1) avoid the fat-producing combo of carbs-oil-sugar
I'm going to comment on this because of the no/low carb idiotic craze that this country is on... Â
Carbs, oils, and sugars are
NOT bad... your body needs all three to function properly. What you need to do is moderate your intake of these and use less as the day progresses. When you first wake up in the morning, your body is starving for carbs and you need to feed that hunger. That doesn't mean going and eating 6 pieces of white toast... it means get some healthy carbs from oatmeal, wheat toast, fruit, etc. That is your initial jump start for the day. There is also no proven medical fact eating carbs before bed will cause weight gain. Also, by depriving your body of carbs, you might lose weight, but you will gain fat. Fat is the body's long term storage... The carb is your body's energy source... if there are no carbs being consumed, the next thing your body is going to look for is protein, which is essential for muscles. Then after both of those sources are depleted, will the body start burning fat. However, that supercomputer we all have under our shiny bald heads is going to realize that the long term energy storage has been depleted, and create MORE fat.
On the oil front, olive oil has been proven time after time to be extremely beneficial. I'm going to find them again, but I have read numerous articles from actual medical people to consume at least 2 tablespoons per day of olive oil. That can come from a variety of ways... I use a little cooking eggs or sauteeing meat.
Another common misconception is that real butter is bad for you. Real butter is just that... all natural. Read the label of the various "healthy" spreads (butter substitutes)... you'd be amazed at the chemicals your consuming!
While "normal" sugar has virtually no benefits, other than the obivious sweetening capabilities, unrefined or turbadino (spelling bad) will help sweeten coffee/tea, etc while retaining minimal health benefits of sugar that is lost during the refining process. Plus, sugars are an excellent source of carbs for a quick burst of energy.
As with everything else, moderation is absolutely essential with all foods... not just carbs/oils/sugars.
Tyler, keep up with the six small meals a day, plus a good workout regimen and you should see your goals come true. One piece of advice though... don't expect to see any drastic results for about 12 weeks. Once you hit that three month point of eating right and working out, it will be like the weight is dropping off like a lead... well, lead weight!
Sorry about the little rant on the carbs/oil/sugars thing, but I truly hate the misinformation that has been shoved down our throats by people that want to make money by selling us their take on what's best!