I’ve covered my protein here with chicken breast, I always prioritize it. Protein with every meal is important – protein is crucial for maintaining muscle and for muscle gain. Plus, it keeps you feeling fuller longer – eat carbs alone or just fat and you will be hungry in no time. In addition, I make sure to get veggies and fruit in several times throughout the day. A super simple way to keep your veggie intake in check is to include spinach with your meals, or prepare a salad. I threw this salad together real quick with spinach as the base , some shredded cabbage, strawberries, and some balsamic vinegar. My water consumption is covered with the Coconut LaCroix water – a simple way to keep your water intake in check is to always drink a glass of water with every meal. Lastly, I don’t ban any foods that I enjoy! I just eat less of them, and or cut portion size. Every meal that I eat, I do my best to stay aware of how much I am eating and my satiety level. Eat to abut 80% full and slow down when your eating.

If you don’t like how you eat, you won’t do it very long. Diets are restrictive in nature and are a very short term solution. Finding what works for YOU is very important for it to be sustainable for life. Diets have an expiration date, they are a short term solution. I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy my food, as well as it being nourishing and fulfilling, whether I’m in fat loss mode or maintaining my weight.

In summary – the answer is not a diet – those are short term solutions, doomed to fail. Make simple life changes that trend towards a healthier life. Lifestyle choices trump diets all the time! Remember, there are no shortcuts to long term health and wellness – it might be boring, but slowly moving to lifestyle changes will be far more successful than the constant yo yo dieting in the long term.