Nutrition Crash Course

Common Question:  
"I'm starting my adventure into becoming a healthier person. Calorie counting, more exercising, and drinking more water are all on the agenda.I need low calorie (but still tasty) snacks.  Any suggestions?"


My Answer: 
First of all, I don't count calories.  I choose foods of high nutritional value.  Things I eat most are lean meats (eggs, lowfat cheeses, 2% cottage cheese, boneless/skinless chicken breast, sirloin steak, 90/10 or less fat ground turkey or beef, pork chops, fish, etc) and non-starchy veggies (green beans, carrots, cucumber, zucchini/squash, artichoke, cabbage, etc).  My favorite fats are avocado, olives, and nuts (peanut butter too!).  I also enjoy protein shakes and protein bars (Pure Protein and Power Crunch are my favorite and can be purchased at Walmart) that are low in sugar.  I do occasionally eat fresh fruit, but only in small amounts and in the morning (usually only when I'm running a lot).  Processed sugar and carbs are my enemies!!!  
Snacks that I enjoy are the lil' packs of cocoa roasted almonds or other nuts and 2% lowfat string cheese.  
Have you ever tried the light laughing cow cheeses?  They are amazing!  I love them with fresh celery and other veggies.  Honestly, protein is the only thing that satisfies me in small amounts.  If I waited for "snack foods" to fill me, I'd be a bottomless pit and it would never happen.
I dieted for years and years by eating salad, rice cakes, and drinking diet soda (even limiting to 500 calories a day most days).  I was hungry all the time and ended up binging in the evenings and on weekends.  It never ever worked.  My current eating habits are something that I've been living with for 2 years.  It is a healthy lifestyle... along with lots of H20 and lots of exercise.  Having a lifestyle of natural, unprocessed foods has helped me more than any "fad" diets or pills I used for most of my life.  
That's just what I've learned and has helped me lose 100+ pounds.  

**My nutrition plan may not work for everybody and I'm okay with that. ; ) I have been very successful with my plan and think it is too good not to share.  


Here is another way I view my nutritional lifestyle:
I sometimes think about Cavemen.  I really doubt they struggled with being overweight.  They didn't have processed foods or much variety.  Cavemen ate meat, berries, nuts, and seeds (which they hunted and gathered themselves!).  It was a life of simplicity.  That's how I strive to eat in a world full of temptation.**