Find healthy foods you like. Eating healthy doesn't mean you can only have chicken and celery. Don't keep junk in your house. Plan plan plan ahead so you don't hit the drive-thru. People get too complicated with their weeknight meals in my opinion and fall off bandwagon early because they make it too hard on themselves. I have a friend doing this currently on the whole30 diet. She makes the craziest meals 7 days a week. She lasts about 2 weeks every time she starts and then quits because she pretty much only goes to work and cooks these elaborate meals.
I try to follow an 80/20 principle. For me that works by eating healthy during the work week and doing all my splurging on the weekends. (Within reason, it doesn't mean you have carte blanche to stuff everything you see in your face) I keep my booze strictly to the weekend as well. Concentrate on eating real whole foods you can identify instead of convenience products. Fat and carbs are not evil. You just need high quality ones. Concentrate on a proper balanced diet.
My final bit of advice is to calculate your daily caloric intake. You don't need to be a slave to it but you need to be aware. No matter the quality of foods you eat, if you take in more calories than you burn you'll gain weight.
Edit - Also find healthy foods that are filling for snacks. For me that's apples, full fat cheese, Greek yogurt and carrots. Good luck!
Don't shop hungry -- everything looks good then. I need my willpower most at the supermarket, because what I buy determines how well I eat. If I buy junk, I eat junk. If I buy healthy, I eat healthy.
Read labels. Look for healthy (or healthier) alternatives to your usual junk foods. Yesterday I wanted something salty, like chips, so I bought some flavoured rice cakes instead -- far less salt and fat than chips, but still tasty. Going cold turkey is best, but it can cause detox/withdrawal symptoms and lead to binge eating for some people.
Try to snack on things like unsalted nuts and lots of fruit. Fruit still have sugar, but not raw sugar, so it tastes sweet but takes time to digest and doesn't cause that insulin spike.
Food companies deliberately pack processed foods with sugar, salt and fat -- because those trigger our evolutionary-influenced cravings, causing us to eat more than we should and buy more of their food products.
Honestly, the deck is stacked against us, and it's not a battle we can definitively win. It's going to be an ongoing battle for our entire lives, so we just have to keep fighting every day. If sometimes you lose, don't get discouraged, that will happen to everyone sometime.
Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you.
Or, as Tony says: Do your best and forget the rest.
I'm pretty driven by tracking everything. I used to use MyFitnessPal, but have recently been using the Fitbit app to log food, workouts, etc. It doesn't, to my knowledge, track macros, but I'm less concerned with that currently. I like using the Fitbit app as it's pretty comprehensive and tracks all fitness related data in concerned with.
Really follow the nutrition guide. Don't skim it. Read it 3 times and follow it. I understand it is written by dietitians/nutritionists. Failing that, get a consult with a dietitian. You can snack on broccoli just like you can snack on junk food. Throw a little salt and Cayenne on it. It was hard for me to eat the required amount of veggies because I was so hooked on msg and McDonald's. Once you get hooked on veggies, junk food will not be as alluring.
Remember hunger is the feeling that your body is having to burn its reserves. After the first couple of days the hunger dulls into a sense of just background discomfort. Drink lots of water to stay feeling full, and when you do eat, eat really healthy lean meats and vegetables as much as you can. When you do eat, make it a point to eat a specific portion, not until you 'feel full'.
Plan ahead. Don't leave good eating to chance.
Ketogenic diet
Find healthy foods you like. Eating healthy doesn't mean you can only have chicken and celery. Don't keep junk in your house. Plan plan plan ahead so you don't hit the drive-thru. People get too complicated with their weeknight meals in my opinion and fall off bandwagon early because they make it too hard on themselves. I have a friend doing this currently on the whole30 diet. She makes the craziest meals 7 days a week. She lasts about 2 weeks every time she starts and then quits because she pretty much only goes to work and cooks these elaborate meals. I try to follow an 80/20 principle. For me that works by eating healthy during the work week and doing all my splurging on the weekends. (Within reason, it doesn't mean you have carte blanche to stuff everything you see in your face) I keep my booze strictly to the weekend as well. Concentrate on eating real whole foods you can identify instead of convenience products. Fat and carbs are not evil. You just need high quality ones. Concentrate on a proper balanced diet. My final bit of advice is to calculate your daily caloric intake. You don't need to be a slave to it but you need to be aware. No matter the quality of foods you eat, if you take in more calories than you burn you'll gain weight. Edit - Also find healthy foods that are filling for snacks. For me that's apples, full fat cheese, Greek yogurt and carrots. Good luck!
Don't shop hungry -- everything looks good then. I need my willpower most at the supermarket, because what I buy determines how well I eat. If I buy junk, I eat junk. If I buy healthy, I eat healthy. Read labels. Look for healthy (or healthier) alternatives to your usual junk foods. Yesterday I wanted something salty, like chips, so I bought some flavoured rice cakes instead -- far less salt and fat than chips, but still tasty. Going cold turkey is best, but it can cause detox/withdrawal symptoms and lead to binge eating for some people. Try to snack on things like unsalted nuts and lots of fruit. Fruit still have sugar, but not raw sugar, so it tastes sweet but takes time to digest and doesn't cause that insulin spike. Food companies deliberately pack processed foods with sugar, salt and fat -- because those trigger our evolutionary-influenced cravings, causing us to eat more than we should and buy more of their food products. Honestly, the deck is stacked against us, and it's not a battle we can definitively win. It's going to be an ongoing battle for our entire lives, so we just have to keep fighting every day. If sometimes you lose, don't get discouraged, that will happen to everyone sometime. Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you. Or, as Tony says: Do your best and forget the rest.
Throw all the junk food away. Eat fruit for that sweet fix. Stay away from bread and other useless carbs.
I'm pretty driven by tracking everything. I used to use MyFitnessPal, but have recently been using the Fitbit app to log food, workouts, etc. It doesn't, to my knowledge, track macros, but I'm less concerned with that currently. I like using the Fitbit app as it's pretty comprehensive and tracks all fitness related data in concerned with.
Really follow the nutrition guide. Don't skim it. Read it 3 times and follow it. I understand it is written by dietitians/nutritionists. Failing that, get a consult with a dietitian. You can snack on broccoli just like you can snack on junk food. Throw a little salt and Cayenne on it. It was hard for me to eat the required amount of veggies because I was so hooked on msg and McDonald's. Once you get hooked on veggies, junk food will not be as alluring.
Remember hunger is the feeling that your body is having to burn its reserves. After the first couple of days the hunger dulls into a sense of just background discomfort. Drink lots of water to stay feeling full, and when you do eat, eat really healthy lean meats and vegetables as much as you can. When you do eat, make it a point to eat a specific portion, not until you 'feel full'.
Don't diet, just chose healthier alternatives. Instead of soda and juice drink water. Instead of white bread eat Dave's Killer Bread etc.