So you want to lose weight. To do so, you must first visit your doctor to be certain that you do need to lose weight and that a low-calorie diet is appropriate. Then you must adopt the following eating plan. For weight loss to be successful you must increase your level of activity while modifying your eating. Eating 500 calories per day less than your body requires or using 500 calories in increased activity will result in one pound of weight loss per week. Do not begin a "new diet", begin a new style of eating that you can use for the rest of your life. Your family can use the same eating plan whether or not they are trying to lose weight.

This guide is similar to the "Exchange Diet" commonly used by diabetics but is entitled "Exchange Lists for Weight Management". It allows a wide choice of foods and is flexible enough for the whole family to use. As you can see in this plan, foods are divided into six groups and each group contains foods similar in composition. Depending on the calorie level you hope to maintain, you are allowed a specific number of exchanges from each group. If you eat according to this pattern, you will eat from a wide selection of foods. Eating a variety of foods will ensure that your nutrient needs are met.

Table 1 indicates the number of exchanges to eat from each exchange list in order to stay within a specified calorie level. Some will think that this is too much food. However, consuming this amount of food will help satisfy hunger while providing nutrients in a low-calorie intake.

This eating plan allows consumption of most foods and alcoholic beverages. The important thing is not to exceed the exchanges allowed in a day, which includes both meals and snacks. Choose the appropriate calorie level for you based on your activity level, energy needs and present eating habits. For any weight loss plan less than 1200 calories, the supervision of a registered dietitian and physician is essential.

Some foods you may eat will cost you exchanges from more than one group. For instance, if you choose one cup of whole milk, that cup will use one exchange from the milk group and two exchanges from the fats. A biscuit is worth one bread exchange and one fat exchange. Using the foods from the meat group is a little more complicated since there are three sub-groups, divided on the basis of fat content. For each ounce of medium fat meat eaten, it is necessary to use one-half of a fat exchange. For high-fat meats, one fat exchange is used for each ounce in addition to the meat exchange.

Since this is not a diabetic exchange list, some dessert items are listed. They are listed so that you may enjoy a dessert but you must plan to include it within your allowed exchanges. Exchange values also are listed for alcoholic beverages, many prepared foods and common "fast" foods.

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(figure out how many exchanges you need)