What are you going to eat?  How will you know how many calories are in what you eat? 

Always, always start with breakfast.  Don't ever miss it.  This stimulates your metabolism and helps you make it through the day without getting off tract with your meal plan.

With this and all meals try to get something from each of the basic food groups.  Choose a carbohydrate.  This could be a fruit or vegetable.  It could be a cereal(preferably one low in sugar, made with whole grain).  It could be some form of whole grain bread.  This will add fiber to the meal and help you feel more satiated(full).  It also slows down the digestive process so you won't feel hungry again before lunch time.

Add a little protein.  Here you might choose an egg, or just the egg whites.  Maybe, you like peanut butter, or some other nut butter  on the whole grain bread for example.  You may choose some meat or cheese.  Perhaps you like the meat substitutes made from soy protein.  You may want to choose some fish.  All of these choices have some fat included so you've gotten something from each of the major groups.

The fat is important.  No need to be totally fat phobic.  Fat, like fiber also helps slow down digestion and helps with that feeling of satisfaction and fullness that keeps you from wanting to nibble between meals.  Try as much as possible to choose the healthier monounsaturated fats in nuts, nut oils, seeds, olive oil, canola oil, and fish.  

Think about eating roughly one quarter to one third of your required calories each meal and having 3-4 meals for the day.  if you insist on snacking, those calories should be subtracted from one of the meals.  "Snacks" include the soft drink or loaded (with calories) coffee drink you may feel you just must have!

Improvise and adjust.  You don't have to eat the same thing everyday unless that's your preference.  Giving yourself some flexibility will help keep you from getting bored.

For lunch and dinner follow the same basic guideline with regard to choosing from each food group.  I recommend that the carbohydrate be at least one vegetable or fruit at each of these meals.  Two would be better.   The second vegetable should replace a starchy carbohydrate like white rice, white potatoes, pasta made with white flour, or bread. 

The protein choices are the same.  Remember that there is a substantial amount of protein in beans, lentils, nuts, and soy products.  Use these in place of meat and cheese to save a lot of calories.  You may be able to eat more quantitatively. The fat in these is a healthier variety(unsaturated), so your arteries will be grateful too.

Stay tuned.  There's still more to come….