So it’s no longer a pyramid. The USDA recently changed their traditional Food Guide Pyramid to a dinner plate. The model called “MyPlate” is a dinner plate created to better educate consumers about the government’s dietary guidelines.

You may be wondering is the plate right for you and should you follow these recommendations if you want to lose weight?

My thoughts are no. The USDA plate and the suggestions given were reasonable for active Americans who are not overweight.  However, its suggestion for those needing to lose weight was simply to eat less, but it does not suggest what particular items to eat less of. This is not helpful because a dieter may cut everything down and become protein deficient while getting more than enough grains for example. I’ve seen this time and time again at my practice where a patient thinks they are eating a well balanced diet and have in fact cut out an essential nutrient or are not receiving enough protein to allow for healthy weight loss.

Although the new USDA dinner plate model is easier to understand then the old food pyramid and a step in the right direction, it doesn’t take into account people who are overweight which is why we decided to create our own version of “MyPlate”.

A recent obesity report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Foundation shows that adult obesity rates climbed in 16 states last year and didn’t fall in any state. A dozen states have obesity rates of 30% or greater.

The weight loss plate we developed speaks directly to this majority of the American population. We recommend increased servings of vegetables, specifically the non-starchy vegetables. We have relocated grains under the umbrella of fruits or healthy starches. In order to avoid a high intake of carbohydrates, the dieter’s plate should be half vegetables and one-fourth protein. The other one-fourth should be made up of whole grains, fruit or a dairy product or a combination of two or three, in order to not exceed one-fourth of the plate. Our weight loss plate also replaces the serving of dairy with water, as an individual does not need three servings of dairy a day to obtain a nutritionally balanced diet.

The goal of our version of “MyPlate” is to make decisions for dieters as simple and effective as possible.

Caroline J. Cederquist, MD