Good news dieters! You can whatever you like and still lose weight. How could this be true? The secret lies in serving sizes. As http://www.alfitness.com.au shows, losing weight is a determined by “energy in” versus “energy out”- this is a well established fact. If you are eating energy rich foods (chocolate, energy drinks, etc.), then for a given amount of exercise, you must eat less of that food to have the same energy intake.

Does it surprise you that French people are quite thin even though they constantly seem be eating rich foods and drinking lots of wine? Well the answer lies in how much of those rich foods they are eating! Because the food is so tasty (meaning you chew it more), their serving sizes are much smaller and they still feel satisfied. So you too can do the same!

However, it is important that you need to maintain a good cross section of foods to ensure you are getting the correct nutrients. The Institute of Medicine released dietary recommendations in 2002 that provide a broader range of values for carbohydrate, fat and protein to meet your nutritional needs. The recommendations for adults are:
Your calorie intake (energy) should be roughly:
40%-65% from carbohydrates
20%-35% from fat
10%-35% from protein

To ensure that you get the above cross section, if you follow the following serving sizes daily, you will meet your requirements and be on your way to losing weight in a healthy way!
1. Carbohydrates: 6 – 8 serves
2. Protein: 4 – 6 serves
3. Fats: 1 serve
4. Dairy: 2 - 3 serves
5. Fruit: 2 serves
6. Vegetables: 5 serves
7. Water: 6 serves

The next question is then, what constitutes a serving of each food group? The best way to get a feel for this is to look at various examples that constitute a serving.