Natalie
Rae
Ariel

• CUT OUT REGULAR SODA.  A DIET pop will be ok if you need to kill a craving once in awhile, but that is it! Cut out any JUICES and "AIDE" drinks as well. Too many sugars you do NOT need if you are NOT training like a professional athlete.
• CUT OUT ALL ALCOHOL. PERIOD.
• CUT OUT 'SUGARS' WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Check ALL nutritional labels here folks! Almost all packaged foods have them. Candy, cookies, cakes, etc. IF ANYTHING, make sure the 'sugar' content is less than half of the TOTAL carbohydrate count.
• TRY TO EAT AT LEAST 5 MEALS A DAY. Watch your PORTIONS. Be sure to know what a serving size is of the food you are eating! If you cannot eat 5 small WHOLE meals(WHOLE MEAL=1 carb+1 protein), then shoot for 3 small meals and 2 snacks. Never let your body go more than 3 hours without food!
• ALWAYS INCLUDE A COMPLEX CARB WITH A PROTEIN AT YOUR MEALS. Doing so allows you to digest the carb better.(check the SUGGESTED GROCERY SHOPPING GUIDE, in MY BLOG section, for what each category includes)
• REMEMBER GREEN VEGGIES ARE FREE FOODS! Full of Fiber and Fill you up. It is hard to go overboard here, eat as many as you wish.
• FRUIT=SUGAR! All fruit contains sugar. Some is good. If you MUST eat it in your diet, keep it in EARLY in your day. The earlier you eat it, the longer your body has to burn off those sugars.

So many people ask for suggestions with their diet, well here you have it folks! Try including some of these into your daily lifestyle, you'll notice a difference. Don't try all suggestions at once as you will likely give up in the end. Going to extremes in most cases just sets people up for failure. IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE DISCIPLINE, then by all means, try them all, the results will shock you! This is NOT what a COMPETITION diet looks like, these are just suggestions for those who live normal lives looking to clean up their diet or looking for a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE change!

As with ANY diet program, before to check with your doctor before starting any new program, as these are only suggestions. If you have any SPECIAL needs, these may not work for you.