When trying to lose weight, you need to make sure you follow a healthy, balanced diet so you can meet all of your nutrient needs. The exchange diet system is designed to help you control portions while eating a variety of foods from each of the food groups to help you meet those needs. Consult with your doctor before starting any weight loss plan.
Purpose
To lose weight, you need to decrease your daily calorie intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day. How many calories you need to eat each day depends on your sex, age, weight, height and activity level. A 1,600-calorie exchange diet can help most men and women who weigh more than 165 lbs. or exercise every day lose weight. If you do not lose weight on a 1,600-calorie exchange diet, you may need to decrease your calorie intake. If you lose more than 2 lbs. a week on a 1,600-calorie exchange diet, you need to increase your calorie intake. Your doctor can help you determine the right calories for you.
The Exchanges
The exchange diet divides foods into familiar groups, including starches, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat and meat substitutes and fat. Foods within each group contain about the same amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat per serving, so you can exchange food items within each group when meal planning. On your 1,600-calorie diet plan, you eat a certain number of servings, or exchanges, from each food group each day.
1,600-calorie Diet Exchanges
On the 1,600-calorie diet, you can have eight starch exchanges, six meat or meat substitute exchanges, four vegetable exchanges, three fruit exchanges, two milk exchanges and three fat exchanges. One starch exchange equals one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta. One meat exchange equals 1 oz. of meat or one egg. Make most of your meat choices lean to save calories; examples are skinless poultry and fish. One vegetable exchange equals 1/2 cup of cooked or 1 cup of raw vegetables. One fruit exchange equals one small piece of fruit or 1/2 cup of unsweetened canned fruit. One milk exchange equals 1 cup of milk or 3/4 cup of yogurt. Choose low-fat or nonfat milk choices for better calorie control. One fat exchange equals 1 tsp. of margarine or 1 1/2 tsp. of peanut butter.
1,600-calorie Exchange Diet Meal Plan
For hunger control, divide your food exchanges as equally as possible among three meals and one snack. Your breakfast should include two servings of starch, one serving of meat, one serving of fruit, one serving of milk and one serving of fat. For lunch, you should have three servings of starch, two servings of meat, two servings of vegetables, one serving of fruit and one serving of fat. Your dinner should include two servings of starch, three servings of meat, two servings of vegetables and one serving of fat. Your snack can be one serving of starch, one serving of fruit and one serving of milk.
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