rachaelbmh

Prepared healthy snacks. Drinking water instead of grabbing something to eat when not hungry. Finding something fulfilling to do instead of filling your belly (activities over food). Perhaps you're not being stimulated enough mentally with the work you're doing so you look for something else to do instead?

Water is a great alternative to any diet or regular soda. You can flavor it by infusing with water. Or buying a brand like Talking Rain which is a flavored seltzer without any of the sugar/artificial sweeteners.

I just weighed in on this over in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1255222-to-cleanse-or-not-to-cleanse-that-is-the-question? I hope it helps!

I have done a detox/cleanse in the past and find them to be useful when done for the right reasons and done properly. 21 days feels like a pretty long time - the longest I've ever gone is a week, and prefer to just give my body a jump start with 4-5 days instead. In my experience, I have done them to jump start an…

I'm gluten intolerant and rely heavily on naturally gluten-free foods in my diet. Lean meats, whole grains (brown rice & quinoa are my favorites), fruits and veggies, and nuts and seeds. I eat some packaged gluten-free foods because baking GF is a bit daunting, but overall it's fairly easy to manage just by eating foods…

I really enjoy fruit infused water and haven't found it bitter personally. However, since you're trying to cut back on your soda intake - what are some smaller steps you can take to still meet your needs without feeling like you're depriving yourself of the flavor you're after? Maybe mix half the diet soda with seltzer?…

Aside from weight loss, drinking plenty of water each day will help you keep your fluid balance in your body - thus improving your body's ability to assimilate nutrients, aid in digestion, detoxify your cells properly, and cut down on cravings. Of course, if you replace almost all other beverages in your diet with water,…

One thing to remember is that not all calories are created equally. The amount of nutrients in junk food pales in comparison to that in a kale salad or piece of lean meat. Losing weight and being and feeling healthy overall aren't the same thing. If your goal is to lose weight AND be healthy, then choosing healthful…

Look at some of the superfood options for high protein options - chia seeds, hemp seeds, etc. Sure, they have some fat, but are loaded with protein too.

Great tips on this thread so far! I agree with what lots of others said - eat those things that come up as cravings, just in smaller amounts. Deprivation & dieting = not fun. Eat well most of the time and don't feel bad when you indulge a little bit here and there. Just try not to swing from dieting to bingeing and you'll…

I'm 26 weeks right now and often find that I'm eating FAR more than I used to... I've upped my snacks throughout the day - eating about 2 to 3 extra snacks in between meals. I also have found that by having a decent amount of protein in the morning has REALLY helped to satiate me. When I have something like oatmeal, I'll…

It's already been said - but I'm raising my hand for FitnessBlender too. I LOVE their at-home workouts.

Do a quick Google search on "elimination diet" - your gut may need to heal from food sensitivities/intolerances. This was happening to me all. the. time. for a few years on end.. it wasn't until I realized that I have an intolerance to gluten and sensitivity to dairy that things started getting better. A few other things…

Here are a few of my go-to's: Breakfasts... eggs, GF toast with almond butter or mashed avocado, oatmeal with nuts/fruit preserves/cinnamon, green smoothies Lunches... soups/chili, dinner leftovers, whole grain salads, green salads Dinners... lots of crock-pot meals for easy cooking, chicken & braised greens, "unfried"…

My personal preference is to avoid both :) I try to count how many servings of things I get in a day as opposed to how many calories/points a food has. Example: strive for 8 glasses of water each day, 8-10 fruits & veggies each day, 2-3 protein sources each day, etc. Counting these helps me to feel well-rounded and healthy…

Awesome that keeping track of everything is really helping you to open your eyes to what your eating habits really are like. When I was tracking, that really helped me to see my own areas that I could improve too. I don't know that I would recommend NOT snacking at all - I think that snacking can be great if your body is…

This is probably counter to what everyone else will say, but I'd recommend not focusing SO much on the weight loss itself and focus more on how you want to feel... give yourself a goal of feeling good even if you aren't at your goal weight just yet. When you allow yourself to feel good where you are, you give yourself…

I don't like to think of how I eat as cheating or following rules. In general, everything I eat counts towards how I'm treating my body during the day. If you want cake on your birthday - have at it! What will feel worse - eating the cake that you truly want? Or feeling deprived because you felt like you should be holding…

Start with the ones you like. Hide them in different recipes if you have to in order to learn to like their taste. Put greens into fruit smoothies so you taste more of the fruit. These are all tips that are helpful when you're retraining your palate to actually enjoy them. I am a veggie convert too!

I did a green smoothie challenge a few weeks ago and shared 7 recipes on my blog. If you're interested, I can message you the link.

Whole grain salads with some greens/other veggies and a dressing. Super quick to put together too.

There's only one way to find out - experiment! Most diets don't work for everyone. So do what feels right to you then adjust it if you feel like you could feel better - with more green/grains/protein/etc.

Maybe consider trying different sources of protein? Animal foods can often feel heavy in the body, whereas whole foods - like vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts/seeds less so. That's been my experience at least.

Calories are calories when it comes to burning them off. However, there's really nothing to gain from a cookie nutritionally when comparing it to a food like broccoli. There are loads of vitamins and minerals in broccoli - as well as the volume is drastically different. If you eat 200 calories of broccoli - that's a LOT of…

It's not about what you do some of the time that makes a big difference in your health, it's what you do all the time that has the effect. You're fine if you went over once. It might take a few days to flush out - but onwards and upwards!

Homemade soups, salads, green smoothies. whole grain salads, healthy dinner leftovers. These are all rotation for what I eat for lunch regularly.

Fat is essential for the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. You don't need to eat less fat in order to lose fat. If you're worried about consuming too much fat or too many calories - just adjust the amount you eat at one time. Fat free and low fat products are very tricky anyway - they often remove the fat…

Green smoothies made with low-sugar fruits like lemons/limes. I find that with the tartness, I don't need it nearly as sweet.

I used to work in an office environment and was the only one in my office that regularly brought my lunch. I'd often take my lunch out to the park across the street to get some fresh air - and help combat that stereotype that I was a total bummer for never leaving my desk. Sometimes coworkers would come along too.

I like to mash an avocado then add some jalapeno, green onion, garlic and lime juice. I love using it to dip with veggie sticks or topping chicken. I have found that keeping the pit in with the guacamole helps keep it from oxidizing. I'm not sure why it works - but it does!