These foods have been approved for your maintenance diet. Choose from them as closely as possible and limit all others. Calories are shown per serving.
Remember: fitness and proper nutrition are a journey, not a destination.
Approved foods
Proteins
- Egg whites — 2 = 75 cal · 6 = 225 cal
- Chicken, 3–5 oz — 150–275 cal
- Fish, 3–5 oz — 120–200 cal
- Turkey, 2–4 oz — 110–200 cal
- Beef, 3–5 oz — 140–280 cal
- Pork, 3–5 oz — 240–400 cal
- Lamb, 2.5 oz — 244 cal
- Venison, 3.5 oz — 158 cal
Starchy carbs (½ cup)
- Lima beans — 110
- Red beans — 95
- Black-eyed peas — 150
- Corn — 70
- Lentils — 106
- Oatmeal — 120
- Peas — 65
- Popcorn — 25
- White potatoes — 50
- Rice — 90
- Acorn squash — 65
- Butternut squash — 70
- Sweet potatoes — 170
- Tomato — 30
- Cereal — 110
- Pasta — 110
Vegetables (1 cup)
- Asparagus — 22
- Bamboo shoots — 14
- Green beans — 50
- Broccoli — 70
- Brussels sprouts — 70
- Cabbage — 24
- Cauliflower — 45
- Celery — 21
- Cucumbers — 16
- Eggplant — 38
- Greens — 32
- Mushrooms — 21
- Spinach — 40
- Yellow squash — 30
- Zucchini — 30
Fruit
- Apple — 125
- Orange — 90
- Strawberries — 55
- Limit all other fruit choices
Eat little and often
Plan on six small meals a day — 42 meals a week. With that many opportunities, you can enjoy a wide variety of foods and keep your diet fun and easy, never boring.
Dining out intelligently
When you eat out, order wisely and enjoy yourself — then simply resume your maintenance diet at the next meal. Keep in mind that fast food is generally much higher in salt.
Best choices
- Fresh salad or fresh vegetables rather than cooked vegetables
- Vinegar, lemon and oil dressing
- Lean cuts of beef; poultry with fat and skin removed
- Applesauce, mint jelly or cranberry sauce in place of gravy
- Fresh fish rather than frozen, when possible
During acupuncture treatment, Dr. Lin may also give you a specific diet to help your body respond — avoiding anything that might inhibit your progress.
