Its no piece of cake.

What you’ll need (serves 8):

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs. Champagne vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup finely chopped nasturtium petals
• 16 cups mixed spring salad greens (the greener the better)
• Assorted edible flower petals such as nasturtium, marigold, geranium, and/or begonia for garnish

What you’ll do:

• Whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard in bowl.
• Stir in nasturtiums.
• Add greens and toss to coat.
• Garnish with petals

Nutritional Information:

Serving size - 2 cups

• Calories 136
• Protein 1g
• Total fat 14 g
• Saturated Fat 2g
• Carbs 3g
• Cholesterol 0mg
• Sodium 18mg
• Fiber 1g
• Sugar 0g

For more recipes go here.

Magical formula to losing weight?

Get up early + exercising before breakfast + good home cooked meals rick with protein and fiber + (gym x 5) - beer - takeout - fried - sweetened = weight loss.

You’re done.

Real people understand that life gets in the way of that wonderful equation. That’s why so many people regain the weight back (if not more) after a diet. Goodbye wagon, nice falling off of ya. It’s hard to find a healthy eating style to adapt to your unique lifestyle.

Second problem: withholding that delicious glorious food. Restrict someone from something they enjoy, and they can only take it for so long. They’re deprived for so long, they can’t hold out anymore. Hello wagon, nice to meet you again, oh wait never mind goodbye. Short an unsustainable.

So here’s a flexible “anti-diet”:

Breakfast:

• At least a quarter of your daily calories
• At least half of the foods are protein sources
• Any bread, muffins or cereals must be whole grain.

“But I’m too busy for breakfast.” Make time. A University is Massachusetts medical study showed that people who neglected to eat a full breakfast had obesity rated of 4.5 times higher than those who opted for the meal. High school students who skipped the most important meal of the day had BMIs of 30% higher than those who ate every morning. Wake up just a little bit earlier than what you’re used to or prepare your meal the previous night. Simple quick fix to the busy schedule. Suggestion? Eggs. Simple and quick to make and keep you fuller longer with an excellent source of protein.

Lunch:

• Within two hours of a small mid-morning snack
• At least one source of protein and one source of fiber
• Can you identify the produce in the meal

Lunch is more often than not a meal people buy rather than make. It easy to pack on the calories with such unhealthy options. However, if you buy small portions of the wrong foods can be just as bad as eating too few calories: hunger pangs will be knocking at your belly by the 3p.m. slump without a doubt. Be sure to digest complex carbs, not simple or refined. Complex carbs digest slower and keep you fuller longer. Protein and a serving or two of produce should do the trick.

Dinner:

• Eat at least two hours before sleep
• At least one source of protein and one source of fiber
• Smallest of the main three meals

Most people eat the majority of their calories at this meal. Consuming energy for the rest of the day makes sense at the beginning of the day (hence a quarter of your daily caloric intake should be consumed at breakfast)  but not so much as you’re winding down for slumber. Keep your belly full during the day not when you’re going off to sleep. Dinner should no longer be considered the end-of-day binge: it should probably be half of what people usually eat. So no more than 450 calories. After two big to moderately sized meals and two snacks, it shouldn’t be that much of a challenge.

And don’t forget…

Dessert:

• Have you met you’re other nutritional goals to afford an indulgence?
• Eat within two hours of eating dinner so blunt a sugar spike
• Smaller than a snack: under 200 calories.

Make sure that you have caloric room for a dessert and the anticipation of a reward will keep you motivated.

So ditch the diet, and lose the weight. :)