The One Half Plate Diet

Losing weight and keeping it off is difficult, hence the wide variety of diets people try. Some of these diets are more effective and healthier than others. The one half plate diet is one of the better options to try since it can help you to reduce calories while eating more healthy vegetables.

Features

The one half plate diet focuses on serving sizes. First, you fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli. Then, you divide the remainder of your plate in half again and use one of these halves for your starchy vegetables or grains and the other for your protein. Finally, you add a glass of low-fat or skim milk and a piece of fruit to round out your meal. If you don't drink milk, you can use a serving of yogurt, or another small serving of carbohydrates in place of the milk.

Effectiveness

People who participated in a 2008 Pennsylvania State University study on the effectiveness of the half plate diet ate fewer calories and consumed more vegetables without feeling hungry when half of their plates were filled with non-starchy vegetables compared to plates with smaller portions of vegetables and larger portions of meats and grains. Another study, published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" in 2007, used commercially available portion-control plates and found that people with type 2 diabetes who used these plates lost more weight and had better blood sugar control than those who received only the standard dietary teaching.

Benefits

Using the half plate diet helps you to limit your portions of higher calorie foods such as grains and meats, while increasing the amount of lower-calorie vegetables you eat. Since these vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, this may also help to reduce your risk for certain health conditions, including some types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Considerations

Since most people do not eat a lot of vegetables for breakfast, what goes in the different sections is a bit different at breakfast. Use smaller portions, and make half of the plate starchy foods or grains and fill the smaller sections with fruit and protein, suggests the American Diabetes Association.

For people who eat a lot of one dish meals, it may be harder to follow this diet. However, if you are cooking for yourself, you can choose recipes that contain about half vegetables, a quarter grains and a quarter protein to get the same effect.