If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you will probably know that it isn’t the easiest thing to do.  On the Today show, Hollywood trainer, Harley Pasternak, shared some of the secrets from his book The 5 Factor Diet. 

In his eating plan, he suggests that people have three meals and two snacks per day (so that they are eating five times a day).  He also provided some examples of meals.  For breakfast, he put fresh blueberries in a bowl of Kashi cereal with milk.  Sounds my own breakfast on any given day of the week.  For a snack, he made a berry smoothie made from non-fat Greek yogurt and frozen fruit but he said that, on occasion, he will add a little bit of juice to give it some extra flavor.  His lunch included a lettuce, sliced chicken, corn, beans and a dressing made from salsa and fat-free sour cream (I’ve never tried that exact combination but it looked good!).

He stresses that there are five important criteria to follow for each meal - include a low-fat protein, healthy carbohydrate, healthy fat, fiber and a non-sugar beverage (basically water is best!).

Watch the segment to see some of his other meal suggestions.  It looked great!

Talk show host and Food Network star, Rachael Ray, was on Fit Nation with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  They were talking about obesity and how it relates to how expensive it is to make healthier food choices.  Rachael said that, in New York City, she might pick up just three days worth of food and it’s $100.  She is urging the American people to get involved to make healthy eating more affordable.  One thing she repeatedly mentioned is supporting local farmers which can not only save money but also boost local economy. 

I found it interesting that she doesn’t like calorie-counting or measuring food because she thinks it creates an obsession and it takes the fun out of cooking.  She explained that if people eat well, they shouldn’t worry.  Some people have said that she’s overweight so I wonder how Dr. Gupta felt about her giving nutritional advice.  I’m not saying I think she’s "fat" but I also am not sure I think she’s the picture of health.  What do you think?