It’s Not About Dieting It’s About a Healthy Lifestyle

1)Find healthy foods you love:  Since I have changed my eating habits I have found so many foods that I thought I hated, but I actually now love.  Eggplant, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Roasted cauliflower, Baked Kale chips, Sweet potatoes, Mushrooms. (I still hate cooked peppers, don’t think that will ever change.)  These are all things that I never would have eaten 18 months ago, yet they are now part of my every day diet.

2)Get a routine: Make it easier on yourself to make better choices.  Have your fridge stocked with fresh fruits and veggies.  Set regular meal times and don’t let yourself graze and snack. Keep yourself accountable with a food and fitness journal.  Make a plan and stick to it!  It is not about perfection it is about consistency.

3)Do exercises you enjoy:  I don’t like to run.  So you know what, I don’t do it.  There are sooooo many other way to get in a great cardio workout without having to pound the pavement.   The more time I have spent doing different types of physical actives I have discovered things that I love and things that I don’t enjoy: I hate lunges, but I love squats.  I hate pushups but I love plank ups.  I love to lift weights and strengthen my muscles. Find what you enjoy and do it!

4)Always have a goal: The scale is not the only place to have goals.  There are so many other ways to stay motived and push yourself. Recently I have been pushing myself to increase my reps as well as my weights.  It is so satisfying to reach a goal and set a new one!

5)Indulge: You know I love sweets!  If you know you are going to a birthday party or a friends BBQ let yourself indulge within reason.  Denying yourself can lead to unwanted binges.  Instead be strict with your diet leading up to the time before the indulgence. And do not, I repeat DO NOT make yourself feel guilty about it later on. Occasionally enjoying a sweet treat or special meal is an absolutely necessary part of a feasible healthy lifestyle plan.  This leads me into my next point…

6)Don’t focus on denial: How true is it that all you want is what you can’t have!  If you want a french fry, have a fry or two, you don’t need to eat an entire large fry, but a fry or two might be just the thing to keep you from derailing your entire healthy plan.

After a few weeks you won’t even have to think about these changes.  Making a lifestyle change is worth the time and hard work it takes. Remember, It’s Not About Dieting It’s About Lifestyle! Long lasting results are so much more satisfying than short ended quick results from a fad diet. You and your health and wellness are worth it!

If you want to read more about the benefits of lifestyle vs dieting check out my flab to fab post about Balance.

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