Nutrition and Eating Right. What to Do?

Hi, Im struggling with the exact same thing and its very discouraging to be honest! However, I will tell you that my best point was following Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 meal plan. Here is the link for the pdf download: http://images.agoramedia.com/jillianmichaels/cms/jillian-michaels-ripped-in-30-meal-plan-v.pdf

Many articles and commercial diet books are written by journalists, alternative practitioners and other un or poorly qualified people and not based on any sort of science. Some of these rules have a grain of truth in them, many work to some extent because they boil down to one thing, fewer calories. Try reading quality articles, textbooks and advice based on a body of published research.

Many people who think they are eating and exercising right are not at all: they are undereating, overeating (not measuring or logging properly), not working nearly hard enough when they exercise, doing too much cardio not enough intense weights, missing out on key food groups (oily fish, dairy, fruit and veggies, nuts, seeds), eating way more processed crap than they tell themselves.

First you need to give your stats, what your general diet looks like and what your exercise plan is.

mmmmmmmmm bacon.

Okay, sorry OP. got side tracked. It actually is simple. Not easy, but simple. Less in than out. You need to burn more than you eat in order to lose weight. I've had success with the TDEE-20% lately. Google TDEE. Good luck!

Some general guidelines I find to be true, regardless of your personal specifics:

1. I can tell you right now, eating 5-6 meals has no advantage over eating 2-3 a day in terms of weight loss on the scale. What it does provide you with is the basics for self control and portion control. It's also very rigid to eat every 3 hours, so you get into habits that are generally pretty awesome.

2. My biggest or second biggest meal is always before bed. The reason is I don't eat breakfast and I work out before work in the mornings. Infact, I'm eating it right now at 9pm!. That's another myth. Some people noticed that overweight individuals tend to eat before bed. That's true, but correlation is not always causation! If you are over your calorie goal, you shouldnt eat, no matter what time it is! If you're under it, you can eat at whatever time!

3. Whole grains vs "processed" foods. Whole grains are better for you...not because they will make you skinny. because they have fiber, include the vitamins that envelop the grain itself, and minerals and all those great micro nutrients. Anyone that tells you you need to eat nothing but oats and brown rice to lose weight because they think it's going to blow up your insulin has no idea what they're talking about. However, if you're already severely overweight, or diabetic, it's probably worth taking note.

The community is here to support you, but you also must be aware. These forums are mainly a place where people share their ideas and opinions, and things that they have found to work for themselves. If you want detailed scientific information, a forum is probably not the best place to find it. However, you might find that the support system and great people you meet here are all that it takes to get you started. Good luck!