In order to lose weight and become healthier, you will need to
plan a diet that you can stick to. Your diet plan is not a crash
diet that you will give up after two weeks; it should be a
LIFESTYLE change. Your diet changes must be reasonable or you
will not be able to stick to them. That's why making a few
subtle changes to your eating and exercise habits may help you
develop a healthy diet plan. Sometimes, the littlest things make
the biggest difference.
Look at your diet patterns and decide if there are some nasty
patterns that you can break. For instance, are there certain
times of day when you just have to have a candy bar? Or are
there certain times of day when you can't go without that bag of
chips? Think about what you can reasonably give up or even
better what can you replace with healthier food choices.
Here are some little habits that you might consider changing.
The key is, you are breaking a BAD habit and instilling a GOOD
habit in its place. This should be a PERMANENT change. Ask
yourself, "Can I maintain this change for the rest of my life?"
1. Fast Food. Do you eat out everyday for lunch? Start to bring
your lunch to work at least 4 days a week Even stopping by
McDonald's twice a week can have a big impact on your diet. When
you cook at home, you know what's going into your food.
2. Drinks. When you're thirsty, choose drinks that don't have
any calories (water, tea, or diet soft drinks). If your drink
choices do have have calories, they should have nutrients.
Alcohol and soda both contain useless calories.
3. Snacks. Do you have a certain time of day that you just HAVE
to snack? Fill your cupboard and refrigerator with low calorie
snacks. Get rid of those high carbohydrate and sugary snacks.
4. Dinner. Maybe your hardest time of day is when you sit down
to have a big meal. While you're cooking, eat a healthy snack -
like a piece of fruit or a few low calorie crackers. Cook only
what you will eat (no leftovers). If you make more than you're
supposed to eat, serve from the stove, and put leftovers away
before you sit down to eat. In other words, do not have extra
food sitting in front of you on the table. Do you know that a
meat serving should be only as big as a deck of cards?
5. Exercise. Exercise MUST be a part of your daily routines:
When you're shopping, park your car far away from the store.
Plan for this and do it EVERY time - especially in the cold
weather! (The colder it is, the more calories you will burn.)
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Play a game of
hide-and-seek with your kids. When you take the dog for a walk,
make it a brisk walk. Can you find some way to sneak in some
exercise everyday? Look carefully at your routines and plan
something that you don't mind doing. If you like it, chances are
you will continue to do it.
Chek out this article by Wendy Hearn:
http://www.nutricounter.com/articles/hearn3.htm She talks about
how to break the habit of eating when you're not hungry.
Come and visit the NutriCounter web site for more information on
how nutrition influences weight loss, diabetes, pregnancy, heart
disease and more! http://www.nutricounter.com
About the author:
renee@napuda.com
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