You’ve tried and tried to lose those extra pounds that you are carrying around with you. Nothing seems to work. Well, the good news is that all you really need to do is to make a few lifestyle changes. Eating healthy is not about dieting, it is a commitment to yourself for now and the future. By changing your eating patterns and thoughts about food, you will be making a difference for life. Here are a few tips to get started.Eat real fresh whole foods. Foods that have a shelf life of up to a year or two are not going to provide you with optimal nutrition. Your new lifestyle change includes eating real food. Not foods that come in a box or bag.
- Cook your own meals. Food preparation takes times, but can also save you a lot of money, and cut back on your intake of fat, preservatives and calories. Learn to pre-plan and cook in bulk to save time.
- When cooking meat, cook enough for 3 or 4 meals. Store the rest, save time on other days to relax, exercise, or play with the kids. Crock pot dishes are great. When cooking is finished, portion out to the serving size, freeze and presto, ready meals whenever they are needed in a pinch.
- Get up and move. Walking is one of the most natural movements for the human body and provides an awesome workout. A good pair of tennis shoes and a stretch of land is all that is needed to start this workout. It is easier on your joints than running and provides a great cardio workout while helping you build muscle and burn fat. Muscle helps burn calories!
- Watch out for the extras on your plate. Ketchup, butter, barbeque sauce, salad dressing, mayonnaise, and other condiments are sometimes full of fat and sugar which add empty calories to you daily intake. The low-fat and fat-free versions are usually the worst choices as they many times contain more sugar than the original version.
- Feel the weight you have already released. Once you have released 5 pounds pick up a 5 pound weight and walk around with it for five minutes. You will be amazed that you were carrying that around all day a few weeks ago. Do it again with 10 pounds, 15 pounds and on as you release that extra weight. This is a great personal motivator.
- Think about what you really want. Do you want to feel sluggish, tired, ill and overweight for life? Or is it to look good, feel good, have an abundance of energy, and to come off of medication? Whatever your primary motivator is, it is usually not the food. Focus daily on what it is you really want. Write down your goals and post them in a spot you will see over and over again each day.
- Stop being your own worst enemy. If you are looking at changing your lifestyle and eating patterns as painful, stressful and time consuming, while at the same time feeling sick, tired and not liking the way you look in the mirror, then you are in need of a major life shift. Experiencing dislike on both ends of the spectrum is not fair and a conscious decision is needed to stop creating your ambivalence. This is referred to as “growing pains”.
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