Nutrition is first and foremost.

**The following article was written by guest contributor, Beverly Schaefer.**

When I quit smoking, I joined the gym and worked like crazy to maintain my weight. I did not think about the fact that I already didn’t eat truly healthy. I never thought about the fact that that needed to change. I still enjoyed the fast food lunches at work because it was of course “fast” and convenient. I didn’t eat breakfast, but I always cooked a semi-balanced dinner. My husband is not big on many vegetables and is a red meat and white potatoes man through and through. I cooked to please him. I ate what I cooked.

With Weight Watchers I first learned the importance of truly eating right.

That was just reinforced when I met with a new trainer at a gym I recently joined. The first thing he wanted to discuss was nutrition and the importance of it. Being a WW member and proud of my new eating habits I was quite impressed that he wanted to start there instead with all the exercises I could do in his gym.

Here are a few tips I have picked up along the way.

-  It is important to add more white meat and fish to your weekly protein intake. You need at least one serving of protein daily.
-  Most of us don’t get the proper number of servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis; we should strive for five.
-  Don’t leave out the dairy. If you are under 50 and not pregnant you need two servings of dairy a day otherwise you need three.
-  Healthy oils like olive oil, canola, safflower, sunflower and flax seed are also important but should be limited to two teaspoons a day.
-  Don’t forget the whole grains. You would be surprised where you can find whole grains that don’t look or taste like whole grains.
-  Be sure drink plenty of water, keeping your body hydrated is not just good for the inside it is good for the outside, your skin.
-  It never hurts to include a daily multi-vitamin. Try as we might we still can’t get all that we need from the foods we eat.

It’s better to eat 5-6 times during the day instead of the old school 3 meals a day. This gives you the opportunity to get in all those fruits and veggies. Each day, two of my snacks are fruit or veggies; one between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner.

Always eat breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day. And, eating more often helps keep our metabolism up to process the food we eat, which in turn burns calories. Just making the correct changes in your eating habits can get you started towards better health and fitness.