What You Eat

What You Eat

Bread, Pasta, Rice, and Fruit:

• Make sure you eat whole grains, brown rice, and quinoa instead of refined grains and white rice.  Fiber helps slow sugar absorption, helping your body to better process sugars instead of storing them as fat.

• Always, always eat whole fruits over drinking juices.  The fiber in whole fruits are important to aid with digestion and cleaning your colon.

• Foods in the Bread, Pasta, Rice, and Fruit category are calorie-dense, so limit your intake of foods in this category to three small servings per day.

Vegetables:

• A large salad is awesome.  However, make sure you limit the amount of dressing to one or two tablespoons.  Using too much salad dressing can negate the entire reason for eating salad in the first place. :)  Select clear dressings like a vinaigrette instead of the creamier, cheesier ones because vinaigrettes tend to be less fatty.  Also, try dipping your fork in the dressing to get flavor on your tongue without pouring on too many calories.

• Steamed or raw vegetables have very few calories, which means you can pretty much eat them until you are no longer hungry.  A plate filled with raw vegetables has around 100 calories! 

• Avoid butter or cream-based sauces.  Lemon juice, soy sauce, and mustard are great options for adding flavor to your vegetable without adding fat calories.

Proteins:

• Select lean meats like turkey, chicken, or pork over fatty red meats.

• The serving size of meat in your meal should be no larger than the palm of your hand (approximately 3 to 4 ounces).

• Broil, grill, or bake.  Avoid frying your meat!

• Avoid cream sauces and gravy.

• If meat is not in your diet, try eating tempeh, tofu, low-fat dairy products, and legumes for protein.

Fats:

• Avoid saturated and trans-fats in red meat, full-fat dairy products, and processed foods.

• Avocados, raw nuts, flaxseeds, and olive oil are great sources of essential fatty acids.  Make sure you watch your portions by keeping them small, since fat is extremely dense and has more than twice the calories per gram as protein and carbohydrates.

Beverages:

• Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before eating a meal will help curb your appetite.

• To improve digestion, avoid having a drink with your meal.  However, if you want to have something to drink with your meal, limit it to a glass of wine, juice, non-fat milk, or water, which is the best choice.

• Avoid soda, beer, and hard liquor, as all are extremely calorie-dense.  Make sure you limit diet beverages to one per day, as your body's pH levels can be negatively impacted by consuming more per day.

• Coffee and tea are ok to drink in moderation, with tea being the better choice.  Try avoiding cream and sugar. 

Finally, Dessert:

• While you are working on transforming your body, step away from the dessert tray.  Remember your goal and simply step away.

• If, however, you must have dessert, try going with a cup of fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth.  If some fruit is not available and your really want to have dessert, go ahead to have it, but try to eat only one-third to one-half of what you would normally eat.

I hope this helps you on your way to the body and health you want and deserve.

Get more healthy tips at Coach Marcus and Friends:  Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss Support Group