Today's post is going to be about how to keep your eye on the price. One of the biggest issues I have had in the past is staying on track. It doesn't matter what your fitness goal is, it could be to compete or to lose weight, or to just be healthier...IT'S HARD. I have struggled in the past with restricted eating habits and would binge eat, which would lead to a whole host of other problems. So I did some introspective work and looked at how I could be better. How could I learn to be happy with me, my life, me me me?!? So I have been thinking about it and here is my list.
1. Create a plan: Have you ever heard "fail to plan, plan to fail". That's exactly true. You want to create a plan. I like a schedule...but different folks, different strokes. Creating a plan should be the first step. This will keep you focused and then you won't be running around like a crazy person. I like creating a dinner menu and then taking leftovers for lunch. I posted my family menu in the last post. Another thing about creating a plan, is that you want to write it down and keep it visible. It's just like a goal, having it written down makes it much more likely to get accomplished.
2. Allow for indulgences: One of the biggest problems people have when trying to be healthier is that they cut all "bad" foods from their life. They say "I'm never going to have another cupcake". A week later they are in a bath tub surrounded by cupcakes :-O. One thing that I learned from competing is that you need to have a "cheat" every once in a while. This is so that you don't binge later. I like giving myself a treat or two a week. Usually after dinner. I try to make healthier choices, like a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich instead of a pint of Ben and Jerry's (but hey if you have control than go for it ;-) ). I am not a huge salty person, I love sweets so I give myself a little something every now and then. I also believe in the 80/20 diet...and if there is cake at a staff meeting you best believe I will be there :-) (I'm literally eating a brownie as I type this!)
3. Make healthy swaps: Just like a said above, just because you are being healthy doesn't mean you have to eat baked chicken and broccoli every morning/noon/night. Make a list of your favorite foods and take some time to come up with alternative recipes. I love tacos, so I make healthy turkey tacos. I use ground turkey meat, pico de gallo, lettuce, and greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I love being able to be creative and try new things. It doesn't always turn out yummy, but that's how life goes! Another great thing is that you have access to the internet which has a million and one ways to create new and exciting foods!
4. Take it one day at a time: Not everyday is a good day. Remember to be present in the day that you are in. If you start to feel discouraged because you aren't seeing progress, focus yourself in this day. Focus on doing the right thing today. Don't give up because you feel bad. I always try to get to bed time and still feel "ok". If I feel hungry, I eat (I also try to actively decipher between hungry and bored). But I try to set small goals everyday to stay focused in the present. If you focus to much on the future (or the past) you'll miss out on all the wonderful aspects of the present day.
5. If you slip up, move on: Listen...I'm not sure if you're aware, but you are a human being. You will make mistakes...we all make MISTAKES! You will go out to dinner one night and go a little over board....oh well. Start over tomorrow. Now don't go crazy and eat everything in sight...but don't badger yourself. Don't guilt trip yourself. Learn from the mistake. So this night that you went over board, maybe you had a busy day and didn't eat your snack. Maybe you didn't drink enough water. Maybe you ate to fast. LEARN. Be present in the moment in which the mistake happen and use it as a learning tool. And try again. Don't give it. If you have to create a mantra to get over the issue say this to yourself "Oh well, that's life, tomorrow is a new damn day" Boom!
6. Set goals: Similar to the first helpful hint...set a goal. Why be healthy? Do you want to run a race? Do a triathlon? Do a competition? Having a goal will also help you stay focused and help with your overall plan that I said before. It doesn't have to be a profound goal, even something as simple as drinking more water is moving in a positive way.
7. Eat to live not live to eat: I have struggled with food for a long time. I go between saying "F it" and "God why can't I be better". Recently I have focused on eating to live. I don't eat if I'm not hungry, I only eat to feed my body. I also learned that I need to love myself and love my body. When I started reminding myself of that I started to feed my body to fuel it. I started to look at my body as priceless, a perfectly flawed priceless piece of wonderfulness.
8. Emotional eating: Many people use food as a coping skill for their emotions. Think about it, food is used for happy moments, sad moments, depressed moments, anxious moments, ALL sorts of moments. You want to be able to decipher between hungry and emotional eating. There are other coping skills that should be employed when you are experiencing an increase in emotions, eating should not be one of them. I work with substance abusers and one of the things we tell them is about HALT - hungry, angry, lonely, tired. These are the times that people fall back into bad habits. It should be these times you focus on setting good eating habits, but just an alcoholic would not drink, you should not eat.
9. You're not on a diet ANYMORE: I was reading a book about binge eating disorder. And one thing of the many things that stood out to me was an experiment that happened between WWI and WWII. The government was trying to learn how many calories that average, healthy male needs in order to function on the battle field. They took healthy (physically and mentally) young men and had them eat low calorie diets for a certain period over time. The researchers were blown away by their findings. It showed that these men (who previously had no body issues and/or food issues) started having body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. They became obsessed with food. That is all they would talk about, they would do calorie restriction and they binge eat, they had serious mood swings, all sorts of horrible things. Things that most people attribute to a woman just "being a woman". Could it be that society has put women on such a tight line that even from early ages girls worry about weight and food. Its like being on a diet all the time. With this being said, you are no longer on a diet...strip that word from your vocabulary. I like to refer to it as my nutrition, or my lifestyle. I like to eat healthy food, not because I'm on a diet, but because I am trying to be healthy.
10. Enjoy life: Listen, you only get one shot at life...so try to enjoy it. Have some cake, drink some wine. Live people! Everything in moderation!
I hope these 10 tips have helped. It's hard to stay focused, but with these things in mind it may be a little easier. Please leave comments about things that have helped you!
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