Did you know? Skip the sauces. Most sauces add calories, sugar and fat.
Small changes can make a major difference in your life. Just think about the person who gives up their two-a-day soda habit; they can lose up to 29 lbs in one year without doing anything else. Learn more.
A small change like switching to diet soda can be a big cut in calories.
Keep your meals frequent to avoid cravings and boost metabolism.
Keep educating yourself on the latest discoveries in nutrition.
Transform Your Environment, One Week At A Time: A Guide For Beginners!
Small changes can make a major difference in your life. Just think about the person who gives up their two-a-day soda habit; they can lose up to 29 lbs in one year without doing anything else. But maybe you are that person with commitment phobia. No problem.
You can still transform your life without making major changes by following these manageable, practical steps to totally transform your life one week at a time.
1. Low Fat Milk
Switch from 2% milk to 1% milk or skim milk. If you think it tastes watered-down, try organic milk, which is typically a little thicker. Savings (2% to skim): 50 calories and 5 grams of fat per 8 oz cup.
Click To Enlarge. Try Organic Milk, It Is Typically Thicker.
2. No Hydrogenated Oils
Toss all foods with partially hydrogenated oils in them. These oils raise your bad cholesterol and decrease your good cholesterol - a double whammy. Savings - your heart health.
Cholesterol: Good Or Bad?
This article aims to demystify the many, often confusing, aspects of cholesterol metabolism, while showing how to improve your cholesterol profile.
Buy a pedometer or accelerometer (there are versions through iPod) and aim for at least 5,000 steps at first and then work your way up to 10,000. Walking more will help you trim your waistline with little effort.
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6. Fruits And Vegetables
Add a fruit or vegetable at every single meal and snack. Aim for about 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables daily.
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Your 12-Week Daily Video Trainer Week 6: Fruits & Vegetables!
You've always wanted to get in the best possible shape, but you've just been waiting for someone to help you make that first step and keep you moving down the right path. Kris Gethin is your own Daily Personal Trainer! Today we have some advice on what types of fruits and vegetables will work best for this transformation.
Fail To Plan And You've Planned To Fail!
In today's world we are always rushing, which leaves little time to eat a regular meal. Here are a few helpful ideas...
Add blue, red and purple berries to your diet. They are loaded with antioxidants that can fight inflammation and aging. Toss frozen berries in your blender with your protein powder, eat fresh ones alone or on top of your oatmeal.
Acai Berries - Do They Live Up To The Hype?
It seems almost everyone - young or old, fit or unfit, fat loss oriented or muscle bound is considering adding this highly discussed berry to their diets.
Start switching to tea in the afternoon in place of coffee. Tea is loaded with antioxidant flavonoids that inhibit the oxidation of your bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease inflammation. The more tea you drink the more you lower these heart disease risk factors. Skip the sugar sweetened tea.
Drinking Green Tea While Cutting?
I always heard that green tea can aid in fat loss but also has a lot of other health benefits like cancer and heart attack prevention. Anyone else try cutting while drinking green tea?
Click To Enlarge. Beans Are Loaded With Fiber, B Vitamins, And Antioxidants.
20. Vitamin D
Get your daily dose of vitamin D. If you aren't drinking milk 3-4 times a day, opt for a supplement with at least 400 IU vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for bone health and it may play a role in the prevention of some types of cancer and chronic pain.
What Is An IU?
IU stands for International Unit. In pharmacology, the International Unit is a unit of measurement for the amount of a substance, based on measured biological activity or effect. The unit is used for vitamins, hormones, some medications, vaccines, blood products, and similar biologically active substances. Despite its name, the IU is not part of the International System of Units used in physics and chemistry.
The precise definition of one IU differs from substance to substance and is established by international agreement for each substance. For Vitamin D, 1 IU is the biological equivalent of 0.025 micrograms of cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol. (Vitamin D3 and D2 respectively)
21. Something New
Try new foods. Most people eat the same 20-30 foods each week meaning they get the same nutrients and same antioxidants. Vary things up a bit and you'll please your taste buds and your body.
22. Nuts
Snack on nuts. You only need about a shot glass full to keep you satisfied and benefit from the heart healthy monounsaturated fat in nuts. Opt for nuts without added sugar or candy coating.
23. Soup
Fill up on soup first. If you are trying to lose weight, try consuming a broth-based soup (like miso) prior to your meal. Research shows that you'll eat fewer calories at mealtime.
Cabbage Soup Diet!
No one knows where the cabbage soup diet originated even though it has been written about by a fair number of authors already. Learn what the diet consists of and why this diet should probably be avoided.
Use a slow cooker. The slower you cook your meats, the fewer heterocyclic amines are produced (cancer causing compounds). Plus you get the added benefit of smelling your food before it is ready.
Slow Cooker Recipes.
I just recently bought a slow cooker so I can make some meals throughout the day to help me eat better when I get home from work later then planned. Does anyone else here use slow cookers for their meals?
Switch from ranch or French dressing to olive oil and vinegar or try a seasoned olive oil instead of butter on your bread. Olives and olive oil are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
29. Meatless
Try meatless every once in a while. Beans and soy (no it isn't going to make you men feminine) are great meat substitutes. You'll save a little cash and add some fiber in place of meat fat.
Trade in bread and pasta sometimes for rice. Rice is a great option for people who are gluten sensitive or intolerant and there are many varieties you can choose from including short, medium, long grain, jasmine, basmati, Arborio, red aromatic, black japonica, wild and brown.
31. No Fried Food
Skip the fried food. If you absolutely have to have something fried, at least fill up on a salad or steamed veggies first.
32. Spice It Up
Spice things up. When you use herbs and spices for flavoring food you will find that you can skip the butter and fatty sauces. And, adding garlic, parsley, or oregano to your grilled hamburger meat will decrease the production of cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines.
The Best Herbs/Spices/Beans To Eat Or Drink.
There are literally hundreds of herbs available and trying to decipher the claims made about each of them can be maddening.
Click To Enlarge. Choose Organic Fruits Over Their Pesticide Ridden Counterparts.
34. Supplements
Add a little supplemental health insurance. Invest in the supplements you need for good health and you may ward off problems later. Bad knees? Try glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Avoiding dairy? Pick up a calcium + vitamin D supplement.
35. Correct Fuel
Make the most of your workouts by fueling your body right. If you want to gain muscle mass and/or strength, add a whey shake before or after your workout or essential amino acids (try 6 grams) prior to resistance training (mix these into a sports drink).
Jay Cutler's Top 5 Mass-Building Meals!
What really gets Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler to this sun-blocking stature? Here are the top 5 meals that help Jay continue to be the world's biggest (and best) bodybuilder.
Read the food ingredients list. Though we have food labels they don't provide the full picture of what is in your food. High fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils may be lurking somewhere on the ingredients list.
37. Change Your Mindset
Everybody throws in the towel sometimes and binges on chips at their favorite restaurant or an ice cream sundae at the beach. Get over it. Beating yourself up over one mishap or a month's absence at the gym certainly won't help you achieve your goals.
Click To Enlarge. Everyone Binges At Some Point. Don't Let It Bother You.
38. Light Beer
Opt for Lite beer or no beer. Calorie savings: at least 40 per bottle of beer. Also try interspersing beer with water. You'll save calories and save yourself from a hangover.
39. No Sauce
Skip the sauces. Most sauces add calories, sugar and fat. Skip them and you'll save yourself some calories and actually taste your food versus processed sauce.
40. Less Dressing
Get the dressing on the side and dip your fork into it and into your salad versus bathing your leafy greens in calorie-laden dressing.
Is There Such Thing As A Healthy Cesar Dressing?
For a chicken cesar pita. I used Wild Harvest Organic cesar dressing today, but I don't think it is too healthy. Anyone else know of any other healthy cesar dressings?
Choose lean cuts of meat and poultry and let the grease run off the meat as it cooks so it stays off your body.
42. Salt Intake
Watch your salt intake. Many Americans consume 5,000 - 6,000 mg sodium per day though we should stick with 2,400 mg per day and the CDC lowered that even more to 1,500 mg per day. Opt for low or no sodium versions of your favorite foods.
Click To Enlarge. Watch Your Salt Intake.
43. Cook In Bulk
When making your favorite turkey meatloaf or bean burritos, cook them in bulk and freeze individual portions. By doing this you'll rely less on pre-packaged junk when you are in a rush.
44. Ignorance Isn't Bliss
Scout out restaurants ahead of time by using this website: http://www.goodfoodnearyou.com/. If you have an iPhone or blackberry with GPS, it will automatically detect where you are and give you the healthiest choices near you.
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Your 12-Week Daily Video Trainer Week 5: Eating Out!
During a transformation like this you might think your social life will disappear. After all, you're eating everything out of tupperware containers. You can't afford to join your friends at a restaurant. Or can you?
Water, low calorie beverages etc. Did you know that fatigue may mean you are mildly dehydrated? And, dehydration can impair athletic performance as well.
46. Skip Buffets
If you are eating out, skip the buffets. Buffets encourage people to over-consume rolls, fatty muffins, vegetables soaked in butter and other not so waistline-friendly foods.
47. Bring Food
Bring food with you to a party. Ask the host ahead of time if you can bring a vegetable or fruit platter. This will cure your munchies during the 4th quarter when your team is down and you are tempted to dig into the fried food.
Click To Enlarge. Don't Be Tempted By The Fried Food.
48. Hold The Butter
Ask for your food to be prepared without butter. Many restaurants will cook your meat or fish with a dollop of butter on top.
49. Small Cheats
If you have a craving, get the small size. French fries, ice cream and tater tots all come in small versions. If you have a hankering, at least go for the small version so you can satisfy your desire but minimize the damage.
Preparing A Powerhouse Nutrition Pizza!
If you ask many people what their favorite food is - or what they typically choose to eat on their 'cheat day', they answer quickly with the word, pizza.
Tell your friends what your goal is. Studies show that if you tell people around you about your goals, you are more likely to achieve them. This means you have an army of support for losing weight or staying motivated to hit the gym.
Click To Enlarge. You Have An Army Of Support For Losing Weight Or Staying Motivated.
51. Choose Fit Friends
Unfortunately studies show that we pick up the habits of those around us and that if you hang out with people who are overweight and over-consuming food, you are likely to do the same thing around them - eat too much. Choose friends that are more likely to get you in the gym and encourage you to dine at healthy restaurants. Surround yourself with people you want to be like.
JOIN BODYGROUPS
Join A BodyGroup Today!
BodyGroups are a great online support system. Don't try to do it all alone! Want to achieve success, reach a goal, stay motivated, and have other fitness enthusiasts keep you accountable? Then BodyGroups is the best tool for you.
Like style, nutrition is always changing because scientists are uncovering healthy and unhealthy aspects of our food supply. Keep reading and you will be able to incorporate these the latest research into your daily life.
Click To Enlarge. 
