Nutritional advice

I am no expert nor am I a certified nutritionist so take what i say about diet....I mean about food however you will. I am just giving you my advice and experience when it comes to food and weight lose. I will not give you a solid diet plan, that should be your choosing. Not everything one does will work for everyone. What I have read about so far as food is concerned I tend to kind of go my own path and make it simply ME. I don't like to use the words diet, or dieting. If you think back on all those countless times you say to yourself "I need to do on a diet" do you actually:

•  Procrastinate and say "I will start next Monday" and then when Monday comes you dread it and then put your diet off for another day.
•  You start a diet then fail shortly after
• You pay a ton of money for one of those FAD DIETS like Atkins, weight watchers, etc..... only to find that when you stop eating there food......guess what? you gain weight back or you went on a binge because the food is so plain and nasty.

Fad diets don't work. First look at there food. It is frozen, or blatantly lacking in any real flavor. The food is processed....HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! We are supposed to stay away from processed foods. Doesn't that like contradict every nutrition/diet rule?

For example I had a friend that spent 2,000 for this program (I wont mention names...but you know who you are) that consisted of an eating and exercise regimen and included a plan for maintenance. Now she used to come to work with these boxes of what I would like to call CRAP IN A WRAP. They were desert bars/ protein bars or meal replacement bars as they are often called. She dreaded eating those. She would have to eat one at certain times of the day. Then she had to purchase there pre-made dinners in a box. She did good for about a month but then fell of the wagon. She totaly gave up on the plan that she paid 2,000 for. I could have bought some nice work out equipment with that money

I tried to warn her before she did it....but alas my voice was not heard.

Now lets get to some basics of cleaning up our diets. Now before you go and throw everything away from your cabinets like the snack cakes, chips, soda pop etc... lets talk about control. If we can control what we put in our mouths we can control how much of it we shovel in there. PORTION PORTION PORTION CONTROL....need I say more.

Now don't think that you will lose the flab by just eating half Twinkies throughout the day. You do need to clean up the junk and overhaul your eating habits, just don't go to extremes ONLY if you have the will power to go vegan or to completely eliminate any type of sweets, fried foods and all the good stuff from your life. Most people do not have that will power that's why I am taking a more realistic approach to this. Yes I cleaned up my bad habits but one things for sure I have a major sweet tooth and craving for non other then CHOCOLATE. So to curb my sweet desires I only indulge once a week and eat what I want but I do not go into overdrive and totally crash myself. I portion control my sweets and anything else I have a craving for and sometimes it may happen 2xs a week but it is just a small portion.

Now we all know we need our fruits and veggies. I love fruits and veggies and have found a way to incorporate them in much tastier food like Viet food because most viet food contains a lot of veggies. Now if you are someone who can't stand veggies you can either drink V8 juice or experiment with different cooking styles. A lot of ethnic foods incorporate a healthy balance of meat, starch and veggies. Just do some online searching and explore the world of food. If you notice most eastern countries do not have a major problem with obesity as Americans do and on a plus side there food is very aromatic with herbs and spices depending on the culture of course.

and last but not least CALORIES....
If you are like me you hate counting calories. Who really has the time to count how many calories we consume each day? I know in order to burn fat we must have a calorie deficit in place. I just reduce my portions and make healthier food choices. I don't eat the 6 meals a day plan I just don't have time. I would rather eat the normal 3 meals a day and a occasional snack between depending on my mood or if I am hungry. This is why I hate the word DIET. So many restrictions, so many rules to live by. That is why most people fail. We restrict ourselves so much our bodies just can't take it then we crash and burn.

Now to break it down in a nut shell:

• Portion control is a key factor
• Eating more home cooked foods with lot's of veggies
• Cut out Soda Pop and replace with water. Water is going to be your best friend. If you are not a water drinker just buy some crystal light packets to add to your water for flavor.
• Reduce Reduce Reduce the amount of starch in your diets. Portion control is a factor here or just reduce the intake of potatoes, breads, pasta to a minimum of a couple times a week.
• I would completely cut out fried foods and just bake, broil or steam your meat. If you can't then choose to use a better frying oil like canola, olive, peanut or coconut oils.
• Get your protein in. We need the protein to build muscle and the more muscle we have the more fats we can burn. All meat sources has protein some more then others. Nuts, seeds, veggies and fruits all contain protein.
• STOP EATING FAST FOOD. If you have to, go for more healthy options and replace the fries with a nice side salad and don't forget the water.
• Eat your fair share of fruit instead of the box of little debs, or that big slice of cake.
• Reduce the amount of salt we consume. Do not eliminate it because our bodies actually need a certain amount of sodium in our diets.
• Reduce how many cups of coffee you consume in a day. If you think about when we add sugar and cream or whatever flavoring you like, coffemate, international delight etc we are just consuming empty calories, and adding that much more sugar in our diets. Sure coffee is a great dietary aid if only consumed once a day or if you drink it black. 
• Do not use sugar substitutes. They are bad. Just reduce your sugar intake or switch to brown/ organic sugar because you can use less and it is more healthy then white sugar. Honey is another great natural and organic way to sweeten tea, coffee or anything else that needs some added sweetness.
• Drink a lot Water. I can not say this enough WATER WATER WATER. keeps you hydrated, helps with your skin and to lose weight. 
• Practice healthy snaking on your NOT CHEAT days. Eating fruit, nuts, or even unsalted popcorn is a great way to curb in between meal snacking.
• Never skip out on breakfast. That is the most important meal. I love to eat oatmeal in the morning because it keeps me full until lunch time rolls around. 

I think that cover's the most of it. My advice is this do not get frustrated if you fail in your new found eating habits. Doing a complete makeover in the kitchen is going to take time, willpower, and above all forgiveness. You have to forgive yourself in you indulge and then pick yourself back up again and do it again, but this time you learn from it. You have to find your niche of what will work for you! Everyone's bodies are different, our minds our different, way's of life etc.....What might work for some may not work for others. When you do decide to change the way you eat don't look at it as a diet but distinctively a life change. You are remodeling yourself into the person you dream of and all dreams can come true if you just believe in yourself.  

Some helpful links to food and there health benefits and I also encourage you to do your own research on foods and there health benefits.

http://www.nowloss.com/Weight_Loss_foods.htm

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/high-protein-diet-weight-loss

http://www.everydayhealth.com/water-health/water-body-health.aspx

http://naturalfoodbenefits.com/