Hi to all,

Thank you in advance for your help!!

I am looking at developing food guidelines for myself.

I am thinking that fresh fruit and veggies would be free foods and could be eaten in any quantity. That is the easy part.

The hard part is how to decide how many servings/calories from foods with high fat, high sugar etc.

Please send any thoughts which might help guide me.

Thanks!!

Marsto

While all fruits are healthy, some contain alot of cal's. Pineapple and bananas are 2 examples. So you might want to limit how much of those you eat.. I'd also try to eat fruit that had a high water content (so your upping your water intake as well) such as watermelon and cantalope

Here ya go. You're right, eat as many fruits and veggies as you want. For the most part, their nutritional value far outweights their caloric value.

CARBS
As far as carbs go, the browner the better. Eat wheat bread, buns, bagels pastas. Eat brown rice. Don't eat white anything. Wheat and brown carbs are normally whole grains that have not been processed. They normally contain more fiber. Why is this good? The more complex a carb, the longer it takes your body to break it down. That means that you have a longer "window" to burn those calories. Simple sugars and white carbs are broken down by the body much quicker. If you dont burn those calories they will be stored for later. that equals fat.

FAT
There are good fats and bad fats. Some are heart healthy, some are not. If you are trying to lose weight, limit fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram. Carbs and protein have 4. If you are trying to lose weight you need to restrict the intake of calories and maximze the output. That means cut out the bad fats completely and limit the good. Bad fats include animal fats and dairy fats. Good fats include nuts, seeds, and fish.

PROTEIN
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. That means if you have more muscle, you will have a faster metabolism. You need to build muscle to lose weight and keep it off. Muscle needs protein to grow, so make sure you get enough. normally 1 to 1.5 gram per pound of body weight is sufficient.


the bottom line is if you can create a consistent calorie defieciency you will lose weight. The tips above will help you be healthy and keep the weight off.

well, I'm diabetic but the nutritionist gave me a few tips which I think are pretty good to follow for anyone.

the actual portion size for meals should be 25% starch/carb, 50% veggies and 25% protein. that's how it's supposed to look on the plate. each meal one should only eat about 3 oz of meat. general thumb rule is 3 oz of meat (as well as 1 serving of almost anything) equals to the size of one's palm. (yes, that's it. palm sized.) veggies are unlimited of course. just don't deep fry them in butter or what not. fruits have sugar in them but that's still better than grabbing the mars bar if u're craving sugar. as for water... drink lots. don't stop. and always get two healthy glasses of milk a day. especially if you're a woman... regardless if you've had yogurt or any kind of milk product today, one should still drink 2 glasses of milk a day.

and cmdpv is right, be careful of the fats you'll be eating. try to limit your consumption of overall fats. the good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. bad fats are saturated fats and trans-fats (often found in meat, baked goods and the like)

hope this helps and good luck!

i eat my biggest meal sometime between noon and four and then have 3 or so smaller meals throughout the day. that way you are getting the energy when you need it most, and the calories from that meal will carry you throughout te busiest part of your day.

also, get in the habit of bringing a couple of pieces of fruit with you and maybe special k bar in your purse. great portable fruits are apples, bananas, oranges, or little cartons of berries. also a baggies of cut up broccoli or carrots are an awesome way to fill up on the go if you find yourself tempted by a coworkers snacks.

my biggest food rule: eat a little when your hungry. don't ignore your body because it will bite you in the butt later.

the bottom line is if you can create a consistent calorie defieciency you will lose weight.

This cannot be emphasized enough.

No eating after supper.

No junk food, which means chocolate bars, chips, slurpees, nothing deep fried.

Have fun exploring new foods I haven't tried, for example a recipe using lentils or beans, instead of meat. I love hummus and falafel, if you haven't tried that yet.

No food after 7.
I try not to set tons of rules for myself besides simple ones, because I don't like to put alot of stress on myself, that just causes me to binge.

i just stayed away from bread (carbs)and meats, i mainly ate fruits n veg.as l

no candy or potato chips at all! and drink only water after 7

Water - Water - Water

I always had a tough time drinking enough water, so what I did was bought the 24 oz sport size bottles (I like the pop up top) and made it a rule to drink down one bottle before each meal/snack. Drink a bottle before breakfast, drink a bottle before lunch, drink a bottle before dinner - if I want a glass of wine, I drink a bottle of water first, if I want a snack I drink a bottle of water. I just carry the water bottle with me everywhere knowing that I have to finish it off before the next meal.

Donna

Hi to all,

Thank you in advance for your help!!

I am looking at developing food guidelines for myself.

I am thinking that fresh fruit and veggies would be free foods and could be eaten in any quantity. That is the easy part.

The hard part is how to decide how many servings/calories from foods with high fat, high sugar etc.

Please send any thoughts which might help guide me.

Thanks!!

Marsto[/QUOTE]

fruits are sugar. sugar stores fat . you dont want a whole lot

1) No eating after 8:00

2) Drink at least 64 oz. of water daily

3) Never miss more than one day in a row of excercise

4) Eat every 2-3 hours

5) Eat protein in every meal

6) Eat less than 1500 calories per day

7) No empty calories such as: sugar, potatoes, white flour etc.

8) Take multi vitamin daily

9) Stop eating when satisfied-not full

10) Eat slowly & enjoy-water between bites

11) Limit alcohol to once per week

12) Keep daily diet/excercise log

13) weigh in daily



These are the ones that I have collected for myself and worked for me in the past. since having my child i have not lost the weight yet so I am gonna give them a shot again.