Successful, healthy, long-term weight loss and healthy eating plan must provide all essential nutrients and adequate intake, and promote health well-being, that’s why Exchange lists system is one of the most excellent approaches for planning healthy diets and weight loss programs, providing control over caloric intake and good balance of all nutrient needs.
This is your guide to know what exchange lists are. And how can you use them to lose weight.
What are exchange list?
Exchange lists represent foods sorted by their energy content (i.e.: quantitative approach) established by the ADA (American Dietetic Association) ; that facilitates control on caloric intake of food.
Each list has foods with specific portions sizes*, which are approximately equal in their carbohydrates, protein, fat and caloric content. Nevertheless, paying attention to portions might be a good idea; usually portion size dose not equal the serving size that you can see on fact table of food products.
Foods grouped in the same list can be exchanged with each other, but not with foods from other lists. For example you can substitute a slice of bread with 1/3 cup of cooked rice since they are on the same starch list, but you should not substitute a slice of bread with a cup of milk, because they are on different lists as you will see explained below.
How can you use them to lose weight?
First: you need to know your daily caloric needs, depending on your goal of weight loss, if you haven’t already calculated it, go to how to use Fitnessyard calculators or to build your sustainable and durable weight loss plan for guidance.
Second: set the number of exchanges you consume every day from each list, and their portions size, in a way that the sum of their calories equals your daily caloric goal.
You can use the next table as guidance, it contains number of plans with specific calories and corresponding number of exchanges of each list, they fall into the range of recommended RDA* percentages of carbohydrates (45-65%), protein (10-30%) and fat (20-35%) suggested by USDA.
*Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily dietary intake of a nutrient that is sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all (97-98%) healthy individuals.
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Number of exchanges from each list depending on daily caloric intake
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Food list
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1200 Cal
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1400 Cal
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1600 Cal
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1800 Cal
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2000 Cal
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2200 Cal
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2400 Cal
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Starch exchanges
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5
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6
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6
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7
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8
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9
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9
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Fruit exchanges
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3
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4
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4
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5
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5 ½
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6
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7
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Non-starchy vegetables exchanges
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3
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3
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4
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5
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5
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5
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6
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Milk exchanges (low and reduced fat)
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2 ½
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2 ½
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3
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3
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3
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3
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3
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Meat exchanges
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5
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5
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6
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6
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5 ½
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7
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7
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Fat exchanges
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3
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4
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5
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6
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6
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6
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7 ½
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Put plan into action:
Now distribute your exchanges throughout the day in a way that fits your life schedule.
For every exchange you eat, substrate it from your number of exchanges., for example: if you are has 3 milk exchanges for the day, and had a cup of milk on breakfast, that leaves you with two exchanges for the rest of the day, and so on.
The following lists can help you get started, introducing each exchange list and a number of the most common foods along with their portion sizes.
*Full exchange lists are available on: http://dtc.ucsf.edu/pdfs/FoodLists.pdf
Use Nutrition Plan Builder to build your own food menus, adhering to your number of exchanges.
How to estimate exchange sizes?
Having a kitchen balance, a graduated cup and measuring spoons could be helpful in accurate measuring of foods, but occasionally it is impractical to use, so here are some easy ways to estimate portion sizes of foods.
1) Starch list
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Every 1 starch choice has
15 g of carbohydrates, 0-3 g of protein, 0-1 g fat , 80 Calories
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Common starch foods
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Food
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Portion size
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breads
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Bread; white or whole
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I slice (1 oz. ≈ 30g)
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Pita bread (about 15 cm across)
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1/2
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Bagel, large (about 12 cm across, 115 g)
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¼ (1 oz. ≈ 30g)
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Pancake (about 10 cm cross)
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1
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Roll, plain, small
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1 (1 oz. ≈30g)
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Cereals and grains
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Rice, barley, millet, pasta, cooked
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1/3 cup
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Oat, dry
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¼ cup
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Tabbouleh, prepared
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½ cup
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Cereals (corn flakes) :
-Unsweetened, ready to eat
- sugar-coated, bran, cooked (oats, oatmeal)
-puffed
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- ¾ cup
-½ cup
-1 ½ cup
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Starchy vegetables
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Corn
Corn on cob, large
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-½ cup
-½ cup (5 oz.≈140 g)
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Potato:
-Baked with skin
-Boiled all kinds
-French fried (oven-backed)
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-¼ large (3 oz.≈90 g)
-½ cup (3 oz.≈90 g)
-1 cup (2 oz.≈60 g)
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Yam, sweet potato, plain
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½ cup
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Peas, green
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½ cup
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Crackers and snacks
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Pretzels
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¾ oz. ≈25 g
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Popcorn:
-no fat added, or lower fat
-with butter (count as 1starch +1fat)
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-3 cups
-3 cups
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Oyster crackers
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20
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Graham crackers (4cm*4 cm)
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3
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Snack chips:
-fat-free or backed (tortilla, potato), backed pita chips
-regular (tortilla, potato) (count as 1starch +1fat)
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¾ oz. ≈25 g
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Beans, peas, lentils
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Backed beans
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1/3 cup
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beans, lentils, peas cooked (all kinds)
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½ cup
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2) Fruit list
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Every 1 fruit choice has
15 g of carbohydrates, 0 g of protein, 0 g fat , 60 Calories
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Common fruit items
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Food
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Portion size
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Apple, banana, mango, nectarine, pears, kiwi
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Small size (130g ≈about 4-5 ounces)
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Apricots
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4 whole (150g ≈5 ½ oz.)
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Cherries
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12 (90 g ≈3 oz.)
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Dates
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3 medium
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Figs
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2 medium, or 1 ½ large
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Fruit cocktail
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½ cup
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Grapes, small
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17 (90 g ≈3 oz.)
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Grapefruit, large
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½ (11 oz.≈310 g)
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Plums
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2 small
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Peaches:
-fresh
-canned
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1 medium (6 oz. ≈170g)
½ cup
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Pineapple:
-canned
-fresh
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-½
-¾
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Strawberries
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1 ¼ cup whole berries
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Dried fruit
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Blue berries, raisins, mixed fruit, cranberries
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2 table spoons
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Apricots
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8 halves
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Figs
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1 ½
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Fruit juice
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Unsweetened apple, pineapple, grapefruit, orange juice
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½ cup
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grape juice, prune juice, fruit juice blends (100% juice)
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1/3 cup
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3) Vegetables (non-starchy)
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Every 1 cup of raw vegetable
Or ½ cup of cooked vegetables or
Or ½ 100% vegetable juice choice has
5 g of carbohydrates, 2 g of protein, 0 g fat, 25 Calories
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Common non-starchy vegetable items
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Artichoke
Asparagus
Baby corn
Green beans
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Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
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Cauliflower
Cucumber
Eggplant
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Green onions
Turnip
Mixed vegetables (without corn, peas, or pasta)
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Onions
Spinach
Tomatoes (canned, sauce or juice)
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4) Milk list
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Every Fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk choice (good choice) has
12 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of protein, 0-3 g fat, 100 Calories
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Every reduced-fat(2%) milk choice (good choice) has
12 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of protein, 5 g fat, 120 Calories
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Every whole milk choice has
12 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of protein, 8 g fat, 160 Calories
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Common milk items
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Food
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Portion size
Illustration
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Milk, butter milk
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1 cup
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Yogurt plain
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2/3 cup
-1 cup if whole
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5) Meat and meat substitutes list
Meat foods are categorized according to their fat and caloric content into:
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1 choice of lean meat has (good choice)
0 g carbohydrates , 7 g protein , 0-3 g fat, 45 calories
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Common foods
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Food
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Potion size
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Cheeses (0-3 g fat per 30 g)
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Beef, ground, steak, roast, tenderloin, (very lean cuts)
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Fish (any kind)
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Salmon, canned
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Tuna, canned in water or oil, drained
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Veal, lean chop, roast
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Lamb: ground, rib roast
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Organ meats: heart, kidney, liver(high cholesterol)
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Poultry, skinless
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Processed sandwich meats, with 0-3 g fat per 30 g,
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Sausage, 0-3 g of fat per 30 g
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30 g ≈ about 1 oz.
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Hot dog, with 0-3 g fat per 30 g
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1
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Egg whites
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2
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1 choice of medium-fat meat has
0 g carbohydrates , 7 g protein , 4-7 g fat, 75 calories
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Common foods
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Food
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Portion size
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-Cheeses 4-7 g fat per 30 g)
-Mozzarella
-Feta cheese
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30 g
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-Beef: ground, meatloaf, short ribs, (medium fat cuts)
-Fish, fried
-Poultry, with skin, fried
-Sausage, 4-7 grams of fat per 30 g
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30 g
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Egg (whole egg)
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1
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1 choice of high-fat meat has
0 g carbohydrates , 7 g protein , 8 or more g fat, 100 calories
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Common foods
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Food
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Portion size
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Cheeses (regular), cheddar, Swiss
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30 g
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Hot dog
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1
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-Sausage or hot dog with 8 or more g of fat per 30 g
-Processed meats with 8 or more g fat per 30 g: bologna, pastrami, hard salami
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30 g
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1 choice of plant-based protein has
variable g of carbohydrates, 7 g protein, Variable g of fat, Variable calories
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Common foods
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Food
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Portion size
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Count as
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Baked beans
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1/3 cup
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1 starch + 1 lean meat
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Falafel (spiced chickpea and
wheat patties)
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3 patties ( about 6 cm across)
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1 carbohydrate + 1 high-fat meat
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Hummus
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1/3 cup
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1 carbohydrate +1 high-fat meat
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Peanut butter
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1 Table spoon
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1 high-fat meat
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Refried beans, canned
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1/2 cup
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1 starch +1 lean meat
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6) Fats list
Fat items can be categorized according to their content of mono, polyunsaturated, and saturated fats:
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1 choice of fat list has
0 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 5 g fat, 45 calorie
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Common foods
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Food
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Portion size
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Monounsaturated fats
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Avocado
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2 table spoons (30 g)
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Nuts:
Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Mixed (50% peanuts)
Peanuts
Pistachios
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6 nuts
6 nuts
5 nuts
6 nuts
10 nuts
16 nuts
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Oils: olive oil
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1 teaspoon
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Olives:
Black
Green
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8 large
10 large
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Polyunsaturated
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Margarine, reduced fat
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1 Table spoon
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Margarine
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1 teaspoon
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Mayonnaise, regular
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1 teaspoon
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Mayonnaise-style salad dressing, regular
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2 teaspoons
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Nuts:
Pine nuts
Walnuts
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1 Table spoon
4 halves
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Oils: corn, sunflower, soybean
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1 teaspoon
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Salad dressing:
Regular
Reduced-fat
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1 table spoon
2 table spoons
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Seeds: sunflower, sesame, pumpkin
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1 teaspoon
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Tahini
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2 teaspoons
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Unsaturated (limit use)
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butter
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1 teaspoon
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Cream:
Heavy
Light
Half and half
Whipped
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1 table spoon
1 1/2 table spoon
2 table spoons
2 table spoons
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Oil: palm oil
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1 teaspoon
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Shortening, solid
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1 teaspoon
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Sour cream, regular
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2 table spoons
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One tablespoon = 3 teaspoons of sugar has 60 calories
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