in place for about 2 and a half minutes to burn all the energy from the cheetos. 3. Keep in mind that you only ate 2 cheetos. Suppose you eat a small package of cheetos, which would give you approximately 200 calories. a. How long would you have to run in to burn off the cheetos? i. You would have to run for approximately 25 minutes. If you decided to walk, it would take you approximately 75 minutes! One very important thing to keep in mind is that foods like cheetos are offering your body very little nutrition value which means you are basically doing all that extra work and receiving little in return. ii.

VIII. Review + Goal Setting

a. Lets summarize what we have gone over today. What have we learned

from doing all of this eating and exercising? i. Foods have different amounts of calories. Those like carrots that are not near their natural sates are usually lower in calories while those with added fat and/or sugar like cheetos and candy bars are usually higher in calorie. ii. Higher calorie foods require more physical activity to burn off than lower calorie foods. You saw this when you had to run twice as long to burn off

IX.

GOAL !
I will replace high calorie snacks with lower calorie snacks, like ______________________________, ______ times per week.

I will burn more calories by taking a ______ minute walk after dinner ________ days of the week.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF