The good news is that there’s plenty of good news in the health food aisle – lots of protein products with no added salt, good fat choices, lots of fiber – and nothing to lose weight on.

Here’s what you need to know to lose weight from food:

Keep your calories and macros down to about 2,000. That’s about 300 daily calories and 400 for fats.

Don’t eat much junk food, or sweets. Eat mostly whole grains, fruits, low-fat meat-based meals, and fish (especially salmon) and shellfish.

Try to find a diet that’s not loaded with sugar and that keeps your blood sugar levels consistently under control.

Eat about 500 calories from full-fat meats once a day, about 500,000 calories if you’re a woman, and 1,250 pounds if you’re a man. (Eat more of them if it’s your first time taking on the diet.)

If you’re really trying to lose weight, consider using a special diet that includes high-protein foods, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and lots of other foods. Here’s what you need to know before you start the diet.

Do food guides provide a good guide to your food options?

Yes. Each guide can help you find the foods that are most satisfying to you. But you have to read all the food guides so that you can determine what’s available to you. Food guides can also help you create a calorie and macro analysis for each food. For example, I can tell you how many calories the average serving of a vegetable meal has, so you can decide if it is right for you. Some websites provide food guides. You can also talk to your doctor.

What should I avoid to lose weight?

You don’t have to avoid sweets. When you’re hungry and try to eat just a little more, it will make you feel full. It’s your own body trying to eat, so you can choose how much to eat. But if you’re hungry or crave food for more than a few hours at a time, ask your doctor before you eat more. You may just want to eat less.

Another common mistake is eating too many calories during your last meal of the day. Calories from food in the last 3 hours of waking up can build up for hours, so if you’ve been eating a lot at that time, you should not be eating too much any more.

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