10 Tips To a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle
Here are some changes you can start making TODAY which can help you clean up your diet for the long term! Don't procrastinate start instilling these healthy habits today, get the results that you really want that are going to last for your lifetime. Choose one or two of the following to commit to this week, start changing your nutrition and your life now!
1. Eat breakfast. If you don’t currently eat something for breakfast try to get at least a little something in to start your metabolism for the day, I can’t stress enough how important this is! You’ve heard it before and it is the truth, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
2. Start educating yourself. Read nutrition labels, check out the USDA Nutrition Data Base and look up your favorite foods to find out what you are putting in your body! The more education you have about what you are eating easier making healthy choices will be for you!
3. Portion CONTROL! This is a huge one folks! Many people fall into the trap of thinking, “Oh this is non-fat or ½ the calories, I can eat as much as I want.” Wrong! Don’t overeat with the excuse of “It’s good for me”. I strongly urge you to buy a food scale and start measuring out portion sizes. This is a great way to learn what a portion is, and soon enough you will be able to tell just by looking!
4. Stop eating when you’re full. You don’t have to eat everything on your plate. Pack it up and save it for later
5. Take note of what your “trouble” times are during the day. When do you feel the need to binge or make unhealthy food choices. For many people this tends to happen later in the day or in the evening when they are bored. What can you do to avoid eating during these times? For example if you have a tendency to eat later at night try brushing your teeth right after your last meal. Or preparing yourself some flavored water to sip on or some caffeine free tea, this way you’ll feel like you’re having something without adding consuming calories that you don’t need!
6. Switch to low fat or no fat dairy products. Just by switching from whole milk to skim milk you can save up to 65 calories per serving! Eating dairy is a great way to get in your calcium for the day which will keep your bones strong, when you choose low fat or non fat products you still get the calcium benefit without all the extra calories.
7.Start cutting out the sugars. This is a tough one since a huge majority of people are hooked on sugar. Try using sugar substitutes, Stevia is a natural sweetener that comes in a variety of flavors and adds no extra calories to your food. If you’ve got a sweet tooth try craving it with fruits instead of high calorie and fatty sweets. Remember don’t try to change your diet all in one day. Do you have an unhealthy habit of eating ice cream everyday? Try just cutting back to 2-3 days where you are allowed to have a portion of ice cream. Commit to only eating your ice cream on those days. This way you can resist the urge to binge because you feel deprived!
8. Don’t tell yourself you “can’t” have something. As soon as you tell yourself you can’t have it, that’s what you are going to crave. You can have it, but you have weight and fitness goals that you are determined to meet so you “choose” not to eat it at this time.
9. Start cutting out the fatty foods that you don’t need. This means creamy dressings, oils that you don’t need to add to your foods, butter and other high fat high calories additions to your meals that are sabotaging your progress! Again think small, try going one day without buttering your bread or tell yourself that you can enjoy those extra calories every other day.
10.Eat more fiber! You can get fiber from eating more veggies and also by switching to whole grain pasta and bread products. One of the nice things about a product higher in fiber is that it will fill you up more quickly and keep you full for longer!
One pound of fat is 3500 calories, so in order to lose a pound of fat in a week you need to cut out 3500 calories from what you are eating throughout the week or burn off extra calories through exercise and increased physical activity! Use a Treadmill, Exercise Bike, Elliptical Machine or just go for a jog or walk each day. What can you do TODAY to get you one step closer to your fitness dream?
Diana Chaloux is an ACE/AFAA Certified Personal Trainer, the WBFF Figure World Champion and professional fitness model. She provides one on one personal training in Kansas City, MO as well as online training, nutrition and life coaching weight loss programs available worldwide via the Hitch Fit program with Micah LaCerte (www.hitchfit.com )Â . For information on how you can work with Diana as your trainer please visit www.dianachaloux.com or write to diana@dianachaloux.com
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July 01 2009 03:10 pm | Other Weight Loss Tips