Dieting sucks! Struggling With Food Choices & How Much Is Okay?

To make it short and sweet, when it comes to choosing what to eat, think of, Good Fats, Healthy Carbs and Protein & what time of the day is it.

To begin, download a food journal app like My Fitness Pal to your mobil device. This will make it convenient to keep track of your daily total caloric intake with out having to hassle with calorie counting. Simplifying the process is key!

Knowing your total calories for the day is important and being aware of how many calories each time you each is crucial to getting real results, without waisting your valuable time. For instance, my daily caloric intake is 1250, max 1500. I'll plug in what I'm eating before I eat it and it gives me my remaining amount of calories for the day based on my total amount calories. In the beginning you find yourself cutting it close before dinner is even near or maybe your not eating enough. This process will help you find balance and take control. Each day is a new day, start your day with implementing what you learned the previous days and your on your way to a healthier you and getting those results your working hard to get.

Protein

If you intensely workout regularly, it's advised to consume in grams what you weigh.If you don't work your muscles as intense, Still try to consume protein in each meal. A great guide of reference,   I weigh 125, I consume, or at least do my best to consume 125 grams of protein a day. The ideal source of protein is lean meats like,

Boneless, skinless chicken breast ( 5oz= 26.59g), Ground lean turkey ( 4 oz= 26.0g), White Fish 1 moderate size filet ( 6,1/4"x3x3/8" = 25.53g)

Do your best! To find out how much protein, also fat, carbs are in the foods your eating you can check out this great reference guide https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/

Don't eat meat! If you don't eat meat, no worries. Just make sure your getting protein from another source and take a B-12 supplement.

Carbs

When it comes to carbs, think of veggies, sweet potatoes, yams, low glycemic fruits, like berries, green apples, etc. I have found that if you consume the majority of your carbs before 4pm you'll do good with no late night snacking.

The best time of day moderate amounts of carb consumption should be is in the morning before a challenging, brain powered day and before an intense workout. Dinner should consists of a good fat and a lean protein.

Good Fats

When you have an option to choose a dish with" not so good fats" vs. "good fats", always opt for the good fat. Good fats consists of avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc. To give you an example of an opt out, I'll go for avocado instead of sour cream or cheese. When cooking, high heat oil, I use coconut oil. Get rid of you vegetable oils and canola oil. Coconut oil is it's great substitute. When baking, olive oil is a great substitute as well. I've found when making brownies for the family during a special occasion, coconut oil has too much of a coconut flavor that over powers the brownies, but olive oil works great and you wont be able to tell the difference.  I will go into the differences of fats and saturated fats in an upcoming blog. Stay tuned for that! Good stuff to know!

While your waiting...

TO understand  more about not so good fats and good fats you can check out this cut/paste link below to read article. 

http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/skinny-fat-good-fats-bad-fats#1

Tip: Strawberries are a great pre-workout snack!

Here's a great recipe to try out!

Recipe from http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50415/garlic-sriracha-pork-stir-fry-recipe/

TOTAL TIME: 0:20

PREP: 0:05

LEVEL: EASY

SERVES: 4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground turkey

1 tbsp. coconut oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, sliced

1 eggplant, cut into half moons

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 lb. green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 tbsp. unfiltered, raw honey

4 tsp. sriracha

1/2 c. Chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet over medium-high heat brown ground turkey, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Transfer to a plate, set aside.

Return pan to medium heat and warm oil, sauté garlic and onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; stir fry with eggplant and bell pepper for 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine soy sauce, honey and Sriracha; add to the skillet with green beans and turkey. Sauté until green beans are bright green and meat is warmed through.

Top with cilantro and serve immediately.

Judy Kim is a NYC-based food stylist, recipe developer, and photographer. She also writes recipes for her website The Judy Lab.