What should I be eating of as a good diet food?

I started working out 45min a day 5 times a week, and at first I would just starve myself, I would eat like an apple and some juice, for the day. I lost weight, but once the weekend hit I totally caved, and I was like oh well I can just diet again once the week starts, but I would really like to know what food and how much of it I should eat. Thank you so much!

Your type of dieting forces your body into a starvation mode where it will hibernate to keep from losing body fat. It’s also very unhealthy and encourages you to go on binges just to keep your metabolism going.

You’re doing great going to the gym, let’s tackle your eating habits.

My daughter lost 75 lbs doing the following. Does not involve counting calories.

BREAKFAST, never skip! Get some protein in your tummy so you will not feel hungry!

Have 1 serving whole grain cereal with sweetener and low fat milk for breakfast.
Or, a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter.
Or, a boiled egg and a piece of whole grain toast,
Or, an egg white omelet and a piece of whole grain toast.

A piece of fruit is fine but cut out the juice. Juice is wasted calories without the fiber that fills you up.

For a change, make French toast with whole grain bread dipped in Eggbeaters (mix a little water or milk with the eggbeaters). Brown in a pan coated with PAM. Serve with a small amount low fat margerine or whipped butter and sugar free maple sirup. Have a glass of cold skim or low fat milk.

With these easy breakfasts, you are depending on low calories, lots of fiber to keep you full, and the protein in the milk, peanut butter, and/or eggs to keep you from getting hungry.

Don’t skip breakfast. If necessary, boil some eggs the night before so they will be ready for you the next morning.

MID-MORNING SNACK A small apple or orange

FOR LUNCH
A sandwich using whole grain bread, fat free mayo, a VERY thin layer of meat and/or low fat cheese, and LOTS of crunchy lettuce (she used romaine) to make it a thick sandwich.
Add some carrot sticks for crunch and you will never miss the chips!!!
Or, some soup like Campbell’s veggie soup, and some whole grain crackers with a very small amount of fat free cheese or peanut butter.
Treat yourself to one (1) Hershey kiss!
[Pack your lunch the night before right after dinner when you are not hunger. And, do not yield to temptation to add an additional kiss to your lunch or to eat one while you fix the lunch.]

SNACK- a graham cracker (plain) or a handful of mini low fat Wheat Thins or Triscuits.

DINNER
Use a desert or bread plate (not a saucer) instead of a plate for dinner.
Draw an imaginary line across half the plate. For lunch and dinner, half of the plate should be filled with non-starch veggies like green beans, squash, broccoli, eggplant, etc. Don’t smother them in butter or rich sauces but do use spices, a spray of PAM, or a vineagrette.

For absolutely yummy veggies, spray a cookie sheet with PAM (I like the olive oil flavor). Slice yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant… put on cookie sheet. Add broccoli and/or cauliflower florets and even some asparagus. Spray top with PAM. Bake in a hot oven until the veggies start to brown on the edges and are tender. They are great, especially if you let them get soft and succulent. YUMMY!.

For the other half of the plate, divide it evenly into another 2 sections.

One section should be lean protein (meats, fish, beans, etc.). Make the food interesting with spices, marinades, and/or fat marinades, or for fish… lemon juice.

The other section of the plate should be starchy foods like potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, etc. Keep those interesting but low calorie by using PAM spray, spices, fat free cottage cheese/cream cheese/ or sour cream.

If you have bread, cut out the other starch. And remember, certain vegetables are more starchy than others. Count carrots as a starch.

This is the healthy way to lose weight. It is a balanced diet with enough protein and veggies to provide essential vitamins and minerals to keep your skin and hair looking good while you lose weight.

Splurges????? Absolutely.. treat yourself. If you can do without the starch part of your meal for Thursday and Friday, treat yourself to a SMALL portion of something yummy over the weekend. Learn to do substitutions. There are some excellent low fat, low sugar ice creams, just watch portions. But, look out for fat free items. The only way to keep processed baked goods moist is to add either fat or sugar. If they cut out fat, they add an equal amount of calories (or more) in sugar, so read the labels. If an ingredient ends in ‘ose,’ it is a form of sugar, period.

Good luck!

The Fast Food Diet