Two weeks ago I decided to do something with my weight/health. I don't really consider what I'm doing "dieting" so much as just eating healthier and making better choices, to the best of my ability. I'm really clueless when it comes to eating right though. I have no idea what I'm doing or what I should be doing. So far, I'm keeping a food diary and closely counting calories. I am keeping my calorie intake between 1350-1395/day per a website recommendation based on my weight, age, height. I have no idea if that is good or bad. I've cut all excess sugars from my diet. I'm trying to become more active but that is sometimes hard to do with a 3 year-old to attached to my hip. I've lost 5lbs in 2 weeks and am VERY happy with that progress. I can already tell a huge difference in my energy level also. I'm just curious if there is more I could/should be doing? Any tips are GREATLY appreciated.

First, congrats on making the decision to improve your lifestyle. Not everyone does that, so pat yourself on the back. Second, way to go on the success thus far!! Sounds like you already have all the tools you need, diary, counting calories, and eliminating sugars. If you push that 3 year old in a buggy and go walking 30 minuts per day, AND eliminate sugar, you have got it made! Your caloric intake sounds just fine ... and if you increase exercise levels, your body will tell you if you need to up your calories. For example, when I started jogging one hour, my body started to feel fatigued so I knew I had to up my calories. And I still lost weight.

You wrote you feel "clueless" about eating right. That is a challenge for many of us and it takes time to learn. I read a lot of books about nutrition. Fit for Life, Fat Wars, Skinny Bitch (hilarious book) and anything you can find at the library. Take what you like, and leave the rest. I just heard a fantastic radio show where 2 nutritionists taught me something more. So just start reading and dive in. You can start wherever you want and go from there. I think what scares most people is they think they have to eat perfectly right now. That's impossible because there are so many things to learn. We simply need to be patient with ourselves and pick one or two things and then once we've learned them and made them into habits, we can go on to the next thing.

Of course, veggies and fruit go without saying...we need them. Salmon is very good and so are nuts and seeds. Protein in the way of chicken, fish, beef, eggs, cheese or if you're a vegetarian, lentils, beans, tofu, soy. Fiber is boss and you get it in veggies. When you choose pasta, crackers or bread, you can go whole wheat. When it comes to eating healthy you can experiment and find what works best for you. Some say low carb is good ... that's fine. It's not for me. I like a balanced diet with everything in it, just portion control.

Some other tricks are:
Protein & carbs take up one side of the plate, the whole other half-veggies.
Protein portion should be the size of our fist.
Grocery shop on the outside aisles only. Most on the inside is junk.
Cook at home as much as possible, eating out gives limited choices.
Try new recipes, buy little cookbooks with EASY recipes.
Ask friends what they cook that's healthy and swap recipes.
Buy a little scale and weigh stuff.
Find treats that are low cal (DQ Fudge bar or air-popped popcorn).

You can take or leave any of these suggestions. You'll discover your own tips in no time. Above all, the biggest tip is don't freak out if you aren't perfect at eating healthy right away. It truly takes time. You're doing GREAT.