It All Starts in the Kitchen

LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies, tuna, cottage cheese, nuts, tortilla chips and salsa (my favorite snack).

I have recently purchased a food scale and keep it on the counter with a basket full of zip-lock bags. I find it easier to portion out my food and store it in the baggies labeled with the calorie content. I do this about twice a week for snack items, shredded cheese, etc. It makes it so easy to just grab a bag when I am cooking or need a snack before heading out the door.

Good luck!

Food wise, I lost the bulk of my weight eating all the processed things, eating out etc etc. It's all about calories for weight loss (I did alternate day intermittent fasting). I didn't have any special equipment and I still don't own a food scale As long as you have a plan (mfp or something else), and make the commitment to follow it, you'll be fine!

hey!

A food scale + tracking your food is all you need, the types of food you eat has no effect on weight loss, so don't punish yourself so that you go on binges from limiting your food choices.

What he said. All things in moderation. There are no "bad" foods, only excessive amounts of any food.

I really like yogurt. There are lots of studies that show the good effects that yogurt has on your digestive system, and besides that, it tastes great. I really like both regular and Greek yogurt, and have it usually for breakfast or a good snack during the day. It is sweet, so it satisfies my sweet tooth.

Also, I don't know how you already are about drinking water, but I like to have a glass handy throughout the day. I found that having cold purified water in the fridge makes me more likely to drink it, too.

Lastly, I pop my own popcorn. It's low in calories and since I do my own, it doesn't have all the buttery additives like at the store, so it's very healthy.

hey!

A food scale + tracking your food is all you need, the types of food you eat has no effect on weight loss, so don't punish yourself so that you go on binges from limiting your food choices.

I agree with this; the only thing I would add is that you can then use this as a starting point to start incorporating healthier foods into your diet. You don't have to change everything all at once; every small thing you do has a big impact. Maybe start with some fruits and vegetables you know you like to snack on instead of always having chips, candy, cookies, etc. Same with cooking - start with things you already know how to make and know you like, and then start mixing it up with newer, healthier options.

That is what ultimately worked for me. It took a while, but the changes stuck when I made them slowly.

I'm always amazed by how many people think that they can continue to eat the way they always have just because they are working out. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. By diet I am not referring to Adkins, South Beach, etc... A well balanced diet really is the way to go. If God made it, it's usually good to eat. If man has touched it stay away. All things in moderation and log EVERYTHING! Good luck!

My staples are fruits and veggies, measured into baggies for daily meals and snacks. Easy to grab and eat when already washed and sliced. Eggs, some boiled ahead for speed others kept for cooking. Measured and weighed portions of cheese (I love cheese but so easy to overdo, and then I'm bloated and ill for a day). Whatever meat is on sale that week. Sometimes fish, sometimes burger, but either way easy to incorporate into a diet for the week. Sandwich wraps, watch the sodium but great for quick meals with leftover meat, veg and mustard. Beyond that, yes I get some other convenience foods, like canned soup, to supplement on tired nights; I just eat a smaller or more sensible portion than I used to. As a working mom, convenience and advance preparation have been hugely necessary to my success. Also, all the advance planning has helped with the grocery bill.

Food staples wise, having easy protein sources around is very helpful to me. Tuna and rotisserie chicken show up in my food diary quite often, as does marinated salmon that I can bake straight from the freezer. Any main dish that I can cook once and eat on for a few days is great (taco meat, stew, whole chicken, pork chops, etc). The crockpot is a fabulous way to get in meat/veg meals with minimal prep. I always like to have snack foods that I can just grab and go (string cheese, fruits, veggies, Kind bars, chocolate and nuts, peanut butter crackers).

In your case, I would think very carefully about why you eat out so much. If it is convenience, you may want to first replace eating out with at home convenience foods (Trader Joe's is my friend for this). You may be surprised at how tedious and time-consuming it can be to make (and clean up) home-cooked meals every single meal every single day. I still have an ideal of completely from scratch healthy meals, but the reality is that many days the best I can do is stay within my calories and macros with foods that took less than 5 minutes of prep.

I'm always amazed by how many people think that they can continue to eat the way they always have just because they are working out. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. By diet I am not referring to Adkins, South Beach, etc... A well balanced diet really is the way to go. If God made it, it's usually good to eat. If man has touched it stay away. All things in moderation and log EVERYTHING! Good luck!

Well if one doesn't believe in god, then they would probably starve on this analogy. Practically all food today is processed in one way or another today. Unless one is planting it, pulling from the ground, personally raising and slaughtering their own meat, then today's agriculture involves pesticides, chemical cleaning of food, GMO, etc.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Chicken, eggs, pork tenderloin, low sodium bacon, and ground turkey are my meaty staples. Low sodium turkey in water in pouches, too. The grocery stores near me mark down the turkey every couple of days, so I have a freezer stocked and waiting to incorporate the turkey into good stuff. I have bags of turkey burgers, some meatballs, etc.

www.budgetbytes.com is a great website to look for meal inspiration if you're looking to expand what you know how to cook, and gives a good breakdown of the pricing. It's not "diet" food, and you won't find calorie counts or nutritional info, but it's a place to start. www.skinnytaste.com does meals with nutritional data too, but she often switches out the good stuff for reduced fat cheese -- blech!

Spinach, red peppers, tomatoes, avocados, green peppers, cilantro, green onions, garlic, cauliflower, and my personal two favorites: lemon and zucchini! On occasion, a sweet potato. I'm not fond of potatoes though. For fruits, whatever is in season -- and when something goes on mega sale, I make sure to buy enough to freeze and use for later!

I keep corn tortillas, black beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans on hand at all time. I have a couple of cans of low sodium chickpeas in case of a hummus emergency (oh, don't tell me you've never had one!). Some rice, but not too much of it. Quinoa, too, but I try to keep conscious of what the food industry is doing to other countries, so I get it infrequently. The only other cans I keep around are low sodium tomatoes (sauce, diced, etc).

Snacks are typically Fage yogurts, roasted, unsalted pistachios or almonds, and Pirate's Booty on occasion. I'm more likely to slice up some corn tortillas and make some quick salsa, though. Or hummus & homemade pita. Occasionally some of those two-ingredient banana oat cookies (1/2 cup oats, 1 banana, mash together, bake, voila! Delicious) or frozen banana pureed into "ice cream."

My favorite dinners: stuffed pork tenderloin (with sundried tomatoes, mozzarella, and a mustard rub), chicken enchiladas (slow-cooked chicken, homemade tortillas, homemade sauce with some cotija on top), chicken tikka masala, chicken shawarma wraps, turkey meatballs & zucchini pasta w/ LS bacon, turkey burgers w/ avocado & tomato on top and a side of cauliflower "mashed" like potatoes.


It's all just a matter of what you enjoy eating. I'd never enjoy eating bland meat and rice. I'm a little too brown for that

I'm always amazed by how many people think that they can continue to eat the way they always have just because they are working out. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. By diet I am not referring to Adkins, South Beach, etc... A well balanced diet really is the way to go. If God made it, it's usually good to eat. If man has touched it stay away. All things in moderation and log EVERYTHING! Good luck!

Well if one doesn't believe in god, then they would probably starve on this analogy. Practically all food today is processed in one way or another today. Unless one is planting it, pulling from the ground, personally raising and slaughtering their own meat, then today's agriculture involves pesticides, chemical cleaning of food, GMO, etc.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I think you see where I was going with this. No need to get hung up on semantics. Obviously, eating an apple is a better choice than eating a bag of potato chips. Wouldn't you agree?

chicken breasts, all kinds of fish, (salmon , tilapia , trout)

fresh veggies (broccoli, spinach, zucchini)

cheeses

water (I gave up soda now.. last soda was 8/4/12) and that's made a big difference

low sodium canned black beans

eggs and egg whites