Guidelines for Lunch & Dinner To Lose Weight

t's easy to recognize the importance of following a healthy diet and eating nutritious foods, but understanding the details is more complicated. For people trying to lose weight, planning each meal and snack is important. Maintaining control of what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and how your food is prepared can help keep calorie totals in check and lead to a healthier weight.

THREE BREAD SERVINGS :

Are permitted each day. If you have two for lunch, then you must have only one for dinner and vice versa.
If you have cereal for breakfast (Option 4) you are permitted only two bread servings for the remainder of that day.

1 bread serving =

• 1 slice of bread
• ½ bagel
• 4 soda crackers
• 2 pieces of melba toast
• 2 rice cracker biscuits
• ½ of a 4”x6” matzoh
• ½ Kaiser bun
• 1 small dinner roll

PASTA, RICE AND POTATOES :

Are easily converted into fat, hence they represent a more undesirable food group, during the Intensive Phase of Program.
Therefore, have no more than two selections from this food group per week.
Note that one pasta, rice or potato selection can be substituted for two bread selections on that day, but do not choose these foods more than twice per week.

One serving size =

Pasta: 1 cup cooked with tomato sauce
Rice: 1 cup cooked (boiled, steamed)
Potatoes: 1 whole potato (baked, or boiled).

GENERAL

• No butter or margarine is allowed. If that seems impossible, then spread a thin layer of margarine on bread products if necessary.
• No Juices, Jams or Jellies permitted during the Intensive Phase of Program.
• Do not drink calories. This includes calories from Juices, Sodas, Alcohol and Sugar added to tea, coffee or espresso. Artificial sweeteners are permissible.
• Low fat popcorn - Use air-popped popcorn or find microwave popcorn that contains less than 1.5 gms of fat per 3 cups.

BEVERAGES ALLOWED INCLUDE:

• Water: distilled, filtered, soda water, mineral water, spring water.
• Coffee and Tea: limit to 3 cups per day. Use artificial sweetener if necessary and no milk or cream. (Skim or 1% milk is allowed, but use the least amount possible.) Do not factor coffee or tea into your total fluid intake for the day. Green Tea is a much better choice.
• Diet Sodas: Limit to 2 per day if you consume them.

OILS AND SALAD DRESSINGS

The preferred oils include olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil. Use the least amount possible (i.e., 1 tsp. = 1 serving size) for a stir-fry, to sauté vegetables, in tomato sauces or for salad dressings. Salad dressings should be made from olive oil and choice of vinegar (i.e., balsamic).