Diet mistakes we all make

I think we all start out the same way. We are driven to succeed so we stick to the program and it generally works and you lose your first 10 pounds or so and then you stop losing or the losing slows down to a crawl and you get discouraged and quick.
Everything you're going through is normal; it happens to everyone, we just don’t talk about it. When you go on a fad diet like the grapefruit diet or the cabbage soup diet all you’re really doing is purging your body of all the pend up food in your system. Most people don’t realize that your digestive system holds about three days worth of food. Everything you ate for the past three days is still in your digestive track being digested; it really does take that long.
When you feel sluggish it’s because your digestive system is backing up because you may have eaten too much or you may have eaten the wrong thing and you slowed down the digestive process so now you have more than three days worth of food in your system.
When you go on a fad diet you’re just cleaning out your system or, in some cases you’re drastically cutting your calories and starving yourself. That will generally lead to malnutrition from the lack of necessary vitamins and minerals. These starvation diets are popular. They try and tell you that all you need to do is cut you calories and exercise. That will only work for a short period of time. And why is that?   It only works for a couple of weeks or maybe about a 10-pound loss because your body will think you are starving and cut your calorie burn by reducing your energy. It slows down the amount of energy it creates for you. That’s one of the reasons that dieters lose the energy to exercise. All this will happen over several weeks, but no matter what fad diet you choose, you will generally only lose about 10 pounds before you start to cheat on the diet or get so weak that you start to binge on whatever food you can find.
Another classic mistake is to cut calories by skipping breakfast. I know it might sound crazy but you can’t skip meals and lose weight, it doesn’t work.  The best way to cut calories is to eat fresh, natural foods that are naturally low in calories. Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein like poultry and fish, low-fat dairy and snack on nuts and seeds. Don’t eat beef, especially hamburger. When I was dieting to lose weight, I was eating 6 small meals a day and drinking lots of water.  I kept my meals under 300 calories and stopped eating after 6 pm. I’m here as living proof that it works, I was never hungry and I do the same thing today to maintain my weight. You can’t go back to the old way you were eating; if you do the weight will come back and come back fast.
Stop eating fating snacks like chips or everything fried. Don’t eat any pastries, no cake, no muffins, no donuts or bagels and only eat a small amount of whole-grain bread each day. But not snacking at all will only cause you to binge when you get a chance. Nuts, seeds, and fruit are good snack food. But nuts and fruit do have calories so only a handful between meals. When I was on the six-meal a day plan, I didn’t have to snack; I was eating every three hours. I’d eat about 300 calories at every meal and that would hold me for 3 more hours.  The trick is not to skip any meals; you have to eat every three hours but only 300 calories.
Don’t drink your calories. This is another classic mistake. We all do this, we got the meal plan down and we are sticking to it and then we think we can reward ourselves with a Latte or something else just as sinful and we blow 300 or more calories on a few minutes of pleasure. Not Good!! Losing weight is a battle and you can’t win the battle if you think it’s o.k. to cheat.

Next mistake the beginners always make is eating low-fat foods. They think that eating low-fat meals of just low-fat foods or snack won’t hurt weight loss but manufactured food will hurt your weight loss effort. It might be low in fat but they have to put some taste back in the food so they add more sugar or some other sweetener. Low-fat doesn’t mean low-calorie. You can find low-calorie, very nutrius prepared fresh meals in a supermarket. The store by me carries a good selection of small meals, some salads and some sandwiches with salads and some hot meals, all ready to eat. These meals are made fresh every day and great for a dieter.

Drinking lots of water is essential for a dieter. Your body will retain water if you’re not drink enough. Just like hoarding food calories, your body will retain fluid if it thinks you can’t find water. Your body’s one single most important function is to preserve life. So your body has the power to regulate the amount of energy it provides for you by restricting calorie burn and by retaining fluids to keep your system working until you find more water.
Another mistake is to cut out dairy because of the fat content. Yes, dairy has fat, but it also has calcium and the body needs calcium so you want to eat low-fat plain yogurt or cottage cheese. I’d lay off the milk. If you want milk, I’d buy low-fat Almond milk, it has all the essentials you need.
One more thing,  don’t go thru the window at the fast food restaurant. Anything you order will put weight on you.  Stick to the food in the supermarket. You can find more healthy choices.

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

The Mediterranean Diet, Still Number One

A total diet and lifestyle approach continues to be one of the best prescriptions for a long, healthy life.

The Promise

Delicious food that's stood the test of time and helps keep you healthy for years to come. That's at the heart of the traditional Mediterranean diet.

There’s no single Mediterranean diet plan, but in general, you'd be eating lots of fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts, healthy grains, fish, olive oil, small amounts of meat and dairy, and red wine. 

This lifestyle also encourages daily exercise, sharing meals with others, and enjoying it all. 

Does It Work?

This diet scores big for heart health. Studies suggest it can make you less likely to get heart disease, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, and may also help you avoid certain cancers and chronic diseases.

For weight loss, you’ll have better results if you stick with it more than six months, get regular exercise, and cut back on how much you eat. Studies show it may be better for weight loss than a low-fat diet.

What You Can Eat and What You Can't

You’ll eat mostly plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables, potatoes, whole-grain bread, beans, nuts, and seeds.

You can have yogurt, cheese, poultry, and eggs in small portions. You should eat fish and seafood at least twice a week. "Good" fats get a stamp of approval: Think olives, extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, sunflower seeds, and avocados instead of butter or margarine. You’ll use olive oil a lot while cooking. Reach for herbs and spices to add flavor.

Red wine gets a thumbs-up, in moderation (one glass for women, one to two for men). But water is your go-to drink.

Dessert is usually fruit. Sweets and red meats are OK occasionally.

This pyramid shows you all the foods available to you on this diet Some foods you can eat daily some only once a week and some only once a month. Always drink all the water. When I was trying to lose weight I did drink coffee and tea but only black. You can eat all you want as long as you stay on the pyramid. If it's not on the pyramid don't eat it. You don't have to count calories. At first you won't lose a lot of weight but after your body gets used to eating healthy, you'll feel better and start to lose weight. Naturally, the more active you are the calories you'll burn and faster you'll lose weight. Try to walk an extra 2 or 3 miles a day.

The 5 Meal a Day Plan For Weight Loss

I understand the concept: Five small meals a day takes the edge off your appetite, evens out blood sugar levels, and keeps your energy steady.  The idea is to eat every three hours to keep from getting hungry and it does work. But I confess: I don’t always eat this way.

Although my fitness trainer encourages me to eat healthy food every few hours, my meals usually look like this: coffee, a bit more coffee, lunch at 3 p.m., dinner at 9 p.m. I start over again the next morning.

When I decided to change this habit, I found that doing these five things helped:

1. Plan ahead. Five meals a day equals breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. To do this right, you need to plan what you’ll eat every day for each “meal.” And you need to schedule eating every 2 to 3 hours.The trick is to even out the calories so you eat 300 calories each time your eat. All five meals should be the same size. Larger meals will elevate your blood sugars or glucose level and cause food cravings later. So whether it's a meal or a snack it needs to be the same size, the same amount of calories. 
2. Stock up. Face it: You’re going to grab whatever food is closest. So stock up on veggies, fruit, healthy carbs like whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
3. Go for taste. Choose snack foods that will sustain you and taste good. Remember, healthy food can be satisfying. Mixed nuts are my favorite but for a morning snack fruit or greek yogurt is better.
4. Whip up a smoothie. Blend fruit, milk, yogurt, powdered protein and a little honey for a sweet taste. It's a filling snack packed with vitamins, fiber, protein, and calcium. It  might sound crazy but I put peanut butter in and I don't use fruit, I use vegetables like spinach leaves and if I don't want milk, I'll put water. There's dozens of ways to make a protein shake, you can find recipes on the internet.
5. Combine carbs and protein to stay full longer. Try whole wheat toast with peanut butter or a hard-boiled egg; whole-grain pasta with olive oil and cheese; or oatmeal with fruit, milk, and honey. Or make yourself a big pot of soup that includes pasta, beans, and chicken to heat up for lunches or snacks.

If you're someone who starts the day very early you might want to do 6 meals a day. Make that first

meal the first hour your up and finish eating 3 hours before bed. If you have to push the meals closer 

together, remember to cut the calories a little like 250 each instead of 300.

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my sites.

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

Diet Mistakes We All Make

I think we all start out the same way. We are driven to succeed so we stick to the program and it generally works and you lose your first 10 pounds or so and then you stop losing or the losing slows down to a crawl and you get discouraged and quick.

Everything your going threw is normal; it happens to everyone, we just don’t talk about it. When you go on a fad diet like the grapefruit diet or the cabbage soup diet all you’re really doing is purging your body of all the pended up food in your system. Most people don’t realize that your digestive system holds about three days worth of food. Everything you ate for the past three days is still in your digestive track being digested; it really does take that long.

When you feel sluggish it’s because your digestive system is backing up because you may have eaten too much or your may have eaten the wrong thing and you slowed down the digestive process so now you have more than three days worth of food in your system.

When you go on a fad diet you’re just cleaning out your system or, in some cases you’re drastically cutting your calories and starving yourself. That will generally lead to malnutrition from the lack of necessary vitamins and minerals. These starvation diets are popular. They try and tell you that all you need to do is cut you calories and exercise. That will only work for a short period of time. And why is that?   It only works for a couple of weeks or maybe about a 10 pound loss because your body will think you are starving and cut your calorie burn by reducing your energy. It slows down the amount of energy it creates for you. That’s one of the reasons that dieters lose the energy to exercise. All this will happen over several weeks, but no matter what fad diet you choose, you will generally only lose about 10 pounds before you start to cheat on the diet or get so weak that you start to binge on whatever food you can find.

Another classic mistake is to cut calories by skipping breakfast. I know it might sound crazy but you can’t skip meals and lose weight, it doesn’t work.  The best way to cut calories is to eat fresh, natural foods that are naturally low in calories. Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein like poultry and fish, low-fat dairy and snack on nuts and seeds. Don’t eat beef, especially hamburger. When I was dieting to lose weight, I was eating 6 small meals a day and drinking lots of water.  I kept my meals under 300 calories and stopped eating after 6 pm. I’m here as living proof that it works, I was never hungry and I do the same thing today to maintain my weight. You can’t go back to the old way you were eating; if you do the weight will come back and come back fast.

Stop eating fating snacks like chips or everything fried. Don’t eat any pastries, no cake, no muffins, no donuts or bagels and only eat a small amount of whole-grain bread each day. But not snacking at all will only cause you to binge when you get a chance. Nuts, seeds and fruit are good snack food. But nuts and fruit do have calories so only a handful between meals. When I was on the six-meal a day plan, I didn’t have to snack; I was eating every three hours. I’d eat about 300 calories at every meal and that would hold me for 3 more hours.  The trick is not to skip any meals; you have to eat every three hours but only 300 calories.

Don’t drink your calories. This is another classic mistake. We all do this, we got the meal plan down and we are sticking to it and then we think we can reward ourselves with a Latte or something else just as sinful and we blow 300 or more calories on a few minutes of pleasure. Not Good!! Losing weight is a battle and you can’t win the battle if you think it’s o.k. to cheat.

 Next mistake the beginners always make is eating low-fat foods. They think that eating low-fat meals of just low-fat foods or snack won’t hurt weight loss but manufactured food will hurt your weight loss effort. It might be low in fat but they have to put some taste back in the food so they add more sugar or some other sweetener. Low-fat doesn’t mean low-calorie. You can find low-calorie, very nutrius prepared fresh meals in a supermarket. The store by me carries a good selection of small meals, some salads and some sandwiches with salads and some hot meals, all ready to eat. These meals are made fresh every day and great for a dieter.

 Drinking lots of water is essential for a dieter. Your body will retain water if you’re not drink enough. Just like hoarding food calories, your body will retain fluid if it thinks you can’t find water. Your body’s one single most important function is to preserve life. So your body has the power to regulate the amount of energy it provides for you by restricting calorie burn and by retaining fluids to keep your system working until you find more water.

Another mistake is to cut out dairy because of the fat content. Yes, dairy has fat, but it also has calcium and the body needs calcium so you want to eat low-fat plain yogurt or cottage cheese. I’d lay off the milk. If you want milk, I’d buy low-fat Almond milk, it has all the essentials you need.

One more things is don’t go thru the window at the fast food restaurant. Anything you order will put weight on you.  Stick to the food in the supermarket.  

If you want all you need to know in one read, look for my e-book on Smashwords.com

It's $1.99 when you use the discount code (not case sensitive pj42h). Get the book on any device in any format. 

 

 

 

 

How To Cut Your Calories

How To Cut Your Calories by ray0369 Are you trying to cut calories to lose weight? If so, you may be confused by all the numbers you see online and in magazines. It's hard to figure out exactly how many calories to cut to lose weight effectively and keep the pounds off for good. But don't worry. Cutting calories is easier than you might imagine - once you get the facts. Can I Lose Weight by Cutting Calories Alone? There are different ways to lose weight - but all of them require that you change your daily calorie balance. Experts call this your energy balance. The simplest way to change your energy balance is to cut calories. You can accomplish this by eating smaller portions of food at meal time or by skipping snacks and high-calorie drinks. You can also add exercise to your weight loss program to increase your calorie deficit and lose weight faster. But be careful. This plan works for some people, but it backfires on others. Exercise is good for your body and should be part of a healthy lifestyle. But exercise can also make you hungry. If you're already cutting calories to lose weight, the added hunger after exercise can be too much, and it may cause you to quit your weight loss program altogether. Yes, it is possible that the wrong type of exercise will cause hunger and you can gain weight. That's why I suggest that making small tweaks in your diet like cutting out snack or soft drinks, doesn't really work for the long term. First of all, I believe you have to be honest with yourself and realize the mistakes you made that cause your weight problem. If you want to lose that excess fat you have to admitt to yourself how you got to this place. And resolve in your mind that your going to stop doing those things and live a healthy lifestyle. If you already exercise, you may be able to reduce calories and maintain your exercise program to lose weight. But if exercise is not a part of your daily routine, start slowly. First, cut calories to lose weight and then slowly add an easy exercise program to increase your weight loss. How Many Calories Should I Cut to Lose Weight? If you have decided to live healthier, than start by eating healthy which means eat fresh natural foods. You don't have to get crazy like going vegetarian, but you do have to start eating fresh fruits and vegetables, lean fresh meat, not hamburger, white meat poultry, and seafood. For snacks choose nuts and seeds and stop drinking calories. What ever you drink should not have calories. Stop buying processed or manufactured food. We live on a planet that provides us with natural grown foods. Buy organic when ever you can, but in some case it's not necessary like bananas or coconuts. Check the internet for suggestions. ⁣Of course, in order to meet your goal, you need to keep track of how many calories you eat. Another reason to eat all natural foods, you don't have to count calories. You do have to restrict your meat consumption. Most humans eat too much animal meat. Poultry is not animal and the fat on poultry is not as harmful to the body. Most of the excess fat around your waist is from animal fat and animal fat is marbled in animal meat, you can't trim off the fat marbled through meat. The reason eating poultry and fish is better for you is because the fat isn't marbled through the muscle. You can see and remove that fat. Animal meat should only be eaten in small quantities, about 3 ounces at one time, and only twice a week. The other days you should be eating seafood or poultry. Don't skimp on seafood, eat seafood in some form at least 3 times a week. It's best to keep a food journal. This way you can find your mistakes. Sometimes when your not losing fat it might be your food preparation. I never eat fried food no matter how healthy the food maybe, frying your food will in oil will change the food and you might even double the calories. Should I Cut More Calories to Lose Weight Faster? No So if cutting calories can lead to weight loss, you might be tempted to cut as many calories as possible to slim down. Some dieters even lower their daily food intake to 800 calories or less to lose weight. But extremely low-calorie diets usually don't lead to permanent weight loss for several reasons. First, very low-calorie diets (VLCD) can affect your metabolism. Some dieters call this "starvation mode." When you eat far less than your body needs, your metabolism slows down to adjust for the lower supply of energy. When your metabolism slows down, your rate of weight loss slows down, too. Next, very low-calorie diets affect your daily energy level. Why does this matter? Your daily activity level has a big impact on the number of calories you burn every day. If you stay active and burn more calories, you're more likely to see weight loss results. If you're exhausted from eating too little, you won't burn as many calories and weight loss can stall. If your body thinks that your starving it will hoard calories to the point where you might even gain weight. It can do that by adjusting the number of calories the body burns to the point where you almost have no energy anymore. The bodies primary function is to keep you from starving and it will shut down body functions to do that. You can cut calories to lose weight. But be careful that you don't cut too many calories and risk your health. Your body needs time to adjust to a new lifestyle and a new eating plan. Take it slow and make small adjustments to see real weight loss results that last. You can make big changes in your body but you have to trick your body into making the changes. So changes will have to be done gradually. I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites. gettingtoahealthyweight.blog idropped40pounds.wordpress.com howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com blogonweight.blogspot.com If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K. My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

Will Drinking More Water Help Me Lose Weight?

The following question is important. It seems so simple but yet very few people actually drink 64 ounces a day. I know half a gallon of water seems a little extreme, but your body needs it. You need to flush out toxins (chemicals and other impurities) from your body. Everything we eat or drink will have some percentage of impurities and the best way to get rid of those impurities and chemicals is to drink water and flush them out of your system. 

Question: I'm struggling with my weight loss diet. I mean I'm sticking with my calorie counts, but the weight loss is really slow going. I've read that drinking water can help with weight loss. Is that true and why?

Answer: Yes, it is possible that drinking more water throughout the day will help you lose weight. So why is that?

One possible reason for this weight loss could be that that drinking more water could affect your metabolism, which would cause you to burn more calories.

But, I actually haven't seen any evidence for that to be the reason for any weight loss.

Drinking water certainly helps you lose weight when it becomes a substitute for high-calorie beverages, such as sugary sodas and other sweet drinks. I mean, if you typically drink 12 ounces of soda each day, replacing it with water could easily save almost 1,000 calories each week and help you lose a little over a pound each month. I think this is probably the best explanation.

Population studies suggest that people who drink more water tend to consume fewer calories. So that could be due to swapping out the sodas, or it could be just part of an overall shift in health-conscious, meaning that making one good decision (drinking more water) leads to another good decision (eating right) and maybe even another good choice (exercising more).

Some experts believe that feeling hungry may be an indicator that you need water.

I'm not sure if that's true, but drinking water instead of eating a snack will reduce the calories you consume.

Finally, increasing your water intake before meals may help you watch your weight because it takes up space in your stomach. This, in turn, may reduce the amount of food you consume during a meal -- at least if you're middle age or older; studies don't indicate that young people who drink water before a meal tend to eat less.

Personally, water retention is a major cause for weight gain and water retention is caused by not drinking enough water. The same thing holds true for calories. To preserve life your body will hoard food or water if it thinks you are starving. So by drinking more water, your body will assume you have a regular water supply and will regularly flush the water out as urine. 

The same thing will happen with the calories your eating. If you cut your calorie intake drastically, your body will go into preservation mode and hoard calories in your fat cells. If your body is happy with your daily calorie intake it will continue to burn all the calories necessary for all your body functions and stop hoarding so you will start to lose fat.

Best Ways to Drink More Water

You don't have to drink plain tap water to avoid extra calories if you don't like it. Mineral water works just fine, or you can add lemons or limes to your water for flavor. Herbal teas have virtually no calories unless you add sugar and milk. Other healthy beverages include 100-percent fruit juices, vegetable juices, and low-fat milk. They contain some calories but also offer lots of vitamins and minerals. It's important to note that vegetable juices can be high in sodium.

Coffee and black or green tea contain caffeine, and many people think that the diuretic effect of caffeine offsets the amount of water supplied, but recent studies suggest that's not true. Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant, and caffeine-sensitive individuals may need to avoid excess consumption of highly caffeinated beverages like coffee, colas, and energy drinks.

You can tweet me with questions at #ray0369

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

What's The Mediterranean Diet?

 total diet and lifestyle approach continues to be one of the best prescriptions for a long, healthy life.

The Promise

Delicious food that's stood the test of time and helps keep you healthy for years to come. That's at the heart of the traditional Mediterranean diet.

There’s no single Mediterranean diet plan, but in general, you'd be eating lots of fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts, healthy grains, fish, olive oil, small amounts of meat and dairy, and red wine. 

This lifestyle also encourages daily exercise, sharing meals with others, and enjoying it all. 

Does It Work?

This diet scores big for heart health. Studies suggest it can make you less likely to get heart disease, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, and may also help you avoid certain cancers and chronic diseases.

For weight loss, you’ll have better results if you stick with it more than six months, get regular exercise, and cut back on how much you eat. Studies show it may be better for weight loss than a low-fat diet.

What You Can Eat and

 What You Can't

You’ll eat mostly plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables, potatoes, whole-grain bread, beans, nuts, and seeds.

You can have yogurt, cheese, poultry, and eggs in small portions. You should eat fish and seafood at least twice a week. "Good" fats get a stamp of approval: Think olives, extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, sunflower seeds, and avocados instead of butter or margarine. You’ll use olive oil a lot while cooking. Reach for herbs and spices to add flavor.

Red wine gets a thumbs-up, in moderation (one glass for women, one to two for men). But water is your go-to drink.

Dessert is usually fruit. Sweets and red meats are OK occasionally.

This pyramid shows you all the foods available to you on this diet Some foods you can eat daily some only once a week and some only once a month. Always drink all the water. When I was trying to lose weight I did drink coffee and tea but only black. You can eat all you want as long as you stay on the pyramid. If it's not on the pyramid don't eat it. You don't have to count calories. At first, you won't lose a lot of weight but after your body gets accustom to eating healthy, you'll feel better and start to lose weight. Naturally, the more active you are the calories you'll burn and faster you'll lose weight. Try to walk an extra 2  miles a day. If you keep track of your steps with a cell phone app or a pedometer, you need to log about 10,000 steps a day. That's from morning to night, don't try to do it all at one time. 

You can tweet me with questions at #ray0369

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon