A few easy tricks to shave tons of empty calories out of your day – and your life!

When it calls for oil, ALWAYS use olive oil.  But keep in mind, just because olive oil is “good” fat, it’s still fat.  Use a light hand. Much of my recipe renovations entail scaling the amount of fat way down.

Eat popcorn!  Buy organic kernals and pop them yourself in a big stock pot with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Spice it up! Spices, create a heightened thermogenic effect which help you to metabolize your food better and faster.

Eat fresh!  Fresh ingredients all the time – fresh veggies, tons of fresh garlic, fresh fruit, and tons of fresh herbs!

Don’t fry it ever!  Grill, broil, bake, or a light sautee, but don’t fry.

Track your calories.  I know this sounds so arduous and absurd.  You read this and think, “no way am I doing that!”. Honestly, it’s not that bad.  Once you get started, you get into a routine and it’s just part of your day.  Calculate about how many calories you should take in per day.  I use the following simple equation:  weight (lbs) x 13 gives you the amount of calories you would use to maintain your current weight.  For weightloss, subtract 500.  

So the weightloss equation is: (weight in lbs x 13) – 500= calories to consume per day.  

I use FITDAY.COM to stay within my range and I try to maintain a ratio of about 40% protein, 30% fat, and 30% carbs.  Fitday automatically creates a great little pie chart calculating these percentages for you.  After a while, you begin to intuitively know how to stay in your range and then you can stop tracking.  When I’ve gotten off track (like after a vacation), I’ll use fitday again for a while to bounce back.

Cheat meals are a must.  One cheat meal a week allows me to indulge in some seriously naughty foods.  If I never, ever allowed myself that warmed brownie with vanilla ice cream, I would go crazy!

No matter what the dish is – think of how you can tweak it and make it healthier so you can still enjoy.  If it’s a dish that involves fried cheese, battered and dipped in more cheese.  Well then…save it for a cheat meal (but don’t eat that every week unless you have a death wish!).