If you’re anything like me, I bet you are a bit lost whenever you start a diet.

Well, we all are.

My diet has been changing constantly throughout the past 5 years, and that’s perfectly normal.

Health and fitness are evolving daily, same as everything around us, and what was known to be healthy 5 years ago may turn out to be unhealthy.

However, there are few things in my diet that have stayed the same throughout the years and that’s exactly what I’ll talk about today.

These 12 things are the constant in my diet, rules that always stay the same.

I’m sharing them right now in order to help you start stronger and get the most out of your weight loss journey.

Let’s get started right away!

1. Calories Are Not That Important

Yes, in a perfect world calories would be the only thing that truly matters, but in our world that’s just not the case and it’s not all about that simple math since all calories are not the same.

In fact, healthy food doesn’t always mean low calorie food, and it’s always better for both your body and health to have a handful of almonds with over 300 calories, instead of a coke zero.

The calories you get from nuts are definitely not the same with the calories in a big mac – it’s the way our body process the calories that really matter.

I always like to say that with calories, as with diamonds, it’s the quality that matters most and enhances their value, not the quantity.

So, if you want to maximize your weight loss minimize the calorie intake, but make sure to pick out calories that come from healthy sources, because that’s what really matters in the end.

2. Sugar Is Your Enemy

Sugar is health’s worst enemy.

It’s the one thing our body can live without, yet nowadays we can find it in almost every product on the market.

Now we don’t talk about carbohydrates overall, but sugar itself in the form of fructose.

Not only that sugar ruins our weight loss efforts, but it causes a series of health issues in our overall health.

It’s toxic and addictive and you will feel great without it, fasten your weight loss and improve your health.

So, in order to avoid it you should always check for added sugars in each product, make sure they’re minimized, and loaded with fibers instead.

The one thing about sugar is that the less you eat it the less you crave it, so it’s all up to you.

3. Junk Food Will Be Everywhere Around You

Yes, before starting a diet you should be aware that unhealthy food will be everywhere around you, and you should learn to control yourself.

Your friends are going to eat pizza in your face, and drink margaritas, and you’re supposed to say no to them.

Get ready for this, because it can be so frustrating, but what you should do is have a bit of self-control and really focus on your long term goal instead of short term pleasures.

4. You Shouldn’t Avoid Carbs, Just Choose Them Wise

As protein diets took a swing, carbs were completely left out of the picture.

I get it, I would choose proteins over carbs too, but why do we have to make that choice in the first place?

Carbs are a macronutrient same as proteins and fats, and what choice we make is a what counts in the end.

So, if we make sure we choose our carbs wise, then we won’t have to think about carbs making us fat.

When it comes to carbs, always check the amount of fibers, because that’s the part of the carbs that you need for weight loss and healthy life.

Brown rice, lentils, chickpeas, beans… keep it complex and you won’t go wrong.

5. If Something Says “Healthy” It Doesn’t Necessarily Means It’s Healthy

Unfortunately this is the truth.

You shouldn’t decide if a product is healthy or not just by it’s package.

What you should do is learn to read food labels, and really see if the products you’re about to eat are healthy and good for your diet.

Most of my mistakes and ruined weight loss efforts were because I thought I was eating healthy, but it turned out the other way.

So make sure you always double check eve google everything you’re about to eat.

6. Salads Are The Key

Eating salads daily is the key to a healthy and balanced diet.

A bowl of greens is the best way to load yourself up with vitamins and load your tummy with volume needed to keep you full.

Adding a big bowl of salad to your meals will allow you to include greens like romaine, radicchio, basil, iceberg and spinach in your daily diet, which provide so many health benefits when consumed fresh.

I love making salads out of my meals, for example if I have chicken for dinner I’ll make a caesar salad.

7. Planning Can Help A Lot

Planning will not only save you some time, but it will help you stay organized.

Just think about it – how many times you’ve reached for bad foods because you were hungry and you didn’t have anything healthy by hand?

It happens to all of us, and planning is the only thing that can prevent this from happening.

In order to make the most out of everything you do, you should plan ahead.

Here’s something that will help you considering planning.

8. You Should Avoid Processed Foods

Processed foods usually mean foods that are far away from their natural form, and far away from healthy and balanced nutrients.

Whenever starting a diet, you have to make sure to keep it as raw as possible and as not processed as possible.

This means that you should always choose to make your own salad dressing or pesto, instead of buying one, and always make your meals out of raw ingredients.

That way, you’ll make sure to keep as many nutrients without taking a bunch of artificial flavors, sugars and other ingredients food manufacturers add in their processed products.

9. How You Cook Your Food Is Really Important

The way you cook your meals determines how healthy they’ll actually be.

Let’s take french fries as an example – potatoes themselves are not that bad, but when cook in deep fryer – they’re one of the worst foods to eat.

And probably the most important fact when it comes to cooking for health, is the way you cook the foods, and the oils you use.

In addition to this, try avoiding sunflower seeds oil or palm oil, and use extra virgin olive oil instead.

Also, choose a healthier way to cook the foods, oven bake or boil instead of frying them and you’re all set.

I’ve dedicated one whole chapter on how to cook your food in my nutrition plan, check it out here.

10. It Will Take Some Time

I know you want to lose that damn weight fast, we all do, but you didn’t gain it overnight so it will take some times to even see the first results, not to mention getting to your goal.

Be prepared to stay put and be patient, the time will pass and the results will come.

It may take months to lose that weight, and it’s always good to be ready for that.

11. Fats Are Not Making Us Fat, But Choose Them Wise

There was a trend once that fats are bad for our health.

This was the time when people were obsessed with low fat products, believing that fat itself is responsible for making us fat.

And I can see how the name of this macronutrient can be a bit confusing, but same as carbs there are two types of fats too – good and bad.

What you should do is focus on eating the good fats – monounsaturated fats, avoid the “not so good” fats – saturated fats, and completely avoid bad fats – trans fats.

That way, you’ll make sure to take good advantage of them and stay healthy at the same time.

Fats are good for our health as long as they come from the right foods.

If you want to find out more about what to eat precisely, head on to my nutrition plan.

12. Change Your Drinks With Water

Loading up with unnecessary calories through junk drinks is the worst.

They take almost no time to process, they get into your system fast, yet your body does not profit out of them.

Even freshly squeezed juices or “healthy” energy drinks, ice teas, alcohol and almost anything that works as a hydration, when in fact it’s not.

They’re just empty calories, so change them up with water, maybe with few drops of lemon in it, to really make sure you don’t get all those calories through liquid.

Choose The Right Diet Plan!

I personally hate the word diet and always use “nutrition plan” when I talk about diets.

And out of all the diets out there, you have to choose the right one for you, but the one that’s really going to help you lose weight and get fit.

After seeing so many girls struggling to find the right nutrition plan, I decided to create my own, and help you lose that damn weight the same way I did it.

Check out my nutrition plan, and start right now!

It’s the perfect combination of every single thing you need in order to get healthy and fit, while staying full and learning every single thing you need to know about healthy food overall.

Grab your copy right now!

Also, don’t forget to share this with your friends!

Till next time,
Monica