Food Pyramid Guide for Dieters - Food Comparisons Based on Food Pyramid

Common Dieter's Questions: What are my best food choices from each Food Group? How can I get the best and most plentiful meal plate for the lowest amount of calories?

Using the Official American Food Pyramid we took the maximum recommended servings allowed and developed two Food Pyramid Comparison Charts so that dieters can see the impact that their food choices has on their diet plan.

Calories were rounded off to the nearest whole number.

Both Food Pyramid charts contain healthy food selections and demonstrate that the food and beverage choices that we make mean a great deal in controlling the numbers on our weight scales.

Foods Contain Varying Caloric Values, Thus Making Meal Planning Challenging for Dieters

One chart contains 1,810 calories and is posted below. Yet our other data chart which contains the same food groups, with identical serving sizes contains 3,590 calories. This is just one reason why the Food Pyramid isn't perfect - any why it will never be perfect.

For example, let's examine the Vegetable Group. We have five servings in our Food Comparison Chart: 1/2 cup of turnips for 15 calories, 1/2 cup of zucchini for 15 calories, 1/2 cup of spinach for 20 calories, 1 cup of lettuce for 5 calories and one tomato for 25 calories. As a note, the tomato is often considered a vegetable - but botanically speaking, it's a fruit.

Our caloric total for our vegetable servings equal 80 calories. That's a lot of food for a tiny amount of calories - and these foods also contain minimal dietary fat. As a dieting tip, you can note a fattier item the majority of the time just by examining the total caloric values of a food. If it is significant in fat content, then the calories will spike substantially.

Tips for Reducing Calories in Healthy, Natural Foods

If our vegetable selections had been the following foods, then our caloric values would be much different: potatoes, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, yams and winter squash. These vegetables contain many more values than those listed on our data chart which is based on an 1,800 calorie daily diet plan. Just the potato by itself - even a small potato contains more calories than our assembly of green vegetables and the tomato - at 80 calories.

Therefore, making the recommended choices from each food group of the pyramid isn't enough to keep our weight in check. We must also behold the nutritional values contained within our food choices.

Let's take a look at Milly. She is on a weight loss plan and has 43 pounds to lose. Each time she enjoys a meal plate, she adds the total values of her food to her daily caloric totals. Her limit for the day is set at 1,400 calories. While planning her last meal of the day, she discovers that she will exceed her daily values by 150 calories. Therefore, in order not to exceed her daily limits, she decides to adjust her dinner meal plate.

She had planned on having a large baked potato with her meal. Instead, she will omit the potato and instead she will enjoy 1 cup of sauteed sliced mushrooms as well as 1 cup of green beans. Now her meal plate will stay on track with her weight loss plan. She doesn't want one potato to prevent her from losing weight today.