The Trim Down Plan

Most people, including athletes, who are overweight have too much fat in their diet. Overweight people also tend to eat at the wrong times, often late at night when there isn't sufficient time to convert calories to energy.

The ideal eating frequency for this plan is three meals a day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner with an afternoon snack. Although you always have the freedom to shift portions around among the meals, eating one less grain serving at breakfast and making up for it at lunch, for example, the number of servings should remain something like shown in the table below.

The Trim Down Plan (1,800 calories)

*Food Group*	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Meats/ Protein	1	2	1	3
Grains	3	3	1	3
Fresh Fruit	1	1	0	1
Vegatables	0	1	1	2
Dairy	1	0	1	0
Fats	1	0	0	1

A Sample Menu

Breakfast

1 poached egg
1 slice whole-wheat toast, one teaspoon margarine
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 grapefruit or one whole orange
1 cup nonfat or 1% milk

Lunch

2 ounces water-packed tuna
2 slices whole-grain bread
1 tablespoon nonfat mayonnaise
Onion, pickle, relish, celery, lettuce, and tomato, as desired
6 whole-grain crackers

Snack

1/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 carrot
6 oat crackers
1 cup nonfat of 1% milk

Dinner

3 ounces baked chicken or turkey, skin removed
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 corn on the cob
1 whole-grain roll with 1 teaspoon margarine
1 fruit Iced tea or other low cal beverage

You can substitute one food for another within any of the food groups. You can review the Six Food Groups to refresh your mind about the various foods in each group.

Copyright 2003 by CHAP, Inc.. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of material found on this domain is unlawful and shall result in immediate prosecution. Neither CHAP, Inc. or its affiliates shall be held responsible for any personal injury or other unfortunate occurences resulting from actions described on this domain.