Food Pyramid Guide for Dieters
The Daily Recommended Servings

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites


Information for the American Food Pyramid

Continuing from Page 1

Let's continue our discussion on the Food Pyramid - addressing questions related to such.

Question: Should I reduce the Food Group servings so that they go below the recommended minimum allowance to generate weight loss?

No - because when an individual consumes less than the recommended minimum daily servings, they may be putting their good health at risk.  

Daily servings might best be determined upon the amount of weight that the dieter wants to lose. Something to keep in mind is that the foods we choose greatly impact total daily calories.  

To provide examples of how the choices that we make from the food pyramid can vary vastly in caloric content, let's look at a couple of charts that were created by Diet Bites to depict such:

Picture of Food Pyramid Containing Maximum Daily Servings - 1,810 Calories

Picture of Food Pyramid Containing Maximum Daily Servings - 3,590 Calories

WOW!  What a BIG difference!  Let's now move on to Dieter Jerry who has decided to create a personal Food Pyramid to accommodate his diet.

Example of Dieter's Food Pyramid

Dieter Jerry needs to lose 50 pounds.  He has chosen the following as his Dieter's Food Pyramid (Picture of Jerry's Diet Pyramid Below):

Milk, Yogurt & Cheese Food Group: 3 Servings
Vegetable Food Group: 4 Servings
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs & Nuts Group: 3 Servings
Fruit Group: 3 Servings
Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta Group: 9 Servings
Fats, Oils & Sweets - Use Sparingly

Jerry reduced the maximum servings within some of the Food Groups.  

He also wanted to allow himself the maximum servings for some groups - such as the Milk, Yogurt & Cheese group because recent studies indicate that drinking three cups of milk per day might accelerate weight loss.


Looking at Dieter Jerry's Food Pyramid should one assume that the more weight that one has to lose, the more servings should be reduced?  No - not at all.  

In fact, many overweight individuals are simply eating many more servings from the Food Groups per day than recommended OR their serving sizes are too generous.

When this is the situation, trimming back the diet so that it matches the recommended servings and serving sizes might be a great solution for weight loss.

Some dieters may do very well losing weight by consuming the minimal servings recommended on the Food Pyramid or by creating a personalized Food Pyramid as Dieter Jerry.

Careful, Not To Be Too Restrictive

However, by making careful food selections, one doesn't need to always restrict the maximum servings - as illustrated above in our Food Calorie Comparison Charts.

The great thing about using the Food Pyramid as a pattern for weight loss is that the servings can be adjusted to meet personal weight loss and weight maintenance needs.  The Food Pyramid has a range of healthy choices and serving recommendations.  The key is consuming a variety of healthy foods that meet our personal daily requirements.

Although Diet Bites is a firm believer in getting vitamins naturally, taking a daily vitamin while dieting certainly can't hurt.

PICTURE OF DIETER JERRY'S FOOD PYRAMID

img1.gif

Food Pyramid, Maximum Daily Food Group Servings, 3,590 Calories

The following food pyramid contains all of the recommended food groups along with their recommended serving sizes. While all of the food selections are healthy - if the dieter OR if the majority of individuals consumed these foods - they would gain weight. This show that all foods housed within the American Food Pyramid vary greatly in caloric content and the dieter must review the calories contained in the food selections they make - rather than basing their food selections solely on the food group recommendation.

While a cup of lettuce contains 5 calories, a small potato contains about 120 calories. Both are vegetables, both live in the Vegetable Group. This is a huge and significant flaw in the standard Food Pyramid. Our data chart shows that even when one bases their diet plan on the Food Pyramid and the recommended servings, their meal plates can contain far too many calories, even when dietary fat is minimal.

Click for Question 2 Answers - Fat in the Daily Diet

Click for Question 3 Answers - Includes 2 Comparison Diets From the Food Pyramid

 

Related Articles

How many fat cells do I have?

Weight Gain Due to Exhaustion

Diet Bites | Disclaimers

Diet Bites is a Trademark