Easy Meal Planning: It really is Simple
Use the food guide pyramid and the table below for easy meal planning.
The table provides you with a basic idea of how many servings to eat from each of the food groups, depending on what your calorie allotment is for the day.
The simplest way to determine how many calories you need is to add a 0 to the end of your current body weight.
For example, if you are 150 pounds, you add a 0 and get 1500 calories. That would be what your body requires to maintain your weight.
This is not taking into consideration any physical activities. If you are engaging in physical activity, such as weight training or aerobic activity then you would require an additional 200 - 500 calories. Add that to your 1500 calories and you can consume 1700 - 2000 calories.
Now to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. If you workout 3 or more times per week, you can lose weight by following 1500 calories or less. This is because you are burning calories during your workout.
Calculate your calories and use the chart below to determine how many servings to eat daily from each of the food groups.
Serving sizes for each group vary. The best way to figure out serving sizes is to use the Food Guide Pyramid as a guide. Now that's easy meal planning.
|
Daily
Servings
|
||||||
|
Calories
|
Milk
|
Vegetable
|
Fruit
|
Starch
|
Protein
|
Fat
|
|
1200
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
1400
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
4
|
5
|
|
1500
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
6
|
4
|
6
|
|
1800
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
|
2000
|
2
|
3
|
7
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
|
2200
|
2
|
4
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
9
|
|
2400
|
2
|
4
|
10
|
10
|
6
|
10
|
Easy Meal Planning Table
| Food Group |
What's a Servings
|
Notes
|
| Milk |
1 cup skim milk 8 oz yogurt 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk 1/3 cup dry nonfat milk 1 1/2 oz cheese |
Choose nonfat or skim. (2% milk counts as 1 fat, whole milk counts as 1 1/2 fat in addition to 1 milk serving) (for medium fat cheese count as 1 fat and for high fat cheese count as 2 fats in addition to 1 milk serving) |
| Vegetables | 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked | Vegetables are the lowest calorie foods. If you still feel hungry during a meal increase the serving size of your vegetables. Don't add oil or high calorie salad dressings. Try foods like: celery, cabbage, green onion, hot peppers, cucumber, mushroom, radishes, zucchini, lettuce, spinach |
| Fruit |
1 medium piece of fruit 1/2 cup fresh fruit 1/4 dried fruit |
Eat whole fruits rather than juices. Whole fruit has fiber and helps your feel full so you won't overeat. |
| Starches and grains |
1/2 cup cereal, grain, or pasta 1 slice/1 oz bread 1/3 cup dried beans |
Read labels on packaged products for the correct serving size. For example: Items such as biscuit, corn bread, muffins, pancakes, taco shells will also count as 1 fat serving. |
| Protein | 1 oz meat such as turkey, chicken, red meat, fish | Choose lean meats, such as skinless chicken breast, water packed tuna, lean cuts of red meat, and fish. Bake, broil, grill, or roast meat. Don't fry meats. This doubles and sometimes triples the calories due to the higher fat content. |
| Fat |
1 tsp butter, margarine, oil 1/8 avocado 1 slice bacon 10 small olives 5 large olives Nuts and seeds (serving size varies) |
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