How to Lose Weight Using the USDA Food Pyramid

Everyone knows that to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. The problem is no one likes to count calories - it's tiresome and tedious, and takes up too much time. But there is a simpler way to keep your calories within a general 'safe' range and lose weight without having to count calories, and it's based upon the US Department of Agriculture's food pyramid.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - The Basics

We're all familiar with the USDA food pyramid. The most important information on the food pyramid for our purposes is the information on food portions. These portion guidelines will allow you to eat healthy and lose weight without having to count calories. The food pyramid makes the following recommendations: 3 portions of grains, 2-3 cups of vegetables, 1-2 cups of fruit, 3 cups of milk product and 5-6 ounce equivalent portions of meat. It also recommends limiting the oils and fats found in your food. Ok... but what does all that mean? It means you don't need to count calories to lose weight, as long as you stay within the portion guidelines. If you follow the food pyramid portion recommendations and exercise moderately, you will lose weight.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Grains

The food pyramid suggests that you eat 3 portions of grains a day. A portion is equal to one ounce, or a one ounce equivalent. A slice of bread, a cup of cereal, or ½ cup servings of cooked rice, pasta or oatmeal are all considered 1 ounce equivalents. It's important to get the most nutritional value possible from your food, so your grain choice should all be whole grain. Whole grain is more filling and high in fiber. Fiber is good for digestive health, and is an important ingredient in weight loss.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Vegetables

The food pyramid recommends 2-3 cups daily of raw or cooked vegetables, or vegetable juice. However, when eating green leafy vegetables such as spinach, romaine or endive, two cups count as a one-cup serving. For weight loss purposes, we want to avoid starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. You should focus on eating as many dark green and orange vegetables (like carrots and winter squash) as possible.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Fruits

High in fiber and vitamins, fruits are very important to weight loss - and they can be used in place of more fattening foods for desserts and treats. The food pyramid recommends 1-2 cups of fruit per day. While the USDA says fruit can be fresh, canned, frozen or dried, fresh fruit is the best choice to help lose weight. At all costs, avoid syrupy canned fruit - if you must use canned, make sure that it's packed in water with no added sugar. Dried fruit is good and convenient, but it's easy eat too much of it - a ½ cup serving of dried fruit counts as a 1 cup serving of fresh. Of the 'portion sized' fruits, such as bananas, apples, pears and oranges, 1 medium fruit is generally acceptable as a 1 cup portion.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Milk

The food pyramid says the 3 cups of milk daily are necessary to meet our calcium needs. If you can't consume milk, you should be using a milk-substitute that provides an equivalent amount of calcium. Fat-free dairy products are best for those that want to lose weight. Good choices are skim milk, puddings or ice milk made with skim milk, and fat-free yogurts and cottage cheeses. If you choose to consume milk products which are not fat free, the fat content will add to your 'discretionary calories' which I'll discuss a little more fully at the end.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Meat and Beans

This is a large group, including meat, poultry, fish, dried beans or peas, eggs, nuts and seeds. To lose weight, we must stick with lean and low-fat choices - poultry and fish are best, but lean pork and beef have their place. Avoid red meat - no more than once or twice a week. We get a lot of heart-healthy oils from fish, nuts and seeds, so don't forget to include them in your diet. The food pyramid recommends 5-6 'ounce equivalent' portions - that would be 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup of cooked beans or peas (from dry), one egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or a ½ ounce of nuts or seeds. An easy way to measure serving size - a piece of meat, fish or poultry the size of a regular deck of cards is about 3 ounces.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Fats, Oils and Discretionary Calories

The last section of the food pyramid is fats and oils. Most people receive their daily allotment of fats and oils in the foods they eat. For most of us, it should be equivalent to about 5-6 teaspoons, or 2 tablespoons. Anymore than that goes to what the food pyramid calls 'discretionary calories'. Now, the goal of this weight loss plan is to NOT count calories - so my goal is to not have any discretionary calories. However, if you must add fat (in the form of mayonnaise, butter, salad dressing, cheese etc) in order to lose weight you should keep it under 100 calories a day.

Lose Weight with the Food Pyramid - Adding It All Up

If you stick to the portions recommended by the Food Pyramid, make sure that you pick all healthy options like whole grains, fat-free dairy and lean meat varieties, and maintain discretionary calories under 100 per day, you'll be taking in an average of 1200-1400 calories daily. One problem with diets that count calories feeling of failure when you go over the limit, but with this plan based on the food pyramid, there is no daily calorie limit. Instead, it's the effect over time of eating healthy and low fat that keeps you in a healthy calorie range. When combined with moderate exercise, this allows you to lose weight. (By moderate exercise, I mean ½ hour to 1 hour of walking or other light aerobic exercise 3-5 times a week) And, when weight loss goals are met, you can increase portions - add an extra sandwich, or throw in that ice cream cone! - and find the right balance to help you maintain a healthy weight. That's the best part. This isn't just a weight loss plan, it's a healthy, sensible plan for eating - for the rest of your life.

Source: Inside the Pyramid, MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture