Just Starting....need Advice

Hello!
I am going to school for Dietetics and I have some really good pointers to help you!

First things first: portion control. Whether you're having breakfast, lunch, or dinner make sure there are more leafy greens and/or fruit on your plate than anything else. Yes fruit is high in sugar, but it's the natural sugar-not processed. Try not to eat canned fruits or vegetables because there are obviously added preservatives in them that are bad for you. If you are not already, cut out all white breads and rices from your diet-whole wheat only! This will save you so many calories and will give you more nutrients your body needs! Also, try substituting all of your hamburgers (if you are a meat eater) to either lean turkey burgers or veggie burgers. My favorite brands are Boca and Morning Star. You will cut down on a lot of fat this way! (:

Also, DO NOT skip breakfast. You may think you are saving calories this way, but if you don't eat something within an hour of waking up, you are 50% more likely to keep weight on or even gain weight. Even if it's something light like a piece of whole wheat toast with a bit of peanut butter, it will help. And never exercise on an empty stomach. Exercising burns calories off of fat if you have some food in your system, but if you don't , then it feeds off of muscle-which is not good.

If you feel an eating binge coming on, what I found works best for me is getting a giant glass of water and counting down from 100, taking a sip of water between each number. Try carrying a water bottle around with you and add some lemon slices to it! If you drink 2 big glasses of ice water before each meal, it will fill you up so you eat less calories! Water is an ESSENTIAL part of your diet, and if you aren't drinking at least 8 glasses each day, then your body isn't getting what it needs to lose weight!

Thirdly, you MUST eat something small every 3 hours to keep your metabolism down! This is also good because then you won't eat as much during meal times. A bunch of small meals is WAY better for you than eating three large meals. Some really really good snacks that I like are string cheese, cottage cheese, Chobani greek yogurt with fresh berries on top, a banana with peanut butter, carrots with hummus, a luna bar, and a handful (NO MORE) of almonds. Try not to have your snacks contain any carbs, like breads or crackers, I usually try and save those for meal times.

If you need any more tips for changing your lifestyle, I'm your girl (: I would love to hear that you are seeing results and that your life is changing for the better! Good luck!
-Tori

Hi! I wanted to ask about not excercising with an empty stomach. When I wake up I am never ever hungry, and thats when i workout, I start the warm-up half asleep actually. What can I do about that?

Hi! I wanted to ask about not excercising with an empty stomach. When I wake up I am never ever hungry, and thats when i workout, I start the warm-up half asleep actually, After my workout I take a shower and then eat breakfast. What can I do about that?

Lots of people do fasted workouts. Do whatever makes you most comfortable. Eating before an hour workout is certainly not necessary for any reason unless it helps your workout, or unless you have medical reasons to watch your blood sugar.

To the original poster:

If you are attempting to lose or gain weight, calorie counting is the best way to achieve your Goals. You need to keep records to change things if what you have been doing isn't working, right?