I’ve told you what kinds of foods to eat, but I’ve given it to you in a range. For example, it’s recommended that you eat 6-11 servings of the grain group each day. “Well,” you may say, “there’s a big difference between eating 6 pieces of bread and 11! Which is it?” To figure out just how much is right for you, ask yourself a couple of questions: How big are you? (Are you a 6′ 4″ 250-pound man or a 4′ 10″ 85-pound teenage girl?) How active are you? (Do you spend your days training for the Olympic gymnastic trials, or do you sit at a computer most of the day?) How different is the Fat Blocker Eating Program from the way you’re used to eating? (Is this going to be a big change, or do you normally eat like this?) How quickly do you want to lose weight? (Would you rather get it off in a hurry or take the slow-but-sure course?)

Finally, how big is your appetite? (Do you regularly gobble up anything that isn’t moving, or is your appetite more restrained?)

In general, smaller, less active people with normal appetites should eat the lower number of recommended servings, while larger, more active people who are used to eating a lot should go for the larger number of servings. If you’re particularly hungry one day, eat the larger number of servings; if your appetite is low, eat the smaller number.

The faster you want to lose weight, the fewer servings you should eat, but do not eat fewer than the lowest number of recommended servings. Eating less means cheating your body of much needed nutrients and can actually slow your metabolism. That’s because your body thinks it has entered a starvation state. Panicked, it shifts into low gear to conserve its energy and begins to burn calories much more slowly. Then, once you start to eat more (which is bound to happen), you’ll find that your body has gotten very good at making body fat. It’s still conserving every single calorie that it can, even though the starvation state may be long past. So keep eating—you’ll be thinner (and healthier) in the long run.

Variety Is Vital!
You should never use just one type of food for all of your servings from a food group (for example, 6 pieces of bread). The greater the variety of foods, the better your chances of getting all the vitamins, minerals, and other good things that your body needs. And the choices are practically limitless! In the grain group alone you can choose from wheat, rye, rice, barley, oats, wild rice, corn, or millet, among others. And these grains can take the form of bread, crackers, tortillas, pita bread, chapatis, and a host of different kinds of pasta. Experiment a little—it makes life more interesting!

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