1. Always remember calories in must equal calories out. If your calories in exceed calories out, you will find
yourself gaining weight, and if your calories in are less than your calories out, you will lose weight. The average
woman needs about 1,500-2,000 calories a day, and the average male needs about 2,000-2,500 calories a day.
2. Watch your portion sizes. One cup is the portion size of many foods you should eat daily such as, vegetables,
yogurt, flaked cereal, popcorn, cooked pasta, strawberries and apples. Half of a cup is the portion size for foods
such as grapes, blueberries, cooked beans, frozen yogurt, ice cream, mashed potatoes and cooked rice. A quarter
of a cup is the portion size for foods such as almonds, pistachios, dried fruit and two tablespoons of hummus. In
general, a serving size of meat is three ounces, which is the size of a deck of cards, and for fish it is the size of a
checkbook. For more amazing portion size information, go to: http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-
size-plate.
3. Do not be fooled by the terms "low-fat," "low-sugar," "sugar free" and "fat free" that are on foods in the stores;
this does not always mean they are the healthiest. Usually, when food companies take out all the fat or all the
sugar, they add things such as fat, sugar or sodium to make the foods taste better.
4. Shop healthy! Here are 10 foods that are fairly cheap and packed full of nutrients: apples, bananas, baby carrots,
canned beans, canned tomatoes, oranges, pears, dry lentils, dry pearl barley and yogurt. Also, eggs can be
fairly inexpensive. You can get a carton cheap, and eggs can be cooked in many different ways such as boiled,
poached, fried, scrambled, etc. To read more information on healthy foods in stores, go to: http://www.webmd.
com/diet/guide/10-healthy-foods-under-1-dollar.
5. Alcohol is high in caloric value, so be aware of the amount of alcohol you consume. Calories add up quickly!
Also, be sure to remember the drinking age is 21.
