I'm new to eating "right" and I need your help

What are some general guidelines I should follow?  I know some of them, can you help me out with others.

These are the ones I know:

1.  Drink lots of water

2.  Eat throughout the day so as to keep the metabolism up

3.  No carbs in the evening

4.  Don't eat 3 hours before bedtime

5.  What else?

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One guideline that has been helpful for me is to make sure that about 50% of my calories are coming from carbohydrates, 25% from fat and 25% from protein.  I know I may get some flack from the high-protein devotees on these boards, but I've tried the high-protein thing, and my body really likes the 50-25-25 balance much better.  I realize other people's bodies are probably different.

The federal government recommends the following ranges:

Carbohydrates: 45-65% of calories

Fat: 20-35% of calories

Protein: 10-35% of calories

The great thing about this site is that it makes it really easy to calculate your balance of calories.  If you enter everything you eat in a day into the food log, and then go to 'Analysis,' it will give you a pie chart (mmm, pie) breaking your intake down by the above three categories.  Really useful.

The other guideline that has been very helpful to me is this:

"Eat.  Not too much.  Mostly vegetables."

One warning: watch out for 'healthy' products that are just sugar delivery vehicles!  Granola bars are the worst offenders.  Cutting added/processed sugars out of my diet was one of the best things I ever did.

Oh, and eat a lot of whole grains.  Whole wheat couscous is more awesome than you can guess.

Personally, I don't follow your #3 or #4, but I have an early dinner about 5 hours before bed, and usually have a protein dense snack about an hour before bed.

I do like the "Eat.  Not too much.  Mostly vegetables."

I, too, have cut down on the expensive "healthy/diet" products.  I try making my own, healthier versions of favorites.

Another big one:  Keep some treats on hand that satisfy cravings without killing your calories.   I use popcorn when I crave potato chips, and sometimes veggies with light ranch to dip.  I eat sugar free chocolate pudding made with skim milk or a skinny cow ice cream sandwich when I crave something sweet.

And lastly: Don't kick yourself if you go over.  It happens, get over it (I have to tell it to myself bluntly ).  Don't try to make up for it by starving or overdoing exercise - just begin again from that moment.

Make sure breakfast and lunch are the meals that are highest in cals and fat. Dinner and snacks should be the lowest.

I eat an egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. A PB sandwich and chips for lunch -or- if I have to, a hamburger from the $1 menu (sometimes it's easier for work), and if you get a small fry and water instead of a coke, there's no problem. For dinner I have a soy-marinated (I buy yummy pre-made marinades)chicken breast (4oz) on top of salad of my choice, almonds, and cilantro. For dressing I mix together grape-seed oil, dried mustard, soy, hot sesame and chili sauce, and salt and pepper (obviously you can buy a dressing or mix together whatever you like).

I don't usually eat snacks, but when I do it's nuts (almonds and cashews) and a green apple. At night if I get hungry I eat a green apple. Green Apples are calorie-burners in themselves.

I've lost quite a bit of weight and have kept it off.  The balance of carbs, fats and protein, and what time I ate, never had any effect on my weight loss.  All that matters is eating fewer calories than I burn.

That said, I've learned to pack all the nutrition I can into my meals.  I feel so much better if I've eaten from all the food groups.  See the USDA food pyramid to get an idea of how much and what you should eat.  Stick to fresh foods and avoid processed foods of all kinds. 

Nutrition is the key to feeling great.  Eating less and moving more is the key to losing weight.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

I just have to say i disagree with #4.  After much research and being very confused i've come to the conclusion that eating before is actually better in some ways.  If you have a small amount of protein before you sleep you should actually burn a bit more calories because your body still has to work to digest it while you are sleeping and your metabolism will keep going for longer.  Also eating first thing when you wake up helps because the longer your body goes without food the lower your metabolism will drop.  The only disadvantages i've found to eating before bed are that for some people it causes indegestion, but each person can see if that is a problem for them.  It also may make it look like you have gained a little more in the morning if you weigh daily, but thats just the weight of the digested food that hasnt left your body yet, and if you eat about the same amount each night you will still see the same loss of weight each morning.

All good advice. Make sure you are very-very honest when logging your foods here on CC. I found that I was eating way more than I thought I was. Eating throughout the day changed my hunger pattern for the better. Now I have a big breakfast of egg whites, whole grain toast, sugar free jam, orange juice and fruit. Mid morning snack of apple or banana, salad or sandwich at lunch with low fat dressing or whole grain bread if a snadwich, mid afternoon snack of fruit, dinner can be most anything but keep the calories aroung 500-800 and low sodium, low fat, etc, Snack around 9pm of dry cheerios or whole grain toast.

Most important.....stop or reduce alcohol. I have about 1 or 2 glasses of wine a week...some weeks none. Alcohol adds calories quickly, gives you the munchies, and can cause you to retain fluids.

somethig ive followed is..(and its a bit of an old one, but it works for me)

Eat like a king at breakfast! a prince at lunch! and a pauper at dinner!

Also drinking a glass of ice cold water before meals is meant to be good

Also the odd slip up is ok but with me i have to really watch for a pattern beginning where i feel like oh whats the point and shut that down before it gets worse.

I literally have to make myself care and take stock - usually by going through some of my before and after pics and remembering how lovely it is when friends and aquantinces say 'wow you've lost alot of weight!'and burying my head in healthy eating books like 'you are what you eat'

A good snack if your watching a movie is mushrooms dipped in egg and wholemeal bread crumbs cooked in the oven then dipped in a lowfat relish - allows you to feel like your eating something naughty that isn't actually all that bad for you!! - aslong as you watch for portion size!

i think its all about tricking the mind lol and finding alternitives so your not feeling so deprived!

It has hard for me to keep momentum so varying what you are eating helps alot and having a good perspective and not feeling hungry when you are food shopping helps too!!

I think its right whoever said know your weaknesses and just don't buy the stuff you know will tempt you

I also disagree with #4 and a little bit with #3 -- IMO it depends on the type of carbs. I find that if I don't eat 1-2 hours before bed I'm STARVING all day the next day, regardless of how much breakfast I eat. I often have a small bowl of non-instant oatmeal (made with 1/3 cup rolled oats) and about 1/2 - 1 cup of skim milk. If I need something sweet (and depending on my calorie allowance) I'll add a banana or some raisins.

I suggest avoiding "diet" foods...foods that are supposed to be the the good stuff but with reduced fat (often higher in sugar or other chemicals) or weird processing. Try, as much as you can, to focus on whole foods like veggies, whole grains, fruit, lean meat, fish, low fat dairy, nuts, etc. It'll take time to wean yourself off fast food/junk food favorites (sometimes is okay though!) but after a while (think a year or more) you won't even miss it and you might even start to get grossed out by the thought of fast/processed foods :)

Oh yeah, and portion control is key (even for healthy food!).

Good luck!!

Forget 3 and 4..that's a lot of baloney.  Your body burns calories so long as you are alive, even when you sleep.  It's not when you eat that's important, but how often and how much.  If you are hungry at midnight..eat...just not a couple of slices of cold pizza washed down with a beer.  Eat something healthy that you should normally be eating anyway.  Better to fuel your hunger than to tell your body that although you are hungry, no food is coming, so please slow down my metabolism to compensate.

Eat as much whole, unprocessed, unpackaged, unchanged food as you can. Lot's of variety of real fruits, real vegetables, real grains, real nuts, real seeds, real fish...etc.  Not Fruit Loops, veggie pasta, white bread, corn nuts etc.   The more whole food you eat, the healthier you will be  and the easier it will be to control your weight.