Lose Weight and Eat Well With the 100 Calorie Diet's Nutrition Made Easy by:Susie Trimble

Did you know that with a little help from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)

, nutrition is actually very simple? The 100 Calorie Diet breaks it down for you in an easy to understand format. Let's take a look.

For optimal health and nutrition, the UDSA recommends you have the following each day:

Dairy

Women3 Servings

Men3 Servings

The dairy group includes milk, yogurt and cheeses. Generally your serving would equal 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of yogurt, 1 1/2 oz. of natural cheese, 2 oz. of processed cheese, 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese or 2 cups of cottage cheese.

Grains

Women6 Servings

Men8 Servings

Grain products are foods made from wheat, oats, rice, cornmeal or grains. The grain group includes bread, rice, pasta, grits, oatmeal and cereals. Each serving would generally equal 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta, 1/2 cup cooked cereal, 1 small tortilla, 1 small biscuit, 1 small muffin, 1 small pancake, 1 small waffle, 3 cups popped popcorn, 7 crackers, 1/4 of a large bagel, 1/2 of an English muffin or 1 small piece of cornbread.

Vegetables

Women3 Servings

Men3 Servings

The 100 Calorie Food Counter lists all your vegetables. Each serving equals 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup vegetable juice or 2 cups of raw leafy greens.

Fruit

Women2 Servings

Men2 Servings

The 100 Calorie Food Counter lists all your fruits. Generally, a serving equals 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of fruit juice or 1/2 cup dried fruit.

Oil

Women6 Servings

Men6 Servings

Oil is an important part of nutrition. In this category are oils, margarine, mayonnaise, fat based salad dressings, nut butters, nuts, seeds and avocado. Make sure to have oils from a natural source like fish, nuts and vegetables. Limit oils containing saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Generally, each serving equals 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon margarine, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon fat based salad dressings, 1 teaspoon of nut butter, 1/3 oz. nuts, 1/3 oz. seeds or 1/6 of a medium avocado.

Protein

Women6 Servings

Men7 Servings

The protein group includes beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, beans, peas, eggs, nuts, seeds and nut butters. Make sure to choose lean cuts of meat and poultry. Each serving equals 1 oz. of beef, 1 oz. of pork, 1 oz. of lamb, 1 oz. of poultry, 1 oz. of fish, 1 egg, 1/2 oz. of nuts, 1/2 oz. of seeds, 1 tablespoon of nut butter, 1/4 cup cooked beans, 1/2 cup bean soup, 1/2 cup of pea soup, 1/2 cup of tofu, 2 tablespoons hummus, 1 oz. of tempeh or 1/2 of a soy or bean burger.

That's all there is to it! The 100 Calorie Diet has a secret weapon to help you keep track of your nutrition - The 100 Calorie Food Journal which has a Nutrition Made Easy section with check off boxes for all these food categories. As you eat from a food group, you simple check off a box. At the end of the day, you can easily see how healthy you've eaten that day by how many boxes are checked off. Let's all eat healthy The 100 Calorie Way!

Make sure to eat a variety of foods everyday. When was the last time you ate the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits? They are so very important for you. Eat the colors of the rainbow; red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue. Yummm. Think juicy red apples, yellow squash, pink grapefruits, green beans, purple eggplants, delicious orange oranges and vine ripe blue blueberries. You can use The 100 Calorie Food Counter to show the amount of all these foods you can have for about 100 calories. Learn to live the 100 calorie lifestlye!

About the author

Susie Trimble and her sister, Tammy Trimble, developed and co-wrote The 100 Calorie Diet and Food Counter for people who love to eat. It's easy! Eat anything you want in 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500+ and still lose weight. Start living the 100 calorie lifestyle at http://The100CalorieDiet.com

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