The traffic light diet comes from the UK and is ideal for those of us (most of us) who need to see things visually for the information to really sink in.

With the Traffic Light Diet, foods are divided in to three categories and labeled with the colors of a traffic light.

• Red = really bad and to be avoided (chips, butter, etc)
• Yellow = good but require caution (potatoes, chicken, etc)
• Green = great for dieting – eat at least 5 per day (vegetables, fruits, etc)

Seems simple enough, but then why is it so easy to eat too many of the wrong foods and so difficult to lose weight?

The creators of traffic light felt that it was too difficult and time consuming for people to pour through pages of nutritional data. Instead, they created color coded magnetic food tiles.

The tiles aren’t only color coded, but sized according to their calorie count. The largest tiles represent 175-220 calories per portion while the smaller represent approximately 50 calories per portion.

Each day, you can build your menu by mixing and matching the tiles on a magnet board based on each magnet’s color and size.  The visual nature of the menu planning makes it simple to quickly make food choices and build daily menus.

Read more about the Traffic Light Diet here.

We don’t advocate any particular diet. You should always consult a licensed health professional before starting on any diet – particularly those that seem to go against the grain of proper nutrition.Â

Tags: Healthy Eating //