I’m not a fan of balanced diets, because the bet is you’ll be way too hungry to consistently stay on a balanced diet and lose weight. But for those of you who insist on following a balanced diet, my balanced diet uses servings, not calories. A protein serving is 8 ounces of any dead animal. A vegetable serving is 1 cup of any vegetable, except peas, potatoes or corn. A fruit serving is 1 piece of fresh fruit (apple, orange, banana, peach, nectarine, plum, etc.) or 1 cup of any other fruit (melon, berries, grapes, etc.) no dried fruit. Eat 2 or 3 meals a day. Each meal consists of 1 protein, 1 vegetable and 1 fruit. Good for about 3 pounds a week.