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Nutrition Tips for Beginners

I eat three main courses and eat two small snacks every day. The meals that I make for myself are pretty simple–it usually takes about 30 minutes or less for me to prepare my meals. I get recipes for my dishes from various websites. I usually just search the web for dishes and then I buy the ingredients accordingly once I find the recipes. Now, I can’t create a daily food diary for you all, because everyone is different.

 

Here is an example of what I would eat on a typical day:

 

1.    Breakfast

–       Two eggs loaded with veggies

–       Sausage patty or 2 pieces of turkey bacon

–       One serving of fruit or half a serving of grapefruit or green smoothie

breakfast

 

2.    Snack

–       a handful of unsalted almonds with carrots

–       Green smoothie (I always put a handful of spinach and or carrots in my fruit smoothies. I try to get as much green veggies as I can in every meal.)

 

3.    Lunch

–       Homemade tilapia and shrimp stirfry with green peppers, yellow peppers, onions and spinach

–       One serving of veggies

–       One serving of fruit

lunch

 

4.    Snack

–       Rice cake and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

–       celery

 

5.    Dinner

–       Baked tilapia fillets

–       Sauteed spinach+kale with onions and tomatoes

–       whole wheat cous-cous *optional

    dinner

 

Normally each week I would make things in bulk Sunday evening and repeat meals throughout the week.  My days are usually extremely busy during the week so prepping my week’s meals beforehand helps me not slack on my nutrition (i.e. go out with coworkers every day to eat lunch, eat a greasy dinner because I’m too busy and etc.).

Your nutrition and eating habits are very important things for the weight loss process. If you are a beginner then I highly recommend that you document what you eat for at least two weeks. When I began doing this, I found out that I underestimated how many calories little things like cheese, oil and mayo added to a meal.

 

Tips:

1.     Keep a food journal: I use iphone apps like fitness pal, MyNetDiary or Lose it!

2.     Read every food label: As a rule of thumb I would say that less is better when it comes to the ingredients listed on food labels.  I also have a handy dandy app that you can use to scan labels and it returns back a grade for each item (A is really good for you, F is bad).  The app is called Fooducate

3.     Monitor the calories of each of your meals and snacks: I use my apps in tips #1 to monitor also

4.     Eat smaller meals and snacks more frequently:  Your metabolism will increase and you will have more energy. I personally eat three meals and two snacks a day.

5.    Drink a gallon of water a day! Cut back on drinking artificial juices, sodas and alcohol regularly. If you drink these beverages regularly then you will not see results on the scale.  Also drinking a gallon of water a day drastically impoves your skin, helps you lose inches much faster on your waste and helps removes the toxins faster.

6.     LITTLE OR NO SALT: Salt retains fat and makes it more difficult to lose weight. Also reduces the risk of getting high cholesterol

7.     Get to know your body: You have to be committed to this! If you don’t have the right mindset–that is, if you lack patience or aren’t diligent with the initial stages of being healthy–then you will keep getting discouraged. There is no fast process to this! Once you accept that and force that into your subconscious you can begin with a clean mental state and be able to be content with taking things one day at a time.

 

You have to really take a look at what you eat on a day to day basis because it is beneficial for you in the long-run. You will learn so much about what your body can tolerate. No one is rushing you but YOU. Slow down and take time to fully understand your body and learn what good nutrition is all about. The weight-loss journey is much bigger than just the physical aspect. If your mind is only set on the physical aspect, then I really think you should reevaluate what’s important and try your best to shift your mindset as soon as possible. That type of thinking will only result in you being way too hard on yourself.

 

Healthy is IN! 🙂

 

Stay blessed,

Yinka Rufai

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13 Responses

  1. theisokogirl says:

    Just started my weightloss journey and i really had to change my mindset because i was fixated with my weight on the scale.I’m happy with just living healthy now and i know the weight will shed over a period of time beacuse i was over expecting before (thought i could 20kg weight in a couple of weeks,which i gained over a period of years).I really admire you and your journey.

    • Yinka Rufai says:

      that’s awesome! Im so glad you changed your mindset on that. I used to be just like that and fixated on the scale number a few years ago. Glad that I had friends who gave me a reality check before getting OCD with scale numbers. Keep living a healthy lifestyle and it will show on your body!

  2. queen says:

    rily inspired by your weightloss journey. i wanna start mine too and also change my mindset, is dere a crime in drinking more than a gallon of water daily?

  3. Tiene says:

    Very interesting post. I have never been plus size, but I recently realised that because I just eat without making sure I have a balanced heathy diet, I was lacking some essential vitamins. The result, I got sick easily. Anytime someone had a flu in the office, I automatically got it. It’s not that I hate fruits and vegetables (I actually love them), I just did not eat them as regularly as I was supposed to. The result was a weakened immune system, unhealthy looking skin (even if I used all the natural oils in the world) etc. Even if your not looking to loose it is very important to eat right and eat well. Making sure I have at least 2 fruits a day and veggies with every meal has eliminated many illnesses. Ok i have written too much. Thank you for your tips, you are very beautiful.

  4. Ezy says:

    Am inspired Yinka, thank you. Please i need to know the exact size of a gallon of water. About how many liters?

  5. odunlami olatawura says:

    I was about to give up on my weight loss programme,i was just thinking about it when I saw your name on Linda Ikeji,am seriously overweight but when it seems like am getting there I just get discouraged. Have gone through your blog and am inspired.but pls I live in Nigeria and all the ur meals are difficult to come by here,can I get an advice on that from you.thanks for the inspiration.

  6. Hels says:

    I have quite a backlog of work on my desk, thanks to you. i am actually blown away by your journey and to think there were no nips and tucks included(Phew)!! i had my baby right after Kim and before Kate Middleton but they have completely lost their baby weight!! Pre-pregnancy i weighed 60kg while i was 73.2kg fullterm. I weighed 64kg in less than 6 weeks post baby but somehow i think i weigh about 68kg now. i am terrified of scales actually. Issue is, i need a diet plan that works in Nigeria. thanks a lot!!
    P.S You are maaaaaaddd pretty 🙂

  7. Shaquiera says:

    You said to stay away from the salt. What do you season your food with?

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