By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington doctor said new federal dietary guidelines come down to making good choices.

“It’s not that hard to eat healthy, but it’s easy to eat unhealthy at the same time,” surgeon John Wieland said.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Wieland on WJBC.

Wieland told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin, taking in the USDA-recommended 2,000 calories per day is too many unless you are somewhat active.

“I usually recommend to adults that have non-physically strenuous jobs and lifestyles, it should be between 1,600 and 1,800 calories (daily),” Wieland said.

He said based on simple math, taking in an additional 100 calories per day can add up to 10 pounds more per year, because on the equation that 3,500 calories equates to one pound.

Wieland added while eating healthy isn’t always practical, he says it’s easier if you eat at home.

Cholesterol restrictions were removed from dietary guidelines because not all cholesterol is bad.

Wieland said if you eat a variety of vegetables and whole fruits like they recommend, your cholesterol will be ok.

“Years ago, a lot of people though any type of cholesterol was bad and to be avoided, from a balanced nutrition standpoint, that’s not true,” Wieland said.

The new guidelines also call for limiting both sugar and saturated fat to 10 percent or less of daily calories.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].