Joy Bauer answers your diet questions

After the first week of Take it Off TODAY with Joy's Fit Club, nutritionist Joy Bauer answers several quesitons about getting started on a diet plan, including which cereals are healthiest, how much weight you can expect to lose each week, how to kick a bad dessert habit and  how much coffee and tea you should be drinking.

Question: How many pounds should I expect to lose each week?
Joy's answer: You’ll see a dramatic drop on the scale during the first couple of weeks since you lose water weight along with fat. Sometimes you migh loses as much as 10 pounds, depending upon how much weight you have to lose and how much you were eating before beginning the plan.

However, after the first couple of weeks, your weight loss should level off between 1 and 2 pounds per week. If you’re losing more than that, you should increase the amount of food you’re eating.

Question: How many calories should I be eating?
Joy’s answer: Although, there are fancy calculations that factor in your age, height, gender and activity level, here’s a good ballpark amount: Typically, women lose weight safely and effectively on approximately 1400 calories a day.  Because men tend to be larger and genetically have higher metabolisms, they can effectively lose weight eating between 1800 and 2200 calories per day.

Question: Joy, please help me pick a healthy cereal and bread.
Joy’s answer: Ideally, your bread and breakfast cereal should be whole grain and low-calorie. The best tool for determining whether specific brands provide ample whole grains is to read their labels. Check the food product’s ingredient list and insure one of the first ingredients starts with the word “whole” or “oats.” Phrases without the word “whole,” like stoned wheat, cracked wheat, and enriched wheat flour do NOT guarantee the presence of whole grain.

When choosing cereal, ensure the first ingredient is whole grain, then use my following guideline:

• Per ¾ - 1 cup serving: 120 calories or less6 grams or less sugar 3+ grams fiber.

Some brands I recommend include: Wheaties, Total, Kashi Heart to Heart, Kashi Go Lean, MultiGrain Cheerios, Complete Bran Flakes, Barbara’s Cinnamon Puffins, and Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls.

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