The "Food Exchange System" will be used by our class and is
recommended for its healthy eating guidelines. It
was developed several years ago by
the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association.
** Members should always follow the nutritional advice of their personal physician.
When using "The Exchange System", we are told to eat so many servings (or exchanges) from
the various food groups in a given day (similar to what we see in the well know food pyramid which
is taught in the schools in health class). It's the stuff we've been taught our whole lives -- meats, milks,
breads, fruit, vegetables and fats. Then, based on how many servings we're allowed from each
group, we can "exchange" foods in the foodgroup with any other from the same
foodgroup.. as long as what we substitute is an equal number of exchanges.
The exchanges are grouped together in the various foodgroups because they have similar
amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats, and therefore similar calorie counts. If you
use this system you won't have to bother counting calories -- rather just eat the appropriate
amount of exchanges/servings from each foodgroup each day!
So -- we have to determine the following:
1) How many exchanges are allowed from the various groups?
2) What exactly makes up a single exchange?
3) How can I calculate the number of exchanges I'm eating?
4) What about journaling?
How Many Exchanges Are Allowed In Each Foodgroup?
1st, you have to figure out how many calories you're allowed in a day based on your gender & current weight.
The following tables can be used to estimate a calorie level for healthy weight loss
| Recommended Calorie Ranges for Women
|
| Age: Weight:
| 100-119
| 120-139
| 140-159
| 160-179
| 180+
|
| 20-39
| 1400
| 1400
| 1500
| 1600
| 1600
|
| 40-59
| 1200
| 1400
| 1400
| 1500
| 1500
|
| 60+
| 1200
| 1200
| 1400
| 1400
| 1400
|
Note: To maintain weight, add 300-500 calories to the numbers shown
NOTE FOR TEENS: USDA guidelines for age 14-18 moderately active females to "maintain" healthy weight is 2000
calories. For teens wanting to "lose" weight, please start no lower than the 1800 calorie range.
Look here at Table 3 near the bottom for USDA recommended calories levels to MAINTAIN weight:
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter2.htm
| Recommended Calorie Ranges for Men
|
| Age: Weight:
| 140-159
| 160-179
| 180-199
| 200-219
| 220+
|
| 20-39
| 1800
| 1800
| 2000
| 2200
| 2400
|
| 40-59
| 1600
| 1800
| 1800
| 2000
| 2200
|
| 60+
| 1500
| 1600
| 1800
| 1800
| 2000
|
Note: To maintain weight, add 400-600 calories
2nd, based on how many calories you're allowed, determine how many exchanges that translates into using
the following table:
| Daily Exchange Plan
|
| Calories
| Meat
| Bread/Starch
| Vegetable
| Fruit
| Milk
| Fat
|
| 1200
| 4-5
| 5-6
| 3
| 2-3
| 2-3
| 3-4
|
| 1400
| 5-6
| 6-7
| 3-4
| 3-4
| 2-3
| 3-4
|
| 1500
| 5-6
| 7-8
| 3-4
| 3-4
| 2-3
| 3-4
|
| 1600
| 6-7
| 8-9
| 3-4
| 3-4
| 2-3
| 3-4
|
| 1800
| 6-7
| 10-11
| 3-4
| 3-4
| 2-3
| 4-5
|
| 2000
| 6-7
| 11-12
| 4-5
| 4-5
| 2-3
| 5-6
|
| 2200
| 7-8
| 12-13
| 4-5
| 4-5
| 2-3
| 6-7
|
| 2400
| 8-9
| 13-14
| 4-5
| 4-5
| 2-3
| 7-8
|
| 2600
| 9-10
| 14-15
| 5
| 5
| 2-3
| 7-8
|
| 2800
| 9-10
| 15-16
| 5
| 5
| 2-3
| 9-10
|
Note: The food exchanges break down to ~ 50-55% carbs, 15-20% protein and 25-30% fat
What's In An Exchange
OK, I know how many exchanges I'm allowed to have; but what exactly constitutes an
"exchange" of meat, vegetables, or etc? The following chart shows the nutrients that
are in a single exchange from the various foodgroups.
| Food Groups:
| Calories
| Fat
| Carbs
| Protein
|
Meat (M)
Lean
Medium Fat (add .5F)
High Fat (add 1F)
|
55
75
100
|
3
5
8
|
0
0
0
|
7
7
7
|
| Bread (B)
| 80
| 0
| 15
| 3
|
| Vegetable (V)
| 25
| 0
| 5
| 2
|
| Fruit (Fr)
| 60
| 0
| 15
| 0
|
Milk (Mi)
Fat Free
Very Low Fat, 1% (add .5F)
Low Fat, 2% (add 1F)
Whole (add 2F)
|
90
105
120
150
|
0
3
5
8
|
12
12
12
12
|
8
8
8
8
|
| Fat (F)
| 45
| 5
| 0
| 0
|
That's too hard (you might say)! I agree... Sometimes we don't know or care how many
grams of carbs, protein or fat is in a given food. In that case, we can use "guidelines"
by looking at examples of exchanges in the given foodgroups..
To see examples of "an exchange" in the various foodgroups, look in the table above, and click
on the foodgroups which are in bold/blue print - or you can click on a foodgroup here:
meat,
bread,
vegetable,
fruit,
milk,
fat.
How To Calculate & Track Your Exchanges?
So, now you know how many exchanges you're allowed, the nutrients in a given exchange,
and some examples of a single exchange from the various foodgroups. Given this, calculating
the number of exchanges you're eating is easy "AS LONG AS" you're eating simple foods
where a single item is from a single foodgroup (ie, just a piece of meat, just a vegetable, etc).
But what if we're eating a frozen dinner, or a recipe for a casserole with many ingredients?
Luckily, those frozen dinners and "many" recipes give the nutrient contents; so we can use the
table above which shows What's In An Exchange" to figure out
how many exchanges are in the meal or recipe.
To make calculating exchanges based on nutrients easier, there is a spreadsheet
you can use. We'll call it "The Exchange Calculator" and it's available at
ExchCalc.xls.
(Please open and "save as" to your own harddrive & use from there).
Journaling!
In order to make sure you're staying within your exchange guidelines for a given day/week,
you'll need to plan & journal (at least for awhile until you get used to how much is within your
guidelines).
To help with your menu planning and grocery shopping, you can print the "Weekly Menu Planner
and Shopping List" here: MenuPlanner.xls
A weekly commitment report that you can complete online (for recording what you actually ate along with
your other First Place Commitments) is here:
FoodJournal.xls
or if you'd prefer to print/write your foods: CR.xls
On the online FoodJournal; for each meal, record what you ate, and figure out the exchanges and put the numbers
in the appropriate columns beside each food. The total number of exchanges will be calculated for you
and added to the totals on the right-most column on the form. The totals will also tell you if you are
under or over your goals.
As indicated on the journal, don't forget your bible study, exercise, and encouraging others each day!!
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