joining us with some tips is sharmi das. she's a consumer-education expert at the u.s. food and drug administration. welcome. >> hello. >> so, what's the first step in reading the nutrition labels? >> the nutrition-facts label is based on a 2,000-calorie diet per day. everybody. your nutritional needs might be different. your caloric needs might be different based on your activities. so, if you want to find out what your caloric needs are, you should visit choosemyplate.gov, where you'll be able to calculate your calories based on your activities and based on your nutrient needs. >> so, once i've calculated how many calories are right for me, how should i decide what to eat, let's say, for lunch? >> well, we think of each meal toe so, what you would like to do when you're packing your lunch is think of substituting white bread with whole-wheat bread and pita bread. make sure you're including fruit, and you want your lunch to add up to around 600 calories. >> okay, how about snacks? what should i think about when i'm choosing a snack? >> there are many healthy options --

joining us with some tips is sharmi das. she's a consumer-education expert at the u.s. food and drug administration. welcome. >> hello. >> so, what's the first step in reading the nutrition labels? based on a 2,000-calorie diet per day. but that does not apply to everybody. your nutritional needs might be different. your caloric needs might be different based on your activities. so, if you want to find out what your caloric needs are, you should visit choosemyplate.gov, where you'll be able to calculate your calories based on your activities and based on your nutrient needs. >> so, once i've calculated how many calories are right for me, how should i decide what to eat, let's say, for lunch? >> well, we think of each meal to be around 600 calories. so, what you would like to do when you're packing your lunch is think of substituting white bread with whole-wheat bread and pita bread. make sure you're including fruit, and you want your lunch to add up to around 600 calories. >> okay, how about snacks? what should i think about when i'm choosing a snack? >> there are many

these labe joining us with some tips is sharmi das. she's a consumer-education expert at the u.s. food and drug administration. welcome. >> hello. >> so, what's the first step in reading the nutrition labels? >> the nutrition-facts label is based on a 2,000-calorie diet

these labe joining us with some tips is sharmi das. she's a consumer-education expert at the u.s. food and drug administration. welcome. >> hello.