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FOOD COUNTDOWN FOR
WEIGHT LOSS
Despite all of the
attention given to popular diets today, most
nutrition experts agree that minimizing dietary
fat, controlling portions and staying physically
active are the real keys to healthy weight
management.
We know from decades of research that a diet
rich in high-carbohydrate foods--such as whole
grains, vegetables and fruits--helps prevent
disease, maintain healthy body weight and
optimize athletic performance. There is no
substantial evidence to support a change in that
recommendation, says Debra Wein, MS, RD,
nutritionist and exercise physiologist at the
University of Massachusetts in Boston.
What formula can you follow to manage your
dietary fat as well as your portions?
Nutritionist Carroll Reider, MS, RD, suggests an
easy-to-follow low-fat eating plan, adapted from
the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.
Each day, count down
your food choices from the following list:
5 Servings: Whole Grain
Breads, Pastas and Cereals
Serving: 1 slice bread, ½ slice bagel, ½ cup
cereal, 1/3 cup rice, ½ cup noodles or potatoes.
Whole Grains: wheat, oats, rye, corn, brown
rice, barley or millet in the form of cereal,
side dishes, pasta or bread.
Also include: potatoes, yams, winter squashes,
chestnuts, beans and peas.
4 Servings: Raw or
Cooked Vegetables
-
Serving: 1 cup raw
vegetables, ½ cup cooked vegetables, ½ cup
vegetable juice.
Include: Dark green and yellow or orange
vegetables.
-
3 Servings: Fruits
Serving: For most fruits, a serving of
whole fruit fits in your hand. Fruit juice
(1/2 cup) is also a serving.
-
2 Servings: Dairy
Foods
Serving: 1 cup nonfat milk, 3/4 cup
nonfat yogurt, 2 ounces nonfat cheese.
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1-2 Servings: Fish,
Poultry or Meat
Serving: About the size of the palm of
your hand and the thickness of a deck of
cards. A serving of shrimp is about 2
ounces; lean red me, 3.5 ounces.
Vegetarian Options: 6 ounces beans or
low-fat tofu, 2 ounces non-fat cheese.
Weight Loss Tip:
If you are concerned about your weight,
Reider says, go wild on vegetables. They’re only
about 25 calories per serving. But do not eat
more than three servings of fruit or five
servings of grains. If your weight is fine, you
can eat as many grains, vegetables and fruits as
you want.
Monitor and Moderate:
Many nutrition experts agree that monitoring
your eating with a food diary can be invaluable
to weight management planning.
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Moderation is
essential. Some foods include several food
groups, and you will naturally eat servings
that are both larger and smaller than the
single serving size. A good goal is to eat
the recommended amounts and balance of food
groups 80 percent of the time, says Daniel
Kosich, PhD, author of GET REAL: A Personal
Guide to Real-Life Weight Management. That
will give you a solid foundation for an
active, healthy lifestyle.
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Both quantity and
quality count. A low-fat diet that is too
high in calories or a low-calorie diet that
is too high in fat will not be healthy for
you over a lifetime.
-
The quality of the
carbohydrates you eat is important. Heavily
processed convenience foods with a lot of
refined sugars may have a negative impact on
your blood sugar level and cholesterol
ratio, your mood and your ability to manage
your portions. You can get caught in a
dangerous cycle of eating excessive portions
of unhealthy foods with little or no
nutritional value. The solution is to stick
to fresh whole grains, vegetables and fruits
for up to 60 percent of your diet.
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