Here are the 3 food staples in the diet of someone who is going to lose weight successfully.

1. Water - Drink a 12 oz. glass of water when you get up, and 30 minutes to an hour before each meal. This is a proven weight loss method because it helps you feel full.

...AND foods high in water like celery, citrus, apples, berries and most green vegetables. Naturally low in calories but high in nutrients.

2. Fiber - Fiber naturally makes you feel full so you eat less. Your goal is 25 grams daily for females and 35 grams daily for males. This means if you eat 4 times a day, your average should be around 6-7 grams per meal (females) and about 9 grams per meal (males).

Note: Cheerios comes in at about 3 grams of fiber per serving (highly processed and lacking nutrients). So you men would need to eat 3 servings to get the required level of fiber. This brings your caloric total to 330 calories not counting milk and whatever you eat for protein because 3 grams of protein per serving is not enough either. (Add 70 calories for an egg and 50 calories for ½ cup of milk). Total 450 calories.

If you would have chosen steel cut oats (sometimes called Irish oats, which are minimally processed and high in nutrients) for breakfast, one 150 calorie serving has 8 grams of fiber, plus 4 grams protein. Add a 70 calorie poached or soft-boiled egg and you are good to go at just 220 calories total. WOW!

Excellent high fiber choices:

• Ground Flax - 6 grams fiber per tablespoon! Wow!
• Beans - watch your serving size, about ½ cup for females, ¾ for males
• Lentils - watch your serving size, about ½ cup for females, ¾ for males
• Barley watch your serving size, about ½ cup for females, ¾ for males
• Oats (Steel-cut is best) watch your serving size, about ½ cup for females, ¾ for males
• Nuts (Almonds and walnuts are best) watch your serving size, about 1/8 cup for females, 1/4 for males
• Berries
• Sweet potatoes (be sure to eat the skin!)

Note: All these foods have a very low glycemic index rating also making them EXELLENT for weight loss.

3. Protein (low fat sources)

Protein foods naturally curb hunger by balancing blood sugar levels.

Your daily goal for women is about 40-60 grams, 60-80 for men.

So divided by 4; that's about 12 grams for women at each meal and about 17 grams for men at each meal.

Excellent protein choices:

• Eggs (about 6-7 grams protein each)
• Fish and chicken and bison
• Low or nonfat plain Greek yogurt (Greek style has double the protein than regular!)
• Nuts - watch your serving size, about 1/8 cup for females, 1/4 for males
• Low fat cottage cheese (preferably naturally cultured with probiotics)

So by reading these food lists hopefully you are now getting lots of ideas... Veggie omelet for breakfast, fruit smoothies with flax for snack, lentil soup for lunch, and grilled chicken or fish with spinach salad and sweet potato. Wow! That's a lot of food! You certainly won't be hungry! Bon Appetite!