Cincinnati Diet menus and Special Report

        For the last four weeks, the Enquirer has printed The Cincinnati Diet — a low-fat, well-balanced meal plan developed for us by Jewish Hospital Weight Management Center.

        The point of the meal plan was to help people lose weight, without the expense of joining a diet program and without having to give up their favorite Cincinnati foods.

        Trips to Skyline and LaRosa's were included in the menu plans, as well as popular fast food joints such as Wendy's, McDonald's and Subway.

        Now, you're on your own.

        But we're not dropping you entirely. We're giving you the structure for these meal plans so you can incorporate them into your lifestyle and lose weight in a healthy fashion. Print and save today's menu plan.

        This is only the plan for reaching your goal weight, says Susan Sewell, the Jewish Weight Management Center nutritionist who designed the meal plans for the Cincinnati Diet.

        But if you pay attention, you will learn how to eat nutritiously. The difference between this plan and a maintenance plan is merely a matter of increasing calories, Ms. Sewell says. Once you reach your goal weight, it will take a little arithmetic and monitoring the scales to figure how much you can eat without gaining weight.

        The plan requires plenty of water. Ms. Sewell's recommendation is at least 64 ounces of water daily.

        “I know there's a lot of debate about that right now,” Ms. Sewell says. “I can tell you from our own clinical experience that people who drink that much water do better with weight loss. When they try to substitute it with diet pop, it doesn't work as well.”

        In the meal plans today, you'll notice that we listed the amount of food to eat per meal as opposed to giving a total amount of food for the entire day.

        As you look at this, you may be tempted to merge the food from a meal and a snack together. Or you may want to “save” some of the food from breakfast for your evening meal. On a special occasion, that's fine. But experience shows people who save calories for the end of a day feel overly hungry and are tempted to overeat, Ms. Sewell says. To avoid this problem, we recommend you continue eating three meals per day and at least one snack.

        Some people tell Ms. Sewell that when they lump too much food into two meals — typically lunch and dinner — that they then feel overly hungry when they eat the third meal — typically breakfast. This is your body's way of telling you that you may be out of balance with your eating routine. If your body is accustomed to eating two very large meals, your body is expecting a larger amount of food. When it does not get it, your body's response is hunger. The only way to reset your internal hunger response is to eat three balanced meals along with a snack for one or two weeks. Over time, your body's hunger response will return to normal.
       

THE MENU PLANS

        Two plans are provided: 1,300-a-day calorie menus are for older or sedentary women; 1,800-a-day menus are for men and active younger women.

        Breakfast
        1,300 calories
        2 starch
        1 dairy
        1 fruit
        1,800 calories
        3 starch
        1 dairy
        2 fruit

        Lunch
        1,300 calories
        2 starch
        2 very lean meat
        2 vegetable
        1 fruit
        1 fat
        1,800 calories
        2 starch
        4 very lean meat
        2 vegetable
        2 fruit
        1 fat

        Dinner
        1,300 calories
        2 starch
        3 very lean meat
        2 vegetable
        1 fruit
        1 fat
        1,800 calories
        2 starch
        4 very lean meat
        2 vegetable
        2 fruit
        1 fat
        Snacks
        1 very lean meat plus 1 vegetable
        1 starch
        1 skim milk
        2 fruit

LIMITED EXCHANGE GROUP CHOICES
        The amounts listed below provide one serving from each food group. If the menu plan calls for 4 meats, then choose four ounces of lean meat. All measurements are ready-to-eat. So, for example, 1/3 cup of rice is cooked rice, not measured raw and then cooked.

        Starch
        3/4 cup unsweetened cereal, cold
        1/2 cup bran cereal, hot cereal
        1/3 cup rice, baked beans, black beans, lentils
        1 cup acorn or butternut squash
        1 small (3 ounce) baked potato
        1/2 English muffin, pita bread, small bagel
        1 slice (1 ounce) whole wheat, rye, bread
        6 soda crackers
        3 graham crackers
        1 cup tomato soup, made with water

        Vegetables
        1 cup raw vegetables
        1/2 cup cooked vegetables

        Milk/dairy
        8 ounces skim, 1 percent milk
        8 ounces sugar-free, fat-free yogurt

        Fruit Exchanges
        1/2 cup apple, orange, grapefruit juice
        1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, canned fruit in juice
        1 small apple, banana, orange, kiwi
        1 cup melon
        1 1/4 cup berries

        Meat
        1 ounce very lean beef: sirloin, tenderloin, rump roast, chuck roast
        1 ounce very lean pork: tenderloin, center loin chop
        1 ounce very lean veal: roast, chop
        1 ounce chicken or turkey breast. If using dark meat, remove skin and fat
        1 ounce fish, not fried or canned in oil

        Fat
        1 teaspoon of any oil, including olive, canola, corn or vegetable
        1 teaspoon regular butter or margarine
        1 tablespoon of “light” butter or margarine

        Condiments
        No more than 50 calories daily of any condiment — salad dressing, ketchup, mustard, etc.

        Concentrated foods
        Beans
        1/2 cup lentils, other dried beans equals 1 lean meat and 1 starch
        Cheeses
        1 ounce full-fat cheese (cheddar, Swiss, brick, etc.) equals 1 meat and 2 fats
        1 ounce reduced-fat cheese equals 1 meat and 1 fat
        1 ounce cream cheese equals 1 meat and 2 fats
        1 ounce “light” cream cheese equals 1 meat and 1 fat

RESTAURANT FOODS THAT FIT THE PLAN
        Restaurant - Food - Exchanges
        Subway - Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich - 3 starch; 2.5 meat
        Subway - Club Sandwich - 3 starch; 1.5 meat
        Subway - Super Roast Beef Sandwich - 3 starch; 2.5 meat
        McDonald's - Egg McMuffin - 2 starch, 2 meat, 1/2 fat
        Burger King - Whopper Junior (without mayonnaise) - 2 starch, 2 meat
        Wendy's - Grilled Chicken Sandwich (no mayonnaise) - 2 starch; 3 meat
        LaRosa's - Lite Deluxe Pizza, 2 medium slices - 3 bread; 1 meat; 2 fat
        Skyline Chili - Black beans and rice - 2 bread; 1 meat; 2 fat
        Skyline Chili - Spaghetti (no cheese) - 3 bread; 2 meat; 2 fat

        The Cincinnati Diet plan

KIESEWETTER: Joy of 'Survivor' is the bickering
Classical Music Hall of Fame to induct 12
Music is their medicine
In My Life
Ask A Stupid Question
Get to It
The Cincinnati Diet: Working the meal plan structure into daily life
Exercising outdoors? Brave the cold safely
Stanley revives old-time bluegrass
Moviegoers say 'I Do' to No. 1 'Wedding Planner'
'Attila' epic of worlds at war
'Believer' takes top drama prize at Sundance