Weight Loss: It's About What You Put in Your Body

 The key to weight loss is clean eating.

I love to exercise. I have been active three to five times a week since I was 14-years-old, but I don't make the best food choices at times.

Last week, I met with Bellmore Personal Training Institute Nutritionist Beth Christoffersen and learned many shocking things. Even though I have exercised most of my life, my bad eating habits and yo-yo dieting over the years have taken its toll.

Christoffersen weighed me and I already knew how much I weighed, but what she told me next kind of disturbed me. She checked my metabolism age and found that I have the metabolism of a 50-year-old (I am not even 30 yet).  After hearing that, I became a little embarrassed and angry at myself.

So after hundreds of exercise classes and years of gaining and losing significant amounts of weight, this is where I stand. And it is because of the types of foods I have consumed.

I grew up in a Caribbean household. So even though I ate many tropical fruits and veggies, I also ate many carbs (rice with every meal) and red meats. As I got older, I ate a little better, but after speaking to Christoffersen, I learned I still have a way to go.
 
The key word this week is: SUBSTITUTE.

I love rice, but instead of eating white rice, I can eat brown rice. If I want something sweet, I can eat a huge amount of fruits or greek yogurt instead of candy or my favorite, ice cream.

This past week, I have been eating very well. I have limited my carbs and I am eating much more vegetables. Even though I lost 10 pounds on my own, I realized that I could have eaten better and I might have lost more. I also started reading labels and researching different types of healthy foods that I can experiment with.

Some of the trainers at PTI have told me that I can do a ton of cardio with no problem and that my body is strong, but I need to continue to work on my eating habits.

Friday morning is my first official weigh-in, so come back next week and find out my results.

For more information on the Bellmore Personal Training Institute, click here.

Do you think you have good eating habits?  Tell me in the comments below.