The Weight Loss Food Pyramid

A healthy weight loss food pyramid incorporates a balanced diet and is based on the official food pyramid. As foods depend upon other foods to burn calories and energy, a weight loss plan than spins off of the official food pyramid creates an unbeatable diet plan for weight loss results. What a team!

Although some pyramids for weight loss recommend 1,200 calories or even lower, we think that is kissing Diet Pavement. If you have a good amount of weight that you need to lose, the 1,200 calorie recommendation is going to be an unrealistic number for you and could actually do more harm to your body than good.

Your doctor, of course, is your best " Diet Advisor" . However, in my prehistoric Fat Days, my doctor recommended a 1,000-calorie diet plan, including a 3-day fast before starting the 1,000 calorie diet - which was totally nutsy coo-coo and in my humble opinion, presented potential health risks to the body.

Oddly enough, at that time in my life, I only needed to drop about 40 pounds. To complicate matters, recommending such a drastic diet without testing for hidden health conditions (such as diabetes which is rampant in my family) can prove fatal to 'la patient'. In addition, many hidden health conditions contribute to weight gain. Therefore, if a patient has diabetes, or thyroid issues - then fasting and reducing calories isn't going to make the weighty problem permanently vanish. It's like applying frosting to a brick. With this said, always - and I mean always, ask your doctor questions. Just because an individual has a document hanging on the wall doesn't mean that they aren't a little off the wall.

About Low Carb Diets

Even if you're not 'low carb dieting' many of the carb-friendly diets contain many excellent points, such as cutting out sweets. Sweets consist of empty calories in other words - a lot of calories with minimal (if any) nutritional value. By cutting back on sweets and choosing diet-wise beverages, and keeping tabs on your fat intake, you just may have a winning Diet Hand!

On top of that, if you are balancing your foods based on the food pyramid guidelines, it's going to be smooth Diet Sailing as you drift into the Sea of Weight Loss Success! And be sure to sick with Diet Bites for that 'every now-and-then-need' for a Diet Life preserver. We're here for you. It's what we do...

Calculating Daily Calories Based on the Recommended Minimal Servings of the Food Pyramid

The food groups presented on the official food pyramid provide a range of recommended servings. So just how does a dieter calculate the calories for daily recommendations? If the dieter reduces daily amounts to the MINIMAL recommended serving sizes, how many calories would that be?

Unfortunately, that's impossible to calculate! Why? Because it's going to depend on the amount of calories in the foods chosen in a specific group. As an example, let's examine the vegetable category and our food choice is 'beans'. Depending on whether you choose fresh green beans OR pinto beans, the calorie difference is separated by more than 100 calories.

The variance doesn't stop with the vegetable category. Breads have different calories depending on the type of bread, the brand name, and the ingredients used in preparation. So do fruits. A medium banana contains about 100 calories and a plum, about 35. Even the size of the fruit varies in calories. A tiny banana is going to hold less calories than its jumbo counterpart.

Therefore, basing your diet on eating the minimal recommendations on the food pyramid isn't always diet-wise. A dieter must also know the calorie content to ensure weight loss success.

Example of a Dieter's Menu Based on the Food Pyramid

Fats, Oils & Sweets: Use sparingly.
Dairy:(Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) - 2 to 3 servings per day.
Vegetables: 3 to 5 servings per day.
Proteins: (Beef, fish, lamb, beans, eggs, chicken) 2 to 3 servings per day.
Fruits: 2 to 4 servings per day.
Grains: (Bread, cereal, brown rice, pasta) 6 to 11 servings per day.

A Weight Loss Food Pyramid may look something like this based on sticking to the minimum recommended daily servings from each food group within the Food Pyramid:

Fats, Oils & Sweets: Use sparingly.
Dairy:(Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) - 2 servings per day.
Vegetables: 3 servings per day.
Proteins: (Beef, fish, lamb, beans, eggs, chicken) 2 servings per day.
Fruits: 2 servings per day.
Grains: (Bread, cereal, brown rice, pasta) 6 to 11 servings per day.

OR THIS based on averaging the low/high recommended servings within the Food Pyramid:

American Food Pyramid Fats, Oils & Sweets: Use sparingly.
Dairy:(Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) - 2.5 servings per day.
Vegetables: 4 servings per day.
Proteins: (Beef, fish, lamb, beans, eggs, chicken) 2.5 servings per day.
Fruits: 3 servings per day.
Grains: (Bread, cereal, brown rice, pasta) 8 servings per day.

While dieting, this is how the dieter might break down the calorie allotment if the dieter's weight loss plan is based on calories:

Dairy: 250 calories
Vegetables: 200 calories
Proteins: 350 calories per day
Fruits: 250 calories per day
Grains: 300 calories

In Summary

Determine a safe reduced calorie limit for your daily diet by meeting with your SMART doctor or nutritionist. Next, x-out foods processed with sugars such as the simple carbs (i.e. donuts, cakes, pies, candy - you know, anything good). However, insert these foods every now and then into your diet plan as special treats. Learning how to control the foods we love is a big key in managing the bottom line on our weight scales.

Finally, embrace a healthy daily diet containing calorie-friendly beverages, and while you're at it, wrap your arms around your old friend, Exercise. Remember him? Handsome, sexy - but a bit too sweaty? Oh well, it if was all good, it wouldn't be called dieting - now would it?