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Article Series: Weight Loss & Dieting
How Do I Really Lose Weight?
The
New USDA Food Pyramid
We’ve
come a long way since the days of the 4 food groups. Now
the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) has replaced that outdated model with the new
Pyramid.
The colors on the Pyramid and the foods and recommendations
they represent are as follows:
- Orange
is Grains – cereal, crackers, pasta, rice, and whole-grain
bread (recommended daily intake is 3 ounces a day);
- Green
is Vegetables (including
100% vegetable juices) – raw or cooked, canned, dehydrated/dried,
or frozen, whole,
sliced, cubed, chopped, or mashed, vegetables fall into
5 categories:
-
Dark Greens – broccoli, collards, kale, spinach,
watercress, etc.;
- Orange Vegetables – carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn
and butternut squashes, etc.;
- Dry Beans and Peas – chickpeas, black beans, kidneys,
lentils, lima beans, soybeans and soybean products
(ie tofu), split
peas, etc.;
- Starchy Vegetables – potatoes, green peas, corn,
etc;
- Other – artichokes, asparagus, beets, cabbage, celery,
cucumber, eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, onions,
tomatoes, and more;
- Red
is Fruits – variety is best here, choosing from
fresh, canned, dried, and frozen, and staying
light
on fruit juices;
- Green
is Oils – nuts, fish, and vegetable oil sources are best;
butter, shortening, margarine, and
lard
are less desirable;
out of all the food categories in the Pyramid,
eat the least amount of oils, proportionately;
- Blue
is Milk – Calcium alone is such an essential part of a
healthy
diet that calcium sources should
make up just as
much an equal portion of your daily diet as Grains,
Vegetables, and Fruits; choose low-fat and fat-free
products whenever possible;
and if you can’t eat regular milk, cheese, and
yogurt, make sure to find a source of calcium
you can consume;
- Purple
is Meat & Beans – fish, beans,
peas, nuts, seeds, most-recommended; next to Oils, Meat
and Beans comprise the
second-smallest portion of an ideal diet; go
easy on proteins, picking low-fat and lean choices whenever
possible, and varying
cooking methods between baking, broiling, and
grilling, steering clear of frying.
The last part of healthy diet according to the USDA (though
strangely they don’t give it a color on the Pyramid) is Discretionary
Calories. Consider this like the Disposable Income portion
of your home budget. The above-mentioned food choices are the
essentials. But we all need extra calories beyond the essentials
to burn throughout the day in the execution of our various
daily activities.
Recommended
ways to fulfill your daily requirement for Discretionary
Calories is as follows:
- Eat
a greater quantity of foods from any of the aforementioned
categories;
- Choose
foods with more calories, like whole milk and cheese, sugars,
solid fats, sweetened cereals
and yogurt;
- Add
sweeteners and fats to your food, such as salad dressings,
sauces, syrups, and butter;
- Eat
or drink fat-heavy foods, such as sodas, candies, and alcohol.
These sources of Discretionary Calories (the top one notwithstanding)
probably comprise the very list of items you believe you should
cut out of your diet altogether, and to that the USDA says
– just cut down. But if you’re getting a substantial and equivalent
amount of Grains, Vegetables, Fruits, and Calcium, slightly
fewer Proteins, and less Oils still, and if your primary source
of Discretionary Calories remains the top choice (more of the
good stuff), then there can be a place in your daily diet for
what you may consider the “bad” stuff too.
At MyPyramid.gov visitors can use interactive online tools
to assess their dietary and physical activity patterns and
suggest personalized adjustments a person can make to achieve
and maintain their ideal weight. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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