The closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and berries are great and will satisfy a craving for sweets. Whole vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals, so eat more green, orange and yellow vegetables. Steam them to retain the most nutritional value and be careful with sauces, they may be high in calories and fats that aren’t good for you.

Any pasta or baked goods should be made from whole grains. Avoid sugary snacks and pastries as well. An apple is good for you, an apple pie really isn’t.
Shop for lean meats and don’t forget the fish. Baked fish and chicken are healthier than fried.
Stick to water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices as your main beverages and limit sugary soft drinks. If you get tired of plain water, add a slice of lemon or lime to add a touch of flavor.

Unhealthy Foods to Avoid
·                        Battered and deep fried foods
·                        Sugary sodas
·                        Processed lunch meats
·                        Greasy snack chips
·                        White bread and refined pasta
·                        Most canned spaghetti and ravioli
·                        Sugary breakfast cereals
·                        Frozen fried chicken, fish sticks and corn dogs

Healthy Foods to Enjoy
·                        Green and brightly colored vegetables
·                        Dark leafy greens and lettuce
·                        Fresh fruits and berries
·                        Lean turkey and chicken
·                        Nuts, dried fruits and healthy snacks
·                        Whole grain breads and pasta
·                        Healthy cooking oils like canola and olive oils
·                        Grass fed beef and bison
·                        Cold water oily ocean fish
·                        Low fat milk or soy beverages
·                        Nuts, seeds, and legumes

Assess Your Lifestyle
Consider these questions, then think of things you can do to change these:
·                        Do you eat because you are bored, sad, or happy?
·                        Do you snack in front of the TV without even giving it much thought?
·                        Are most of your meals eaten at home or in restaurants?
·                        How often do you eat fast food?
·                        Do you like to cook?
·                        How often do you grocery shop?
·                        Do you skip breakfast or lunch, then overeat later in the day?
·                        How big are the portions you consume?
·                        Do you crave sweets?
·                        Are there foods you won’t give up?

If you are an emotional eater, keep the junk food like potato chips, tortilla chips, ice cream, and candy out of the house. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, crunchy vegetables with dips, or nuts handy.

Simple things like this are what will help you to either move closer to or farther away from your health and fitness goals..so make the right decisions!
If you are looking for the perfect addition to get you started with healthy meal ideas, my friend Isabel De Los Rios of the Diet Solution has given you all the tools you will need..for FREE! Complete done-for-you meal plans that will take the guess work out of  your fat loss program. Just click=>FREE Meal Plans<= to get started!

Yes you will lose a few pounds but then you notice that you gain those pounds back and a few more.

Exercising alone cannot keep the weight off of you.  You must have a life style change and the most important aspect of this is, Nutrition!

Nutrition is the process of nourishing or being nourished.  It is the process by which we assimilate food and use if for growth and for replacement tissue.

Simply put nutrition- a source of materials to nourish the body

It has to do with what you eat as your body requires certain things to maintain  healthy growth.

Let’s face it a candy bar can fill us up, but what does it do for us?  A can of high sugar pop can fill us up but again what is it doing for our bodies.

Now good nutrition can help prevent diseases and it also promotes health.  There are six categories of nutrients the body needs in fact must have from the food you eat?

You body must have: Protein, carbohydrates, fat, fibers, vitamins and minerals and of course water.

Did you know that no matter how much your exercise, if your body is not getting the right nutritions it will store fat?

1. Protein: supplies amino acids to build and maintain body tissue that is healthy.
2. Fat: supplies amino acids that maintain and build healthy body tissue.
3. Carbohydrates: are the main sources your body needs for energy.
4. Dietary Fiber: found in vegetable, fruits, nuts an whole grains
5. Vitamins: organic substance that are present in food and are required in small amount for the regulation of metabolism and maintenance of normal growth.
6. Minerals: are the building blocks that make up muscle, tissue and bones.
7. Water: rids the body of waste materials and regulates body temperature and transports nutrients to our cells.

If you are not shedding inches or seeing a difference it is not due to your exercise program, but rather to your eating program.

To lose weight, you have to cut down on the number of calories you consume and start burning more calories each day. Calories are the amount of energy in the food you eat. For example, foods high in fat and sugar are also typically high in calories.

If you eat more calories than your body uses, the extra calories will be stored as body excess fat.  And your body will store this fat up as it feels deprived of the correct nutrients.
A pound of fat = 3,500 calories, so to lose 1 pound of fat you have to eat less than 3,500 calories and you have to burn off “exercise”.  You burn of calories by exercising or just by being more active.  However the trick here is not to eat 3,500 of “junk” but to eat nutritious food that your body will turn into fat burning muscle.

The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat great nutritional food and burn off calories.  Also if you cut 250 calories from your diet each day and exercise enough to burn off 250 calories, that adds up to 500 fewer calories in one day. If you do this for 7 days, you can lose 1 pound of fat in a week.  And you are healthy with lots of energy as your body is getting what it needs.

You need your body to be healthy to work with your mind set to lose weight! So get cracking with that nutrition and start watching some changes happen!

Sometimes we get it in our heads that if we work out enough our diet isn’t as crucial.  But in reality you could be spending hours at the gym and seeing minimal results because you aren’t eating right.  If you need motivation to get your food intake under control just think of all the hours you are spending working out that are not as effective as they could be and follow these simple steps to optimize your diet for fitness success!

Natural and Unprocessed Foods - You’ve heard it a million times, but you need to do something about it!  Stock up on fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, and whole grains.  If you’re not familiar with how to make these ingredients into a delicious meal (as opposed to a bland ordeal) take the time to look up recipes online and put together meal plans until it’s easy for you to come up with creative meals.  Investing a little time into finding tasty ways to prepare healthy foods will really pay off in the long run.

Prepared Meals for Tight Schedules - I know the low calorie frozen food section may seem like a great place to head to on a tight schedule, but honestly those meals are not where you are getting your best nutrition, and you’re quite a person if you’re going to be satisfied with the tiny portions many of them offer to reduce calories.  If you really need food that you can make in a hurry, try and set aside a few hours to cook up some simple meals you can freeze for when you really are in a hurry and can’t put anything else together.  Cook up some chicken or lean meat in simple seasonings and freeze them individually so you’ll have an easy protein available when you need it.  You can pull it out and cook it up with some steamed frozen veggies for a quick and healthy meal.

Battling the Sugar Craving – Cut fried and sugary foods out of your diet as much as possible.  The sugar craving is often what does us in, so if you can tackle that you’ve gone a long way to keeping yourself on the right path.  Keep some flavored yogurts, fruity granola, or fresh fruit and fruit juices around to combat the craving.  I find it is helpful to keep a variety of options available so you don’t get bored and head for the ice cream.

Seasonings – When cooking try and avoid fatty sauces and seasonings (such as bacon).  However, you don’t want to be forcing down bland food in the name of “health.”  Enter seasoning!  Seasonings and marinades are a life saver when switching over to healthier foods.  Try mixing up a marinade with some olive oil, garlic, and herb for lean meats to really make a tasty dish.   Lemon juice is also a great addition right before you serve your food, it can really perk up a meal.

Olive Oil – When cooking you can cut back on calories and fat by avoiding using butter.  Olive oil is such an easy alternative and you don’t need very much of it.  It’s also great because it’s not a super strong tasting oil, so you probably won’t even notice the difference on most foods.

How to Cook your Foods - You can improve the health factor of the foods you are cooking just in the way you cook them as well.  Try steaming your vegetables instead of cooking them up with butter.  When possible break out the grill for some great grilled corn on the cob and seasoned chicken.  Really, the more creative you are the more you will start to enjoy eating healthier.

This is a guest post by Del Weiss who helps promote a local personal training business and is a specialist at starting a personal training business.

For some people, its hard to control their food portions on their plates and for others its just that they are unsure how much they should be eating. Learning to “eyeball” your food portions will make it much easier to stay on track, eat a reasonable amount of food and lose that weight.

Here are some suggestions to help you eat proper portions of foods.

3 oz of chicken or beef = deck of cards

2 TBSP peanut butter = ping pong ball

1 cup veggies = size of your fist

When filling your plate, first and foremost, use smaller plates. Even a child’s plate would be better in some cases. When we see the plate, we think we need to fill it to get full. If the plate is smaller, we don’t need to add so much food to it!

Look at your plate and divide it in half. Divide on of those halves into another half. 1/2 of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, 1/4 whole grains and the other 1/4 lean protein. Adding more fibrous vegetables will fill you up more so that you don’t fill yourself up other stuff.

Sometimes its hard to control your portions when you go out to eat. In this case, ask for a to-go-box when your food first arrives and put half of your food in the box. Then you will not feel like you need to “clean your plate” like many of us were brought up thinking. You will also have a meal for the next day already prepared and ready to eat!

By using these tips, you will not only be able to walk away from the table feeling satisfied instead of overstuffed, but you will start to drop those pounds!

What do you do to control your food portions?