How to Create a Healthy Diet

Everyone should be eating 5 to 6 small meals a day, these meals should be 3 hours apart. You should have more of your carbohydrates in the morning and taper off in the evening. This lifestyle will seem complicated at first, but once you educate yourself a little and follow it, it will become second nature. It does take some planning ahead otherwise making food every 3 hours will take up your entire day. Planning your meals saves you money too. This is not a temporary fix diet, it is a lifestyle change that takes practice and time to get used to. Please give it a try, you won't be sorry!

Your diet should be split up as close as possible to these ratios:

• Protein 40%
• Carbohydrate 40%
• Fat no more than 20%

Plus one serving of veggies at each meal (The fibrous green kind)!

Good Options for these Components:

Protein

• Egg whites
• Skinless chicken breast
• 99% Fat free ground turkey
• Fillet Mignon
• Tilapia (or any other white fish)
• Shrimp (great source but watch your cholesterol intake)
• Sliced turkey, chicken or ham deli meat

Carbohydrate

• Brown rice
• Couscous
• Sweet potato
• Whole wheat bread
  
• Rice cakes
• Grape nuts or other dense cereals that will keep you full longer
• Oatmeal
  

Fat

• Natural peanut butter
• Almonds (just a few 1=about 10 calories)
• Low-fat milk (not fat-free, remember it has carbs too)
• olive oil

Veggies

• Green Beans
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Spinach

I am not at all saying that these are the only foods you can eat, but if you are disciplined and have most of your meals come from this list you will see great results. I can promise that you will have more energy and even your skin will improve if you cut out the junk. The key to keeping this food exciting is seasoning, I season everything! If you vary the way it tastes you won't get bored, making it easier to follow.

Guidelines to Live By:

• You must eat every 3 hours! I cannot stress this enough
• Realize that when you cheat you are only hurting, and setting yourself up for failure
• Give it a chance, eating healthy can still taste great and be satisfying
• Remember portion control, most of us eat until we are stuffed and this is a very unhealthy habit
• Drink water all day long!! You should take in between 1/2 to 1 gallon a day, if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated
  

Snack Alternatives

• Frosted animal cookies un-frosted animal crackers dipped in yogurt
• Chocolate just use portion control, 1 piece of dark chocolate
• Ice Cream frozen bananas or freeze your favorite yogurt flavor
• Juice or Sugary drinks ice cold water with lemon, or crystal light not diet soda
  
• Milkshake homemade smoothie with fruit, oj, ice, and a dash of vanilla
• Butter buttery spray (Olivio tastes the most genuine)

Please if you have any questions about anything email me at lanatwiss@yahoo.com and I will try to answer them for you! Hope you learned something new this week!
Alanna