I've been talking about making good food choices. One thing that keeps you on track is making it simple. 5 small meals a day, 6 days a week, every couple hours. This will keep your energy levels even and avoid binge eating from being overly hungry. What about the 7th day. Well there's more about that later. For the 6 days what we include in those meals is very important. If we strip away the goop that we add on that's half the battle. So skip the sauces, fatty cheeses and dressings. If you're busy a good option is to substitute a healthy protein shake for one or two meals as I do. I will have three food meals and two high quality, no preservative ready made protein shakes between my food meals. In our food meals we should include a portion of lean protein (size of your palm), a portion of complex carbohydrates (size of your fist), a portion of vegetables (vegetables have almost no calories so really as much as you want) and a portion of healthy unsaturated fat (size of your thumbnail.) You'll notice there are no cakes, ice cream or chocolates mentioned so far but don't despair! Remember I said I'd tell you more about the 7th day later. Well that day is the infamous free day. On the 7th day you can eat anything you want. So if on the 3rd day you're craving chocolate rest assured that you can have that on the 7th day and remain on track the rest of the week.
Protein: Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, Swordfish, Orange Roughy, Salmon, Tuna, Top Round Steak, Top Sirloin, Lean Ground Beef, Buffalo, Eggs and Low Fat Cottage Cheese
Complex Carbohydrates: Baked Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam, Squash, Pumpkin, Steamed Brown Rice, Steamed Wild Rice, Pasta, Oatmeal, Beans, Corn, Strawberries, Melon, Apple, Orange, Fat Free Yogurt and Whole Wheat Bread.
Vegetables: Broccoli, Asparagus, Lettuce, Carrots, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomato, Peas, Artichoke, Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini, Cucumber and Onion.
Healthy Fats: Safflower oil, Sesame Oil, Canola Oil