These are just some general things to remember when you’re eating. Some of them overlap my rules, but they are all super important for maintaining a healthy diet:

1. Learn to love vegetables and fruit. They make you feel so much better than processed, unnatural food does. You know that bad feeling you get after you eat unhealthy food? You never get that from eating fruit or vegetables.

2. Avoid thick, creamy foods. This doesn’t apply to yogurt necessarily, but when choosing yogurt make sure you pick the most natural kind possible. Yogurt has been altered by the food industry to become almost a junk food in many respects. Thick, creamy foods to avoid include things like sour cream and guacamole. They can be delicious and even good for you in small quantities but are VERY fattening!

3. The only drink you need is water. You can extend this to tea and coffee if necessary but you should pretty much avoid all sports drinks and sodas. They have unnecessary calories and sugar. After a workout, you need water – not Gatorade!

4. Prioritize. Always think about what you’re about to eat and ask yourself if it’s worth it. This applies to unhealthy things – is eating something you normally wouldn’t worth the consequences? Sometimes it is – for example, eating pizza with friends. However, a lot of the time it isn’t – if you stop and check yourself, you are much less likely to eat something unhealthy. This not only limits your intake but also helps you to know that when you are eating foods you normally wouldn’t, it’s for a good reason.

This also applies to things like alcohol. It’s always fun to go out and drink but alcohol has so many calories! And I know that I at least like to eat a LOT when I’m drunk. So, try and limit how much you drink, and maybe even how often you go out. It’ll significantly reduce your calorie intake and your chances of developing a beer belly!

5. Think of how far you’ve come. Even if you don’t feel like you’re making progress, think of it this way: Before you started thinking about getting healthy, you ate whatever, whenever. Now, just thinking about it and eating mindfully means you are healthier than you ever were. You’re making progress just by being careful. Don’t be hard on yourself.