Food Pyramid, Example of a Daily Menu

Building Your Diet Menu Using the Food Pyramid

Using the Food Pyramid, a typical diet derived from natural foods - or a diet that is as close to natural as possible - may look like this:

Breakfast: (about 300 calories)

1 slice of whole grain wheat toast sprayed with no calorie butter or reduced fat margarine

1 scrambled, poached or boiled egg

1 cup of fresh sliced fruit

1 cup low fat skim milk

Lunch: (about 450 calories)

3 cups of salad: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced mushrooms, sliced carrots, sliced onion, one ounce of shredded cheese, 1 ounce of roasted chicken breast chopped dressing light and on the side.

1 apple

1 cup skim or reduced fat milk

Dinner: (about 450 calories)

1 cup of whole grain pasta

meatballs prepared with extra lean beef, ground chicken or ground turkey totaling three ounces

1 cup of green beans

1 whole grain dinner roll

1 cup of sliced strawberries sprinkled with Splenda 1 Tablespoon of LIGHT whipped topping

1 cup of skim reduced fat milk

The total calorie count for the day comes to about 1,250 calories - which is a good spot for most dieters. Of course, check with your doctor who can personalize your weight loss program and who can also tell you how many calories you need to eat in order to experience weight loss.

If you have a significant amount of weight to lose your body may require more calories until you reach a lower weight.

As previously mentioned, it takes a sly juggling act to get in all the recommended nutrients for the day without going over the calorie cap.

Skim products, choices of foods (example: choosing the green beans at 17 calories per cup saved over 100 calories if we had gone for the pinto beans), the time of day that you eat, and the pace that you eat all affect the number on the weight loss scales. Click here to return to the previous page.

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