Want to Lose Weight and Be Healthier? Eat Like a Dietician

Most of us want to be healthier, but with all the strange fad diets out there and other misguided advice, it’s difficult to know what’s actually good to eat. Luckily, registered dietician Ellie Krieger from the Food Network show "Healthy Appetite" has some tips on how you can eat right and feel better.

1. Eat breakfast. While it might be tempting to skip breakfast, especially if you’re not an early riser, it is vitally important to keeping you fit and healthy. Ellie’s recommendations for breakfast foods include whole-grain cereals, plus seasonal berries, in skim milk. Look for cereals with "whole grain" instead of "multi-grain" or eat fiber-rich hot cereal like steel-cut oats.
2. Eat seasonally. When you eat seasonally you’re protecting your health and the environment. When you eat local produce that’s in season, you eat fresher vegetables and fruits, sans pesticides, that aren’t shipped in from miles and miles away. If you can’t live without a fruit or vegetable that’s out of season, you can always buy the frozen version without added sugar, sauce, or butter.
3. Shop at the right time. Ask your supermarket when it receives its shipments and shop then. Your produce will have a longer "shelf life".
4. Avoid picking. Don’t waste calories by rushing around and trying to shove food in your mouth at the same time. Sit down and enjoy your food; it’s good for you and a good example for your children.
5. Don’t waste calories on foods you don’t like, especially desserts. If you take a bite out of a pastry and discover you don’t like it, there is no law that says you have to finish it. Eat treats slowly and savor every bite.
6. Add spices to plain dishes. Curry, ginger, garlic, chili powder have tremendous anti-oxidant effects and they taste good, too. Buy your spices in small quantities since they can lose their flavor after 6 to 12 months.
7. Eat fish twice a week. Tuna and salmon, or other fatty fish, are good for your health since they help fight inflammation. These fish also have omega-3 acids, which can also help fight cancer.
8. Stop when you’re full. Have you ever heard the saying "I relinquished my membership in the clean plate club a long time ago". Well, if you haven’t you should use it as your mantra if you want to lose weight or keep weight off. While your parents might have forced you to clean your plate as a child, you are under no obligation as an adult to finish everything on your plate.
9. Get your kids to help in the preparation of healthy foods. Make simple things like smoothies using fresh or unsweetened frozen fruit, skim milk, nonfat yogurt, and wheat germ.
10. Eat the rainbow. Focus on boldly colored fruits and vegetables: red, like peppers and apples; yellow, like bananas; violet, like eggplant. All these are a great source of antioxidants.