Tips to Get You Started Towards Your Body Transfomation Goals

I'm not a professional nutritionist; so please do not take my advice as gospel….
With that out of the way, I'd like to share some tips to help you in your journey to being a healthier you!
Not everybody is the same, but these are some things that have helped me that I still practice today.

Do you know how much you should be eating everyday?
Well it's time to find out! If you don't track your food, you don't have to. You are not required, but I would recommend that you do for a little while. This is to put your  daily food intake in perspective. You may think that the food that you are eating only has so many calories when in reality it has more, or fat, or carbs, or sodium! OH MY!

• I recommend that you use a site like : Scooby Workshop to get an idea of how much you need to intake daily. Be realistic with yourself and answer the questions in such manner. Now that you have an idea of what you should be eating go over to My Fitness Pal and start tracking! Warning, my fitness pal is going to ask you a brand new set of question and they will give you a calorie amount that you are supposed intake daily according to your goals. That has always confused me because it is at a deficit and I don't know why, I just don't get that science. However, once you are logged in, you can go to goals and adjust your goals according to what Scooby told you. Also, if you track your workouts with my fitness pal they will expect you to eat that food back, DON'T because the data from scooby already includes your activity. 

While on the subject of food here are some tips in the kitchen to make your tracking easier and that you can continue to incorporate in your daily life.

^^^ My dinner plate. All carefully measured out. 1/2 cup of quinoa, 6 oz of wild caught salmon, 2 cups of classic garden salad, 2tbs of raspberry vinaigrette, 6 croutons, 1 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce. Sounds like a lot of work, BUT once you've been doing it for a while, it's second nature.

• use a food scale and weigh your food raw
• use measurement cups and spoons *p.s. sometimes I eat my snacks right out of a measurement cup. It's a mind thing because 1/3 of a cup doesn't taste like a 1/3 of a cup when you're eating something yummy. lol It tastes like a tablespoon.
• buy organic when all possible. I know that organic is generally pricier than non organic, but the difference in flavor is worth it. Yummy, delicious and fresh flavors also helps us feel satisfied at the end of a meal. =) Here is a list of the top produce you should be buying organic. Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Strive to buy organic anything that you see in the dirty dozen. 
• If you have to use canned food then drain and rinse it (when possible) to get rid of some of the sugars/sodium etc. I do that with beans, fruits and veggies.
• Know what you're eating everyday. Have a plan. You don't have to plan that far in advance, but at least know what's in your fridge and plan what you will be eating the next day. It makes it easier to stay away from drive thrus and the table of gourmet treats at the office. I plan a week in advance. I stay true to that plan about 90% of the time. 
• Don't let hunger strike! NO! NO! NO! Hunger will cloud your judgement! lol Try to eat before you are hungry! I eat every 2 to 3 hours max!

Last, but not least! Keep your iron in check!! and by Iron I mean weights! lol Make weight lifting a part of your workout routine. If you are new to weight lifting and don't know where to start. Here are some resources that you might find helpful: Body Building, New Rules of Lifting For Women, (there's also a non woman version, which anyone can use) and Drop 2 Sizes. These are sources that I have actually used and have given me great results.