When you eat like crap you feel like crap. When you eat healthy then you feel healthy. So many people do not get started because they feel they must be 100% perfect or wait until they can be 100% perfect. I don’t want to try and fail. I don’t want to spend the money and then only 1/2 way do it. I don’t want to get started until January because I’m planning on being a pig for 4 weeks and don’t want to feel guilty or that I’m missing anything. Yeah I know. You want to eat the pecan pie and the neighbors banana nut bread and the egg nog and just sloth around in a food coma until January. You don’t want to “add one more thing to your schedule” because you are so busy.
You will still go to the grocery store.
You will still shower and go to bed.
You will still wake up and put on clothes.
You will still drink water and eat food.
Don’t act like you can’t throw a banana into the mix.
Don’t act like you can’t throw some spinach in your shopping cart.

I’m on to you. Why? Because I did it myself.

You want to feel good. Take the steps to feel good. They are not as big as you think.

 

We all have ups and downs. My downs used to last for years. I would sit around, not workout, make excuses and just eat convenience foods claiming I was busy or too tired to cook healthy.

Some people hide behind expense. Eating healthy foods is too expensive. It is easier to spend $10 on a pizza than it is to spend $10 on a salad.

 

 

Here are the top tips to get on the right track NOW. Don’t wait until January. If you do wait until January that is okay but it is best to take small steps NOW.

1) Make your goals small and measurable. So many times I hear “I need to lose 50 pounds by March.” You’ve been 50 pounds overweight for years. Why make this goal of losing it all in 90 days or quit? Even if you set the goal to lose 1 pound a week you could lose 52 pounds in a year. Just losing 10% of your weight helps with self esteem and health improvements. They don’t always have to be scale related. They could be related to getting off of medications, fitting into a pant size, completing a workout program, running in a 5k or anything you can measure.

My 1st quarter goals: Complete the 3 Day Refresh, Complete Hammer & Chisel according to the calendar, lose 20 pounds during the program, pay off a credit card.

2) Create an environment for success. Do not let your kids, spouse or work environment be the reason you do not succeed at your goals. Remove the things that are trigger foods. Ice cream, chips, cokes, cheese or whatever. Know what triggers you and replace it with something else. If you eat cookies with the kids at 3pm then find something else to do at 3pm or have a healthy shake while the kids are eating cookies. If the break room is your trigger then keep yourself busy so you are not grazing. Chew gum, read a book or take up coloring. Have you see the adult coloring books? They are so creative and keep you busy.

Example of my environment: Single serving chips (for my son’s lunch), a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter, chopped cucumbers and hummus in the fridge, workout programs in the living room with workout towels, workout clothes washed and ready.

3) Have a family meeting. I’m sure it has happened in the past. If you are like me then you’ve tried and tried many times to be healthy. They may or may not believe you. That is okay. Speak the truth to them and ask for their help. You are NOT asking them to change. You are just asking that they support you. Set the boundaries of what you want. I will ask my husband not to order pizza around me for a certain period of time. I’ve also asked him not to buy wine and bring it home. He may have a martini in front of me. I don’t care about martinis. I do like wine so I ask him not to bring it in the house. If we dine out I ask that we pick places that would help me to stay on track or only pick 1 night a week to go out.

4) Alter meals slightly for the family. Taco Tuesday can still happen. Just make yours a taco salad instead of a taco shell. Make spaghetti and meatballs but make your pasta spaghetti squash or zoodles.

5) Find places to help you succeed. Places like Snap Kitchen or My Fit Foods are great places to pick up healthy, portion controlled meals. Whole Foods or Central Market are great places to find a healthy salad bar. Don’t load up with pastas and sauces. Just be basic. The point is to fill your body with healthy options. Not just fill it.

6) Skip the drive thru/Fast Food. Chick Fil A, Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway, etc. You can make a quick sandwich at home and brew your own coffee.

7) Sign up for Mint.com. It is a great way to track where you are spending your money. If you use a debit/credit card it will track your spending. Take the time to set this up and track your budget. Once you have it set up it is really easy to check your progress. At one point we spent $2,000 a month on dining out and fast food. $10 here, $100 there, $20 here and $5 there adds up. Imagine 2 adults having lunch every day 5 days a week. Each person spends $10 a day on lunch. That is $400 a month just on lunch. Now imagine you both stop at Starbucks a few days a week for coffee. Track it. Track where you spend. We had a friend sign up for Mint and realized they were spending $1000 a month just a Chilis. They would go to happy hour a few days a week and watch football all day Sunday at the bar. You must track what you want to change.

8) Drink water. Do NOT whine about it. Just drink it. Shut up and drink it. I’ve known people who say “I don’t like water.” What? That is so ridiculous to me. I don’t get it. Water is the life of your body. Drink it. Drink a huge glass the minute you wake up. Do not take a shower or drink coffee. Just drink a big glass of water. THEN move on with getting dressed or whatever you are doing. When you are at a holiday party and you want wine then have a glass of water first. Before you have your second glass of wine have a glass of water. Alternate. You will be less hung over and just standing there sipping water for 30 minutes or so is totally fine. You can still enjoy the party without over doing it.

9) Avoid Processed foods. I could write forever about this. You know what it is. Don’t act like you don’t. If it has a label and more than about 5 ingredients then it is processed. Before you grab a bag of chips, eat a banana or an apple first. If you still want the chips then have a serving.

10) It is NOT about the calories. It is about the quality of the food. A banana is 105 calories. So is a 100 calorie bag of chips. All calories are not created equally. Know this. Buy a bunch of apples or bananas and keep them for “fast food” options.

11) Bring your own food or eat before you go. If you are invited to a holiday part or dinner it is totally fine to bring your own stuff or eat before you go so you can order something small. The event is not about the food. The event is about the event. See the people and visit. No one is tracking your plate the way you think they are.

How to add fruits and veggies to your life:

• Bowl of fresh fruit always available or in the fridge.
• Add spinach to any salad or sandwich
• Make a veggies wrap or veggie sandwich. (minimize the meat)
• Replace pasta with zoodles or spaghetti squash
• Try a Vegan meal from pinterest or google a vegan recipe. Thug Kitchen is awesome.
• Have a side of fruit with breakfast.
• Have an apple as an afternoon snack.

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Taking small steps toward a healthier you can be a challenge because you and your family are used to the “old” way. They are used to sitting around and ordering pizza. They are used to sitting at a movie theater in the dark eating buckets of popcorn. You don’t have to try to change everyone around you. Do your best at every decision. If you used to order large burger and large fry and this time you ordered a kid burger and a small fry then that is a small win. Make the next best decision you can make. You don’t have to strive for 100% perfection or quit. No one is perfect. Perfect people do not exist. All you can do is your best. If you are not doing your best that begin now working toward your best you.