To lose weight and keep it off, it is important to have a good understanding of some basic nutritional principles. These include the Food Guide Pyramid, which provides a guide to daily food choices and portions, and the Food Label, which provides detailed nutrition and ingredient information. Knowing how to use these tools well will be essential in a number of settings: supermarket shopping, preparing a meal at home, or dining out.
The Food Guide Pyramid and Portion
SizesLet's face it, Americans have lost their sense of what is a normal portion size. With "value sizing", buffet restaurants, and the Texas Steakhouses gaining popularity in our everyday life, our perception of a "regular" portion has grown over the years. For instance, in the 1950s, a typical portion of Coke was a 6-ounce bottle, which provided approximately 75 calories. Gradually the size increased to the 12-ounce can, then the 20-ounce bottle and now the Big Gulp, which is 32 oz and approximately 400 calories, containing five times the original calorie content. Our plates and glasses have gotten so large that a once typical 8-ounce serving of juice or a half-cup of rice seems punitive. However, to maintain a lower weight and have a healthy variety of food, we need to scale back on our portion sizes. The Food Guide Pyramid provides suggestions regarding number of servings and serving sizes by food groups: Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group; the Vegetable Group; the Fruit Group; the Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group; the Meats, Poultry, Fish, Beans, Eggs, and Nuts group; and the Fats, Oils and Sweets Group. Table 1 illustrates the number of servings in a lower calorie, low fat meal plan.
