Feeling deprived will only backfire. Make a plan you can live with by livening up healthy foods with herbs and spices like basil, cilantro, curry and ginger; aromatic veggies like garlic and onions; and condiments like mustard, hot pepper sauce or salsa. Experiment with new nutritious foods: Tantalize your taste buds with two new fruits or vegetables at each meal. Try different cold/hot cereals and breads. Don't declare high-fat favorites "off limits"; savor them in small amounts to maintain a balanced healthy diet. I have found if you really crave something you will eat everything in the house to avoid it and end up eating it anyway.
The best way to achieve that same clarity when you're trying to lose weight is to set some rules. Find yourself snacking on cereal at night? Make an only-for-breakfast rule. If you slip, no cereal in your house for a month! Tend to dive into the breadbasket as soon as the waiter brings it around? Set a one-starchy-carb-per-restaurant-meal rule. If you want the bread, tell yourself before you head out that you'll skip the potato or pasta that comes with your meal. To make the rules official, write them down.
Three rules that get us to success are: two days before weigh in no red meat (red meat takes 48 hours to digest) Eat light with easy to digest foods like shrimp or fish. Eat a no meat day, start with eggs for great protein, then have an Italian dish with marinara, morningstar sausage and mushrooms, for example. We then do a "last chance workout" the night before. We swim, ride bikes and play the Wii. Just get up and get moving!
For energy, satisfaction, staying power and good health, aim to eat a healthy balance of protein (15-20 percent of your total daily calories), fat (less than 30 percent of your total daily calories) and carbohydrate (50-55 percent of your total daily calories) each day. Rule of thumb: Fill three-quarters of your plate with plant foods, leaving the rest for small amounts of fish, nonfat milk products and nuts or seeds
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