What is Balanced Eating?

Balanced Eating is eating an equal number of blocks of protein, carbohydrates, and fats in a given meal. This balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, given in terms of blocks, is roughly equivalent to getting 40% of your calories from carbs, 30% of your calories from protein, and 30% of your calories from fat from your meal (so-called 40-30-30 balanced eating).

What is a Block?

7 grams of proteins equals 1 block of protein.
9 grams of carbohydrates equals 1 block of carbohydrates.
3 grams of fats equals 1 block of fat.

1 block of protein, and
1 block of carbohydrates, and
1 block of fat equals 1 Block Meal of your meal.

To balance a meal, start with the amount of protein grams on the food package label. Divide the total number of protein grams by 7. This gives you the number of "Protein Blocks." Find the number of carbohydrates grams, subtract the dietary fiber, and divide the total number of carbohydrate grams by 9. This gives you the number of "Carbohydrate Blocks." Then find the number of fat grams; divide the total number of fat grams by 3. This gives you the number of "Fat Blocks."

Add or subtract food grams to make the meal balance. (Protein Blocks, Carbohydrate Blocks, and Fat Blocks should be the same number of blocks.) It doesn't have to be exactly equal it just needs to be close.

Most people don’t eat enough fiber each day, increasing their risk of colon cancer and heart disease. By adding strawberries grapes, mandarin oranges, etc in your salad, or as a dessert, not only are you eating lighter you are also consuming a little more fiber each day.

Example: 3 Block Meal
A 3 Block meal =: 3 Blocks of Protein, 3 Blocks of Carbohydrates, and 3 Blocks of Fat.

If you start with a recipe that has 3 blocks of protein (21 grams), 2 blocks of carbohydrates (18 grams), and 3 blocks of fat (9 grams), you should add 1 block of carbohydrates (5 to 9 grams) to make it 3 blocks.

Below is an example of one of the 3 block meals in this book. After eating this 3-block meal, you would still have 9 blocks for the rest of the day. As you can see, this meal is not exactly 3 blocks of PCF's, but it is close enough.

		P	C	F
1	Egg, Whole	6.0	0	5.0
1	Egg White	4.0	0	0
2 slice	Wheat Bread, light	4.0	14.0	0.5
3 slices	Honey Ham, 97% lean	5.0	1.0	0.7
2 T	Salsa	0	3.0	0
4 oz.	Orange Juice	0.8	13.0	0
1 t	Butter	0	0	3.6
	Total grams	19.8	31.0	9.8
	Total blocks	2.8	3.4	3.2