Nutrition expert JJ Virgin shares her daily eating rules: eat protein first at 0.7-1 gram per pound of target body weight, build plates around protein plus non-starchy vegetables and slow carbs, and stay hydrated since even mild dehydration triggers fat storage.
Let's talk about my personal food rules, and I have these because they're like my bumpers, my guardrails that make everything easier. So here's the thing, if you feel like you're kind of out of touch, the first place I always start is with a food audit and committing to tracking. This is super important while you're getting new habits in place, or if you feel like you kind of lost your way a bit. I gotta tell you, I still track what I eat, and I literally travel with a food scale. It just makes it so much easier to stay on track. So I have a mantra: eat protein first. This is because I want to make that you get your protein in. And I hear too often, oh, I didn't get all my protein and I got too full. First thing you do is identify how much protein you need, 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of target body weight. If you're not sure, go to jjvirgin.com/proteinfirst. I got the calculator there. You're going to eat protein first. Next one is upgrade your plate. I like to think of adding before you take away. My plate has protein, fiber from loads of non-starchy vegetables, maybe a little slow low carbs and healthy fat. And that really is a trifecta for satiety and blood sugar. Balance. So that's what you're gonna see on the plate. Then make sure that you're staying well hydrated because quite often you've heard you're not hungry, you're thirsty, but even mild dehydration can actually make you store fat.
