Do not eat any white bread or white pasta. Foods made from white flour are high glycemic (high sugar index) which means they are easily changed by your body into fat. Instead of white flour products, eat products made from “whole wheat” flour. Examples include whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta. Oatmeal is good too.
Do not eat any flour products after 4:00 p.m.
After 4:00 p.m. only eat vegetables(broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, etc.) as your carbs. Your metabolism slows considerably in the evening – starches consumed late in the day are more likely to be converted to fat.
Make sure to eat protein every day to help build and maintain muscle.
This is probably one of the most important tips as protein will curb your diet and hunger. Muscle requires a lot of energy to maintain, so it helps you burn fat 24 hours a day even when you are doing nothing. In addition, protein takes more of a digestive effort to break down and also increasing caloric burn. Eat lean sources of protein, such as beans (any type), nuts, fish (salmon, tuna for example), steak (the “round” varieties are lean) and poultry. If you struggle with getting enough protein in your diet, consider a high protein meal replacement shake like Shakeology.
Do not eat any food at all after 9:00 p.m. until the next morning.
It’s fine to drink water at night though. Midnight snacks are a great way to get fat. I know some cultures eat late at night. Another way to put this is to finish eating more than 3 hours from when you go to bed. This is a lot easier if you have good protein and fiber for breakfast and a solid lunch with healthy snacks to curb your evening diet. I find I am not even hungry for dinner when I eat this way. Stay full!
Do not drink soft drinks. Do not drink fruit juice or energy drinks.
These have too much sugar and artificial ingredients (bad), most of which will not help you lose fat.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
You might think this will cause you to gain water weight but the opposite is true. Drink water to lose weight. Your body always wants to protect itself from thirst and starvation. If you drink lots of water, your body thinks, “Hey there must be a lot of water in this environment so I don’t need store as much water.” The opposite is true as well. If you cut back on water, your body thinks, “I need to retain water because there doesn’t seem to be much around.”
Obviously stop eating junk food – candy bars, cookies, pie, chips, cake, ice cream, and alcohol. You can have one “free meal” per week when you can eat that stuff. Otherwise stay away from junk food like the plague. Next time you want to eat a donut, just remind yourself that you will be wearing that donut around your middle a few hours from then. I personally save my free meal for the weekend so I can party with friends or whatever. I stay the most strict Sunday-Friday. Plan your party night in advance so you have something to look forward to.
Don’t drink alcohol– I know this one is tough for you party animals. Here are some tips to aid you in drink selections in case you MUST drink. Stick to light beers, red wine (it's a great antioxidant), and drinks that don't have a lot of sugar in them. And try to limit it to just one night on the weekend.
Exercise - this is not an eating guideline, but I must state the obvious. You should be training with an elevated heart rate at least 3x’s per week for 30 minutes minimum. If you are serious about reaching your goals you will exercise 4-5 times per week.
Keep like minded friends – socialize with other people who believe in healthy lifestyles and being fit. We have fun too! By having fun together you can keep each other in check and support each others goals.
For more advice on a healthy lifestyle, be sure to friend and follow me on Facebook.
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