Calorie counting and measuring everything you eat can be time-consuming and overwhelming. The Plate Method is a visual tool that simplifies portion sizes by dividing your plate into quadrants. This method can help you quickly build well-balanced and portion-controlled meals—no measuring cups or food scales required.
Our team of Registered Dietitians is available to help you set realistic weight loss goals and learn how to use practical tools, like the Plate Method, to take the guesswork out of what and how much to eat.
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In this article, you’ll learn the basics of using the Plate Method and how it can benefit your overall health and weight loss goals.
What is the Plate Method?
The Plate Method involves imagining a standard-sized dinner plate divided into four equal sections. Each section is filled with a certain food group to create a healthy and filling meal.
The Plate Method is based on USDA’s MyPlate, which is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and replaced the original food guide pyramid. It includes the following food groups: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy.
Like MyPlate, the Plate Method uses food groups to guide meal planning. Here are the basics:
- Half the plate is filled with non-starchy vegetables
- One quarter is filled with a lean protein
- The remaining quarter is filled with a fiber-rich carbohydrate
The Plate Method is easy to understand and can be customized for many types of cuisines and dietary preferences, including heart-healthy, diabetes-friendly, and plant-based diets.
Benefits of Using the Plate Method to Lose Weight?
The main goal of the Plate Method is to increase the intake of nutrient-dense foods. By dividing your plate into sections, you’re also practicing portion control. This method helps you fill up on nutritious foods and consume fewer empty calories and processed foods to support weight loss.
Healthy Meal Planning
Some diets involve preparing and eating the same foods on repeat. A lack of variety can be boring, restrictive, and hard to maintain. Less variety also makes it a challenge to get all the nutrients you need to support good health.
The Plate Method encourages eating an assortment of foods from all food groups. By including vegetables, fiber-rich carbohydrates, and lean proteins on each plate, you’ll automatically be eating nutritious meals.
The Plate Method also helps you simplify meal planning and grocery shopping since you know which foods to include at each meal. Most ingredients and recipes can be incorporated into the Plate Method, however, recipes and portion sizes may need some adjusting.
Blood Sugar Stability
The Plate Method helps you eat more fiber and protein at each meal. These nutrients are slowly digested and help you feel full. Protein and fiber are essential for helping you stay satisfied between meals to reduce constant hunger, snacking, and food cravings.
Protein and fiber are also helpful for stabilizing blood sugar. Because they are digested slowly, protein, fiber, and healthy fats do not cause a rapid spike in blood sugar. Maintaining stable blood sugar helps reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and supports weight management.
Blood sugar spikes, which occur when your blood sugar rapidly rises, trigger your body to release large amounts of insulin to bring your blood sugar back to a normal range. Insulin’s job is to shuttle glucose out of the blood and into cells for immediate use or into fat cells for storage. High levels of insulin can make you feel hungry more often.
It can be extremely difficult to lose weight when your blood sugar and insulin levels are high. The Plate Method can help you avoid blood sugar spikes and stabilize insulin levels to prevent weight gain and manage appetite.
Improved Body Health and Immunity
The Plate Method focuses on increasing the intake of nutritious whole foods. Nutrient-dense foods promote full-body wellness, enhance energy levels, support immune system function, and can help lower your risk of chronic health problems.
Guidelines for the Perfect Plate Method to Lose Weight
Here are the basics for getting started with the Plate Method:
Half of Plate: Non-Starchy Vegetables
Fill half of your plate with raw or cooked vegetables. Vegetables are low in calories and good sources of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Try to include multiple colors, including green, red, orange, yellow, purple, and white. Non-starchy vegetables include asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, leafy greens, and squash.
One-Fourth of Plate: Lean Protein, Lean Meat
Fill one-fourth of your plate with lean protein. A typical protein portion is 3 to 4 ounces, about the size of your palm.
Depending on your preferences, you can include animal proteins, such as skinless poultry, eggs, and fish, and plant-based protein, such as beans, lentils, and tofu.
One-Fourth of Plate: Fiber-Rich Carbohydrates
The final quarter of your plate should be filled with high-quality, fiber-rich carbohydrates. Good choices include whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, or pasta made from 100% whole-wheat flour. Fresh fruit or a starchy vegetable, such as peas and sweet potatoes, can also be placed in this section of your plate.
A Bit of Healthy Fat
The Plate Method doesn’t include a space for fat, but you should still include a bit of healthy fat with each meal. Examples are unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, and nut butter. You can sauté or roast your food in healthy oils, use olive oil for salad dressing, or add nuts and seeds to a salad.
Healthy fats help you feel satisfied, but they’re high in calories, so you should only consume a small amount. Our registered dietitians can help you determine how much fat to include with each meal.
Add 3 Servings of Dairy Foods or Calcium-Rich Alternatives
Most people don’t consume enough calcium, so the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and USDA’s MyPlate recommend adding a serving of dairy products to each meal. Reduced-fat milk, plain yogurt, low-fat cheese, and cottage cheese are excellent sources of calcium and protein.
If you don’t eat dairy, include other calcium-rich foods such as fortified soymilk, tofu, broccoli, canned fish, or almonds.
Eat Fruit 1-3 Times Per Day
This method doesn’t specifically include fruit, but as mentioned above, you can include fruit as your fiber-rich carbohydrate. Like vegetables, fruit is a good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. If you don’t like pairing fruit with meals, fresh fruit makes an excellent snack or dessert that’s naturally free from added sugar.
Can You Lose Weight Just By Portion Control?
Portion control is an important part of weight loss. Large portions are associated with eating more calories than you need, while smaller portions can help you maintain a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit means you’re eating fewer calories than your body uses, which promotes weight loss. The Plate Method is an easy way to practice portion control using the sections of your plate.
Healthy daily habits, like portion control and exercise, are the key to successfully losing weight and keeping it off. The Plate Method is an easy way to build nutritious, well-balanced meals to support health and weight loss. Our registered dietitians can help you master the Plate Method to create life-long healthy eating habits and meet your body weight goals.