Aren’t avocados bad for you because they contain so much fat? I thought vegetables are supposed to be good for you? Should I eat avocados?

Technically, avocados are a fruit and they are definitely one of my favorite foods!  I use them in protein shakes, salads and as a dip. One-half of an avocado contains about 15 grams of fat which specifically breaks down to 10 grams of monounsaturated fat, 1.8 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 2.2 grams saturated fat. These are good fats that your body needs to remain healthy which makes avocados a great source of healthy fats as well as other nutrients. One serving (one-half of an avocado) contains Vitamin A, C, B6, folacin, potassium, copper and manganese plus Vitamin K. Vegetables and fruits are good for you whether you eat them raw or cooked. Where a lot of us go wrong is we just eat too much or too many of them! Watch your portion size – eat one serving and you take in a modest 135 calories (about the same as a can of pop but much more nutritious).

I try to eat in the morning, but it makes me nauseated so I avoid it. I know I need nutrition in the morning, so I do take a vitamin in the morning. I need to lose weight so I eat at least once a day, in the afternoon or late evening. I’m going crazy because I'm gaining weight instead of losing it. What’s going on?

You gain weight instead of losing it because you eat more calories than you're expending through activity. That is always, ALWAYS true. You typically eat when your stomach is completely empty, so you are feeding a very empty system and are almost certainly overeating. When we’re that hungry we often eat so quickly (ever heard of wolfing your food?) that by the time we feel satisfied, we have eaten much more than we need. The only good way to break this cycle is to start up your metabolism by eating a small breakfast such as a piece of fruit, an egg or a serving of yogurt. Once you establish this breakfast pattern, you will normalize your metabolism. You'll start to become hungry in the morning and you’ll feel like eating. Then when the afternoon comes, you won’t be so hungry, you won’t wolf your food and you won’t overeat.

Vitamins provide nutrients, but not calories. You might be getting nauseated from the vitamin pill you are taking on an empty stomach. This would likely go away if you take the vitamin with yogurt, a hardboiled egg and a piece of fruit or a bowl of high fiber cereal with milk. Alternatively, if you're able to take vitamins in the evening or after lunch, you might avoid the nausea altogether.

Study after study has shown that people who eat breakfast are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off.

The best way to gauge your food intake and how much you really eat would be to keep a food log of everything you put in your mouth each day for at least a week. This will help you see what your eating patterns are, the real number of calories you are taking in, and what you need to change. Whatever the cause, you need to eat breakfast, because what you are doing now is statistically a problem and clearly not working for you! It’s time to make a change when your current plan isn’t working.