Diet by Food Group
It’s one of the basic things we all learned in grade school – the food group pyramid. However, back then, it was probably one of those things we despised, like bed time. All it was good for was giving mom a reason to spoon more spinach onto our plate. But as adults, this neat little nutritional system can be a huge advantage to our diet. Not only does it clearly spell out what we need in our diets everyday, but if followed properly, it can also help us achieve a successful weight loss plan.

The diet by food group is very easy to follow. This family of diets is based on the idea that you can eat as much as you like of any one food without putting on weight, as long as you don't eat anything else at the same time. Over the course of a day, you eat one kind of food at each meal, so if you eat fruit for breakfast, you must eat eggs at lunchtime, followed by fish in the evening. If you follow it over the course of a week, then every day is dedicated to a different kind of food, such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy, vegetables or fruit. If you choose fish for Monday, for example you must eat it for every meal and nothing else.

It sounds like an off-the-wall the diet fad, but you will feel fuller more quickly if you limit yourself to one food group per meal. While your appetite will gradually diminish for one particular food, it will increase for the others, so you eat less and lose weight without getting bored with your meals. Obviously, this is not one to follow for more than a few days at the most, as it is not the healthiest way of losing weight.

There are pros and cons to this diet just as any other weight loss plan. A pro is that this diet is real weight loss. It will make you lose weight. A lack of variety means your body will become less and less hungry, causing you to eat less. However, there are negative factors to seriously consider. It is far better to follow the diet on a day-to-day basis, as it is a healthier way to lose weight. The large amounts of fruit and vegetables involved lower the risk of developing vitamin deficiencies, but while it looks like a balanced diet, it can lead to malnutrition and ill-health if followed for too long. Therefore, the diet by food group is only recommended to be followed for a short amount of time to lose a small amount of weight.

As with any diet or exercise program, consult with your physician before beginning the diet by food group, especially if you have current health conditions which may interfere with your dieting success.