WHAT TO EAT - WHAT NOT TO EAT!

What to eat and What not to eat are usually the most common questions I get asked. My answer to that is usually pretty simple. I tell people, "Never skip breakfast and make sure that everything you eat is a cooked meal and comes from your kitchen". Why? because if it comes from  your kitchen it is most likely going to be fresh, not full of preservatives, pumped with sodium, calories and will save you a lot of money. Secondly, I tell them to eliminate vegetable oil out of there diet and use Canola oil for frying and Olive oil for some kind of sauce/gravy and for salad dressing. The reason is vegetable oil is high in fat and less healthy as opposed to canola oil and olive oil who have less fat content and are actually beneficial to you health. Thirdly, I advise them to include a lot of fruits and vegetables in their diet for many reasons. Fruits and vegetables have a lot of nutrients that are good for you, are low in fat, and help fight certain common diseases. I also tell them to include spices in their food such curry, turmeric, chili powder and masala just to name a few. These spices not only help you fight diseases but also speed up your metabolism to help you lose weight.


The other advice that I give is for them to eliminate sugar/sweets from their diet. Drinking and eating foods high in sugar is bad for your health and can lead to diabetes but can also lead to weight gain and obesity. Instead, I tell them to substitute their sugar cravings with fruits and or low fat yogurt as a healthier choice. For snacks, I suggest for them to include lots of nuts as they are a good source of dietary fats. As for beverages, I tell them that they should drink at least 1L of water a day instead of pop and or juices. Drinking water helps you feel fuller and keeps the hunger feeling at bay all day. Furthermore, water promotes weight loss, and keeps your organs hydrated so they can function properly.


In all it's all about living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Developing healthy eating habit can be difficult, that is why I also tell people to include a CHEAT DAY in their diet. On the cheat day you can eat anything you want from anywhere. In return the cheat day helps you stay committed to your goals of eating healthy and not destroy your diet.


If you don't know how to cook or how to get started. I suggest you pick up this book Abs Diet and you can also visit the website http://www.absdiet.com/uof/absdiet/ for more information. It is the best dieting book I have read. This book is actually what put me back on track and taught me how to be a better cook and stay fit. The book teaches about the benefits of many foods, what kind of food to include in you grocery list, what to eat at a restaurant and many other benefits of healthy eating. . To top it all the recipes are great and tasty. 


For better results you can include this workout  The Deck of Cards part of your weight loss goals.

MEAL PLAN TO GET YOU LEAN!!

After the holidays we all have New Years Resolution of eating better , healthier and losing weight. So here is a good diet meal plan from the Abs Diet book. Anyone could use this sample meal plan to help them in their quest quest.

Monday

Breakfast

One tall glass (8 to 12 ounces) Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie; make extra for later

Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie (number of Powerfoods: 5)
1 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt
¾ cup instant oatmeal, nuked in water
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons chocolate whey powder
6 ice cubes, crushed

Makes 2 8-ounce servings

Per serving: 220 calories, 12 g protein, 29 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 3 g fiber, 118 mg sodium

Snack #1

2 teaspoons peanut butter, raw vegetables (as much as you want)

Lunch

Turkey or roast beef sandwich on whole-grain bread, 1 cup 1% or fat-free milk, 1 apple

Snack #2

1 ounce almonds, 1½ cups berries

Dinner

Mas Macho Meatballs (number of Powerfoods: 3)
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
½ cup crushed saltine crackers
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or whey powder
1 jar (16 ounces) tomato sauce
4 whole-wheat hoagie rolls
½ cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Mix the beef, crackers, onion, garlic, and flaxseed or whey powder into golf ball-size meatballs.

2. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the meatballs until browned all the way around. Drain the fat from the skillet, and add the tomato sauce.

3. While the mixture is warming, use a fork to scoop out some of the bread in the rolls to form shallow trenches. Spoon the meatballs and sauce into each trench, and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, and top with the top half of the roll.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 569 calories, 38 g protein, 65 g carbohydrates, 19 g fat (6 g saturated), 10 g fiber, 1,341 mg sodium

Snack #3 

8 to 12 ounces Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie