1. Always eat breakfast. I never used to eat breakfast, I learned I need to eat breakfast. If I don't I will inevitably binge for lunch or my morning snack. I'm also more alert when I eat breakfast and tend better manage my eating throughout the day.
2. Eat every 3-4 hours. No it's not because I think my metabolism is going to come to a screeching hault or my muscles are going to deteriorate like you may have read from other sources. For me eating every 3-4 hours stabilizes my blood sugar and prevents me from binging. When I get to the point of binging this means higher calories and less nutrient dense food for my body. I'm also much happier if I eat often. I suffer from issues of HANGER
3. Pack my food. After I eat breakfast I always pack up my 2 snacks and lunch for the day. This way I always have food with me and there is no excuse to stop and get fast food or something from the gas station.
4. Eat whole foods. This means I eat foods with short ingredient lists and mainly items that are found on the perimeter of the grocery store. This keeps me from eating a lot of processed items that add calories and ingredients to my body that I don't need
5. Eat fat! I do not buy anything low fat or no fat. Out bodies need fat! If I ate a salad for lunch with fat free cheese, fat free dressing I would finish eating and still be hungry. The key is to eat healthy fats. Now don't get me wrong I get some fast form Ben and Jerry every now and again too :)
6. Read labels. It takes me forever to grocery shop because I am scouring the labels of the food to see what's in it.Just because it says "natural" "healthy" does not always mean it is. If one of the first 4 ingredient is sugar I typically put it back on the shelf (unless I'm buying sugar!) because the more sugar the more added calories I don't need.
7. Never feel bad. I never feel bad about what I eaten. Even if I've just gone to happy hour and had 3 ciders and a bunch of apps I don't get down about it. Obviously the food I just consumed was not nutrient dense and probably had more than my caloric intake should be for the entire day but it's OK. It's all about balance. If I ate like that every day for every meal that would be a problem. Choosing to go out and eat like that occasionally is OK in my book.
8. Calories matter! I don't count calories every day but when I am super focused on losing weight I do. Even if you eat fruits and veggies all day long if you eat too many calories worth of those items you will not lose weight. The good news: you would have to eat A LOT of bananas and lettuce to gain weight. More nutrient dense foods (AKA healthier foods like fruits, veggies, healthy fats) fill you up and fuel your body better than a candy bar. A mini candy bar and an egg have the same amount of calories, so I could eat either but the egg is going to satisfy my bodies needs better. And you can typically eat a larger portion of fruits and veggies and still stay low on the calories, while healthy fats are higher in calories don't skip them! So how to you figure out how many calories you should have in a day? I like freedieting.com to calculate my calories. I use My Fitness Pal to track cals, but the calculation they give me for my calories is way too low in my opinion! The key is to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.
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| Low calorie fruits and veggies NOT low calorie crackers! |
9. Eat a protein, carb (fruit of veggie!) and a fat at every meal and snack. This goes back to my issues with blood sugar. If I eat this way I am more satisfied and feel full until my next meal or snack. Dietician Cassie explains it best "Eat a combination of the three macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates o rPFC!) every three hours (four hours MAX!) to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Balanced blood sugars contribute to consistent energy levels, focus, stable moods and no cravings. They are essential for weight loss and maintenance because glucagon (your fat BURNING hormone) cannot get to work if insulin (your fat STORING hormone) is at work. Insulin helps to regulate your blood sugar levels, so if you’re not doing this by eating balanced meals and snacks, it makes sense as to why you’re going to have a lot of difficulty shedding those extra pounds (not to mention, increasing your risk for disease, like type 2 diabetes). Eat protein, fat and carbs every three hours!"
Those are my tips. Do you have any great tips you would like to share?
Sources: http://www.dietitiancassie.com/back-to-the-basics-nutrition-101/
*I am not a dietitian or MD and the above is my nutritional experience with weight loss.*
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