The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy (A DASH Diet Book) (7 page)

Serving Sizes for the DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution

Typical serving sizes for the DASH diet are listed below. Larger men will need larger portion sizes of the protein-rich foods. Note: Serving sizes for a variety of foods (even those that you should strictly limit) are included in this list. It is not a list of

recommended foods, just a relatively representative listing of serving sizes.

Grains, Starches, and Sugars

1 slice bread, ¼ bagel, ½ English muffin or hamburger or hot dog bun

½ cup cooked pasta, cereal (oatmeal, grits, wheat), corn, or potatoes

cup rice

1 ounce dry cereal (80–100 calories)

2 cups popcorn

2 small cookies

Fruits

4 ounces juice, or a small to medium fruit

¼ cup dried fruit

½ cup canned fruit

1 cup diced raw fruit

Vegetables

½ cup cooked vegetables

1 cup leafy greens

6 ounces vegetable juice

Dairy

8 ounces milk or 8 ounces yogurt

1 ounce cheese

½ cup cottage cheese

Beans, Nuts, Seeds

¼ cup beans

¼ cup nuts

¼ cup seeds

Cooked Lean Meat, Fish, Poultry, Eggs

3 ounces is about the size of the palm of a woman’s hand

4 ounces is about the size of a woman’s palm and thumb

5 ounces is about the size of a man’s palm

1 egg = 1 ounce, 2 egg whites = 1 ounce

Fats, Fatty Sauces

1 tablespoon salad dressing

1 teaspoon butter, oil

Phase Two Eating

Meal plans for Phase Two and beyond are included in
Chapter 6,
but I have added some meal suggestions below to help you in planning your new lifestyle. You can mix or

match meals and snacks. However, avoid overdoing the grains (maximum of 3 servings

per day), and be sure to get at least 3 servings of fruit, 5 servings of vegetables, and 2–3

servings of dairy per day.

Breakfasts

Protein-Rich Break fasts

Eggs or egg substitutes (may use some cheese 1–2 days)

1–2 slices Canadian bacon or ham (both are considered lean meats) or soy

alternatives

4 ounces of juice, if desired

Milk or yogurt

If you don’t like eggs, the lunchtime roll-ups make great breakfast meals.

Cereal Break fasts

Whole grain cereal (less than 5 grams sugar per serving). A serving is 1 ounce by

weight (½ cup of cooked oatmeal) and should be less than 100 calories. Watch out

for serving sizes on cereal!

Milk, yogurt, or hot chocolate made with skim milk, cocoa powder, and sugar

substitute

4 ounces of juice

Fruit for sweetening the cereal

Midmorning Snacks

Have 1–2 of the following (include some protein):

Low-fat cheese, such as The Laughing Cow Light Wedges, Mini Babybel Light, light

string cheese, or light cottage cheese (4-ounce size)

Veggies, including celery, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, sliced peppers, grape or

cherry tomatoes

4–6 ounces yogurt, unsweetened or artificially sweetened

1 serving fruit

Nuts–¼ cup or less, which is about 20 nuts. (If having nuts and cheese, limit to 10

nuts.)

Lunches

Salad with lots of types of veggies topped with a good protein source, with dressing, without croutons, occasionally with regular cheese, preferably with light cheese,
or
Egg salad, egg white salad, chicken salad, and/or tuna salad,
or

Roll-ups made with low-fat cheese and ham, turkey, or lean roast beef

And some of the following:

Veggies and/or side salad with dressing

1 serving of fruit

4–6 ounces yogurt (unsweetened or artificially sweetened) or 8 ounces milk

10–20 nuts

Sugar-free Jell-O

Midafternoon Snacks (and add a before-dinner snack, if desired)

Same as the morning snacks. Additional choices include:

Pepper strips dipped in ¼ cup guacamole, hummus, or salad dressing

10 peanuts in the shell (20 individual peanuts)

Dinners

Lean meat, fish, or poultry

Nonstarchy veggies (top with reduced-fat cheese if desired)

Salad with dressing

Milk, if desired

If you are craving pasta, have pasta sauce (meaty or with beans–you want the protein) on top of veggies. Top with cheese, and brown under the broiler in an ovenproof dish.

Or use spaghetti squash as your pasta replacement. You can follow our recipe for Meaty Sauce over Spaghetti Squash.*

Make a “pizza” with pizza sauce and ground beef, no crust, top with veggies and

reduced-fat mozzarella, and bake until the cheese is melted. See the recipe for No Crust Pizza.*

Desserts Could Include

Sugar-free Jell-O

1 serving of fruit

Frozen bars with less than 100 calories, and no added sugar. (Example: Healthy

Choice Fudge Bars.) Avoid higher-fat and higher-calorie desserts.

Dining Out Meals

Breakfasts

Eggs, omelets, oatmeal or other whole grain cereal (watch out for grain portion sizes, limit cereals to 1 serving, which is ½ cup cooked cereals)

Some bacon or lean breakfast meat is okay

1 serving of fruit and/or tomatoes

4 ounces juice

8 ounces milk or 4–6 ounces unsweetened yogurt

Hint
: Instead of toast or potatoes, have fruit and/or veggies.

Lunches

Salads topped with a good protein source

Burger or grilled chicken without the bun, and with side vegetables and/or salad or

coleslaw

Skim milk or yogurt, if available

Hint
: Almost every fast-food restaurant, supermarket, or convenience store has great salads now.

Dinners

Lean meat, fish, or poultry

Side vegetables. In Italian restaurants, ask if they will substitute veggies for pasta.

Side salad with dressing

Small amount of dessert, if it is really, really good, and only if you are still hungry

Hit the Grocery Store to Stock Up On…

Egg Beaters or other egg substitutes, with or without vegetables

Eggs

Individually packaged light cheeses such as: The Laughing Cow Light Wedges, Mini

Babybel Light, light string cheese, light cottage cheese (4-ounce size), and Kraft 2%

singles

Sugar-free Jell-O

Skim milk

Nonfat yogurt with little or no sugar. Less than 120 calories for 8 ounces, or 100

calories for 6 ounces. You can also find six-packs of 4-ounce sizes (less than 60

calories) for snacks.

Lean meats, fish, and poultry, or beans and soy foods for vegetarian meals. Lean

meats include 90% or 95% lean ground beef, ground turkey with only white meat

(no fat or skin), beef or pork tenderloin, beef or pork loin chops, sirloin, New York strip steaks, all round cuts, chuck cuts. Select is the leanest grade of beef.

Sliced light cheese and lean deli meats

Bagged fresh cut-up veggies, such as lettuce, carrots, broccoli, broccoli slaw, and

cabbage slaw

Frozen veggies; frozen fruits, if you like them

Unsweetened applesauce

Great fresh fruits

Olive oil and/or canola oil. Salad dressings containing these oils, if possible.

Egg salad, tuna salad, and chicken salad

Salad bar for cut-up fresh fruits and veggies, such as peppers, cucumbers, radishes,

celery, and more, for salads and snacks

Nuts in the shell. Choose nuts that are not addictive for you. Shelling nuts slows you down, to help you avoid overeating them.

Guacamole and/or hummus

Avoid foods that are high in saturated fats or that don’t taste good.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Take your lunches and snacks to work if you can’t find the right foods in your

cafeteria or at the restaurants you frequent. Either stock your minifridge at the office or bring an insulated bag with all the right foods.

Make sure you keep all the right foods on hand.

Do not skip meals or afternoon snacks.

Plan what you will eat for each meal and snack, each day.

Plan what you will eat
before
you go to a restaurant.

Don’t fill up your diet with synthetic low-carb foods. Focus on healthy, real foods.

Remember your goal. Then plan to succeed.

Overview of Phase Two Diet Patterns

The following table will help you understand the food group patterns for the DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution, Phase Two.

Phase Two Food Group Servings Per Day

Smaller

Moderate

Larger

appetite

appetite

appetite

Nonstarchy vegetables

Unlimited

Dairy

2–3

2–3

3–4

Nuts, beans, seeds

1–2

1–3

2–4

Lean meat, fish, poultry,

5–6 ounces

6–8 ounces

8–11 ounces

eggs

Fats

1–2

2–3

3–4

Whole Grains

2–3

2–3

2–4

Fruit

2–3

2–4

3–5

Refined grains, sweets

Rarely, 2–3 times per week

You have created a foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating. You have learned to fill your plate with lots of colorful vegetables; you are choosing lean meats, fish, and poultry and other low-fat protein-rich foods; and you have added low-fat dairy to your regimen.

Fruits, yogurt, veggies, and nuts make great snacks. What a great start to a plan that will improve your health, help you reach and maintain your weight goal, and be easy to

follow!

Meeting the Challenges

How I met the challenges from Phase One: _____ _____ ____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______

Challenges expected with the complete DASH plan: _____ _____ _____

_____ ______ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____ ____

_____ ______ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____ ____

How I will overcome these challenges: _____ ____ ____

_____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

CHAPTER 6

Your Plate Overflows! An Abundance of DASH Diet Menus for Weight

Loss

New menus! And more choices! We bring back fruit, milk, whole wheat bread and

cereals, not to mention, additional dessert ideas. However, you will still be avoiding starchy, refined foods and foods with added sugars.

You will have more choices for beverages, including lattes, milk, and hot chocolate.

Other than these dairy-containing drinks and juices, we have not specified any other

beverages so you are free to choose any that you like, continuing to avoid sugar. Go easy on reintroducing alcohol, since it can reduce your resolve regarding the diet plan.

And again, you can mix or match meals and snacks. Just try to avoid going over 3

servings of whole grains per day, and make sure you get 2–3 servings of dairy, at least 3

servings of fruit, and 5 servings of vegetables.

You can continue to have virtually unlimited sugar-free Jell-O. And another favorite

treat is a Healthy Choice Premium Fudge Bar. These have no added sugar, are very low

in fat, and less than 100 calories, but you would never know that they were anything but real ice cream.

Our use of brand names does not imply any endorsement of these brands. They are

used just because they are easily identifiable. Any similar foods with approximately the same calories and nutritional profile will be great as well.

Day 1

Breakfast

cup Wheaties (1 ounce by weight)

8 ounces skim milk

4–6 ounces strawberries or raspberries

Midmorning Snack (Optional)

1–2 The Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges

Grape tomatoes

Lunch

2–3 turkey and Swiss roll-ups

Baby carrots

Small plum

Midafternoon Snack

6 ounces blueberry light yogurt

10 cashews

Before-Dinner Snack (Optional)

10 peanuts in the shell (20 individual peanuts)

Dinner

Pan-seared tilapia. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook about 4 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Before

finishing, place about 1 pat of butter or margarine in the pan, and allow the melted

butter to coat all the pieces. (To serve four, choose four 4-ounce tilapia filets.)

Mango-Melon Sals
a*

Fresh asparagus

Strawberry Jell-O cup, sugar-free

Day 2

Breakfast

Hot chocolate. To 8 ounces skim milk, add 1 heaping teaspoon unsweetened cocoa