WESLACO - Cooking eating means being aware of what you put in your body. 

For Pat Lerma after getting married and having kids the pounds kept coming. 

"Everything was fast food," she says," I was on the go, and I started gaining so much weight."

Lerma says one day she got on the scale and the 330 lbs. weight shocked her, it was that day she decided to make a change. 

She says she left fast food behind and started cooking at home. 

Registered Dietitian Iliana Martinez says cooking healthy can start with the oil you use. She explains vegetable oils are healthier than fats and butter.

"When we eat fried foods we can be tripling or quadrupling our calories," Martinez explains, "Grilling, broiling, or baking are you ways to go when it comes to cooking your protein and your vegetables."

Martinez recommends eating 3 oz. Of protein per meal. Her suggested protein, fish due to its omega 3 count, she says omega 3 is good for your metabolism. 

On her suggested list of proteins following fish is chicken, the pork and finally red meat. 

When it comes to vegetables, Martinez says picking the most colorful is best. 

"You want to stay away from like your corn, your potato, your squash because those even though they are vegetables they are considered starchy vegetables," Martinez says. 

She says you should be using an 8 in. to 9 in. plate for meals. 

Martinez says, "Half of your plate should be your vegetables, 1/4 should come from your protein, and then a 1/4 should come from your whole grain." 
  
Pat Lerma tells us she's lost 85 lbs. eating at home and she isn't done yet. 

Martinez says the Diabetes Association host a healthy cooking class every second Tuesday and third Thursday of every month.