The goal of the calorie-counting diet is to stay within a target number of calories each day. It works well for some people. But most dietitians advise a more individualized eating plan.
This diet can help you manage your weight and blood sugar levels. If you are overweight, lowering the number of calories you eat will help you lose weight. This will also lower your risk of health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. If you are underweight, then raising the number of calories you eat will help you gain weight.
Foods are broken into groups. You can have a certain number of daily servings from each group. This results in a balanced diet. It also makes it easier to keep track of calories.
A balanced diet has a range of foods from each of the main food groups: grains, fruits, veggies, milk, meat and beans, and oils. Based on your calorie needs, a dietitian can help you find out how many servings you can have from each of the groups. Depending on your situation, you may also be given some calories that you can use for foods not in these main groups, such as sweets, desserts, and certain drinks. Alcohol, if allowed by your doctor, should be limited to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
This table shows the main food groups and the calories per serving for foods in them. You should work with a dietitian to find out how many servings of each group you can have per day.
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Bagel (varies), 4 ounces |
¼ of a bagel (1 ounce) |
|
Bread (white, pumpernickel, whole wheat, rye) |
1 slice |
|
Bread, reduced calorie or “lite” |
2 slices |
|
Broth-based soup |
1 cup |
|
Cooked beans, peas, or corn |
½ cup |
|
Cooked cereal |
½ cup |
|
Crackers |
4-6 |
|
English muffin, hot dog bun, or hamburger bun |
½ |
|
Muffin, 5 ounces |
1/5 (1 ounce) |
|
Pasta, rice |
1/3 cup |
|
Popcorn, air popped, no fat added |
3 cups |
|
Potato |
1 small (3 ounces) |
|
Pretzels |
¾ ounce |
|
Sweet potato or yam |
½ cup |
|
Tortilla |
1 small |
|
Unsweetened, dry cereal |
¾ cup |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Cooked veggies |
½ cup |
|
Raw veggies |
1 cup |
|
Tomato or veggie juice |
½ cup |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Canned fruit |
½ cup |
|
Dried fruit |
¼ cup |
|
Fresh fruit |
1 small or 1 cup (for example, cut up or berries) |
|
Fruit juice |
½ cup |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
90 calories per serving |
|
|
Nonfat or low-fat milk |
1 cup |
|
Plain, nonfat yogurt |
¾ cup |
|
Nonfat or low-fat soy milk |
1 cup |
|
120 calories per serving |
|
|
2% milk |
1 cup |
|
Soy milk |
1 cup |
|
Yogurt, plain, low-fat |
¾ cup |
|
150 calories per serving |
|
|
Whole milk |
1 cup |
|
Yogurt, plain (made from whole milk) |
¾ cup |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Very lean |
|
|
Egg substitutes, plain |
¼ cup |
|
Egg whites |
2 |
|
Fish: fresh or frozen cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, trout, tuna |
1 ounce |
|
Nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese |
¼ cup |
|
Poultry: chicken or turkey, white meat, no skin |
1 ounce |
|
Shellfish |
1 ounce |
|
Lean |
|
|
Beef: round, sirloin, flank, tenderloin, roast, steak, ground round (trimmed of fat) |
1 ounce |
|
Fish: herring, salmon, catfish, tuna (canned in oil, drained) |
1 ounce |
|
Parmesan cheese |
2 tablespoons |
|
Pork: lean pork, such as fresh ham, Canadian bacon, tenderloin, center loin chop |
1 ounce |
|
Poultry: chicken or turkey (dark meat, no skin); chicken (white meat with skin) |
1 ounce |
|
Tofu, light |
½ cup or 4 ounces |
|
Veal: lean chop, roast |
1 ounce |
|
Medium-fat |
|
|
Beef: most beef products (ground beef, meatloaf, corned beef, short ribs, prime rib) |
1 ounce |
|
Cheese with 5 grams or less of fat per ounce: feta, mozzarella |
1 ounce, (Ricotta 2 ounces) |
|
Egg |
1 |
|
Lamb: rib roast, ground |
1 ounce |
|
Pork: top loin, chop, cutlet |
1 ounce |
|
Poultry: chicken (dark meat with skin), ground turkey or ground chicken, fried chicken (with skin) |
1 ounce |
|
Sausage with 5 g or less of fat per ounce |
1 ounce |
|
Tofu |
½ cup or 4 ounces |
|
High-fat |
|
|
Cheeses: all regular cheese (for example, American, cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss) |
1 ounce |
|
Hot dog (beef, pork, or mix) *count as 1 high-fat meat plus 1 fat exchange |
1 ounce |
|
Peanut butter |
1 tablespoon |
|
Pork: spareribs, ground pork, pork sausage |
1 ounce |
|
Processed sandwich meats: bologna, salami |
1 ounce |
|
Sausage (for example, Italian, bratwurst) |
1 ounce |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Monounsaturated |
|
|
Avocado |
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) |
|
Oil (canola, olive, peanut) |
1 teaspoon |
|
Olives |
9-10 large |
|
Peanut butter |
2 teaspoons |
|
Tahini paste |
2 teaspoons |
|
Polyunsaturated |
|
|
Margarine |
1 teaspoon |
|
Mayo, regular |
1 teaspoon |
|
Mayo, low-fat |
1 tablespoon |
|
Salad dressing, regular |
1 tablespoon |
|
Saturated |
|
|
Bacon, cooked |
1 slice |
|
Butter, stick |
1 teaspoon |
|
Coconut, sweetened, shredded |
2 tablespoons |
|
Cream cheese, reduced fat |
1½ tablespoons |
|
Cream cheese, regular |
1 tablespoon |
|
Cream, half and half |
2 tablespoons |
|
Shortening or lard |
1 teaspoon |
|
Sour cream, reduced fat |
3 tablespoons |
|
Sour cream, regular |
2 tablespoons |
|
Type |
Serving Size |
|
Angel food cake, unfrosted |
1/12 cake (2 ounces) |
|
Brownie, small, unfrosted |
2 inch square (about 1 ounce) |
|
Cake, frosted |
2 inch square (about 2 ounces) |
|
Doughnut, plain |
1 medium (1½ ounce) |
|
Gingersnaps |
3 |
|
Honey |
1 tablespoon |
|
Ice cream |
½ cup |
|
Ice cream, low-fat |
½ cup |
|
Milk, chocolate, whole |
1 cup |
|
Pudding, sugar-free (made with low-fat milk) |
½ cup |
|
Sports drink |
8 ounces |
|
Sugar |
1 tablespoon |
|
Syrup, regular |
1 tablespoon |
|
Yogurt, frozen, low-fat |
1/3 cup |
|
Type |
One Serving |
|
Bouillon, broth, or consommé |
— |
|
Candy, hard, sugar free |
1 candy |
|
Carbonated or mineral water |
— |
|
Coffee |
— |
|
Cream cheese, fat-free |
1 tablespoon |
|
Creamers, nondairy |
1 tablespoon |
|
Diet soft drinks, sugar-free |
— |
|
Drink mixes, sugar-free |
— |
|
Garlic |
— |
|
Gelatin dessert, sugar-free |
— |
|
Herbs, fresh or dried |
— |
|
Horseradish |
— |
|
Jam or jelly, light |
2 teaspoons |
|
Ketchup |
1 tablespoon |
|
Lemon or lime juice |
— |
|
Margarine spread, fat-free |
4 tablespoons |
|
Mayo, fat-free |
1 tablespoon |
|
Mustard |
— |
|
Nonstick cooking spray |
— |
|
Pickles, dill |
1½ large |
|
Salad dressing, fat-free or low-fat |
1 tablespoon |
|
Salsa |
¼ cup |
|
Soy sauce |
— |
|
Spices |
— |
|
Tabasco or hot pepper sauce |
— |
|
Tea |
— |
|
Vinegar |
— |
|
Whipped topping, light or fat-free |
2 tablespoons |
|
Wine, used in cooking |
— |
|
Worcestershire sauce |
— |
If your goal is to lose weight, then lowering your calories is the key to success, not avoiding one food.
Follow these tips:
American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org
Eat Right—Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
http://www.eatright.org
Canada’s Food Guide
https://www.canada.ca
Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca
Diets for weight loss. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/management/diets-for-weight-loss. Accessed February 4, 2021.
Just enough for you: about food portions. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/just-enough-food-portions. Accessed February 4, 2021.
Last reviewed December 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Dianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN Last Updated: 2/4/2021
