Belly Fat Diet For Dummies
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The starch group incorporates everything from breads to cereal to snack foods and even starchy vegetables. The trickiest part with starches is to know how many servings you should eat each day and what a serving size truly is. Limit your intake of refined starches as much as possible.

[Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/yungshu chao 2007]
Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/yungshu chao 2007
Portion Sizes of Starches
Food Size of a Serving
Breads and Sides
100% whole-grain bread 1 slice
100% whole-grain cereal 1/2 cup
Cooked steel-cut oatmeal 1/2 cup
Cooked whole-grain pasta 1/2 cup
Cooked brown or wild rice 1/3 cup
Cooked whole-grain couscous 1/3 cup
Cooked quinoa 1/2 cup
Whole-grain tortillas One 6-inch tortilla
Whole-grain English muffin Half of a muffin
Whole-grain pita Half of a 6-inch pita
Whole-grain bagel A quarter of a large, deli-size bagel
Whole-grain flour 3 tablespoons
Snack Foods
Air-popped popcorn 3 cups
Whole-grain pretzels 3/4 cup
Whole-grain crackers 6 crackers (or 1 ounce)
Whole-grain baked chips 15 chips
Graham crackers 3 squares
Dark chocolate (equals 1 starch + 1 fat serving) 1 ounce
Starchy Vegetables
Cooked corn 1/2 cup
Corn on the cob 1 medium ear
Cooked beans and lentils 1/2 cup
Cooked peas 1/2 cup
Plantains 1/2 cup
Baked russet potato 3 ounces
Baked sweet potato 3 ounces
Cooked winter squash 1 cup
Refined Starches
White or Italian bread 1 slice
White rice 1/3 cup
White rice cakes 2 large cakes
Cookies (1 starch + 2 fats) One 2-1/4-inch cookie
Ice cream (lowfat) or frozen yogurt (1 starch + 1 fat) 1/2 cup
White flour 3 tablespoons
Sugar, syrup, jelly, or honey 1 tablespoon

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Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, is a nationally recognized nutrition and fitness expert who has contributed to national media outlets such as the CBS Early Show, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, Fitness Magazine, and Prevention Magazine, among others.

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