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Breakfast
1 fruit
1 carb
1 dairy/protein
Snack
1 dairy/protein or 1 fruit (1 fat)*
Lunch
1 protein/dairy
1 fat
1 veggie
1 fruit
Snack
1 dairy/protein (if previous snack wasn't one) or 1 veggie
Dinner
1 protein/dairy
2 veggies
1 fat*
1 carb
Dessert/Snack
1 fruit
(1 fat)*
*Fat: This is like salad dressing on one of your veggies, or choose to use it for your dessert, or choose to use it like peanut butter on an apple for your snack. Just keep it to 1/day.
*What's what? Go here for a very simple listing of what's a dairy, etc. (Halfway down the page click the tabs)
*Always add a fresh veggie anywhere in the day if you're hungry.
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The really big things are:
*Eat stuff low on the glycemic index. (Most diet plans are based on the glycemic index, and the South Beach Diet has a great list and suggestions for using that. This is the deal: Foods have sugar. Some are higher on the list and some are lower - the higher on the list the more sugar they have and the worse they are for you. Things with lots of carbs are high on the list. Many veggies have lots of carbs too - it's not just bread. If you follow the list you'll have good carb and fat control at the same time. You'll also take care of your cholesterol and heart without even trying. For bread eat multigrain or whole wheat, once a day or less, and small amounts -like those tasty Sandwich Thins).
*Eat 6 small meals a day. Not meals and snacks - just kind of the same portion size food 6 times a day. Don't eat a few hours before bed.
*Eat fresh veggies and fruits!! If you're hungry - EAT. But eat fresh veggies. If you don't like a lot of veggies like me, then eat the ones you like. Put them all in a casserole or eat salad a lot. If for whatever reason you can't eat a veggie, drink a glass of Light V8 Splash (it tastes great, I hate the tomato juice). It counts as a serving of fruits or veggies and is satisfying, easy, and portable when you're late for work.
*Drink a ton of water all day long.
*Go for reduced fat/fat free/light stuff whenever possible. Do not put 10 lbs. of salad dressing or mayo or butter on stuff; go for as little as you can handle.
*Watch out for sodium. Even fat free soup can kill you with sodium. Do the best you can. A lot of times there's no choice.
*Make everything fresh if possible. A lot of favorite dishes can be prepared much healthier if you make it yourself, and it doesn't take 100 ingredients and 4 hours to cook. Instead of buying frozen or packaged meals (which always kill with sodium), buy egg noodles (totally taste like normal pasta. I hate wheat pasta), fresh veggies and ingredients, and make your own sauce.
*Change your outlook. "I've been good all week so this weekend I can be bad" or "I've had a bad day, I need a treat" or "I deserve this because I got promoted" didn't work for me. It made me feel guilty a lot and was hard to control. You should not treat yourself on a bad day or eat a gallon of ice cream when something bad happens. For good celebrations - treat yourself with new clothes or a cheap bottle of special lotion or something. On bad days - do something like take a bath or a walk or yoga or journal instead of getting something. You will feel so proud of yourself. Say "I want to have a healthy lifestyle and feel good all the time and put good things into my body."
*If you crave bad stuff like me, have some. Once a week or so have a little bit of something. Life is not about being perfect. If you're a diet nazi you'll lose weight that much faster, but I realized I don't need a whole piece of pie (or three); I just want to taste some cuz it's yummy. So three bites usually satisfies me and I'm not deprived.
*If there's an event, realize you'll probably want one of the cookies, or a BBQ rib from the work potluck, or a piece of wedding cake, so don't starve yourself all day to make up for it, just eat a lot of healthy stuff all day so you're not too hungry, drink water before you eat it, and go for one piece or 1/2 a piece. Then just make sure you're not doing it every day. If going out to eat, check out Nutrisystem's guide.
*Learn how to control yourself. Either have a bowl of fat-free ice cream if you can't live without it every night, or have one bite of the real-deal Ben & Jerry's. Do what works.
*Weighing Yourself & Falling Off The Wagon. Weigh yourself once a week in the same outfit every time. Write it down. Then move on. If you screw up, it won't ruin everything you've done. This is a lifestyle now. Get excited to take care of yourself again and do it. I always felt like if I screwed up in the morning, then my whole day was ruined, so I may as well go nuts all day. Now I just start my day over, even if it's at 3 p.m.
*Food in your house. Get rid of everything unhealthy in your house. Stock up on healthy stuff. If it's not there you won't eat it. Your significant other(s) should support you and try to eat well with you if you can't handle them eating chips or pizza in front of you. If they won't, literally eat in another room if you have to. Keep all their snacks in a special cupboard you can't see, and all yours somewhere else and visible.
*Exercise. DO IT. I can barely walk and I can still find stuff to do. Swim. If I can't afford a gym with a pool I walk as much as I can. I do pilates tapes. I went on google and found the most effective ab routine for situps. If you can't afford dumbbells lift cans of soup or water bottles. Yoga is great - go online for yoga poses. If you get bored with workouts or have trouble sticking with it, go to a gym and they will usually give free advice. The official consultation always costs money (a lot), so just have a conversation and they're so eager to help they'll tell you anyway. Also: make an awesome playlist on your mp3 player of songs that motivate you. Do whatever you possibly can: something is better than nothing. There's no excuse not to.
*Ladies & their chocolate: Keep dark chocolate hershey kisses or tootsie rolls handy. Drink a cup of diet hot chocolate (it's not bad) slowly and it's more satisfying and lasts longer than a candy bar.
*Addicted to caffeine. Instead of sugary sodas, try 100% juice (there's a ton of flavors), Clear Water (they're carbonated, sweet, sugar free and have no calories), or Sobe Lifewater. Instead of mocha cappa latte things that are insanely horrible for you, opt for whatever lowfat options they have or try caffeinated tea with honey.
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