How good and energized do you feel after you’ve polished off a plate of a burger and fries? How sexy do you feel after a big burrito with cheese sauce? Probably not very! Willpower and discipline are choices, and we all have the power to make the right ones.
Being disciplined is something you learn to do. Just like anything you haven’t tried before, you can, and should educate yourself first, then play around with what works for you. Does what I’m talking about take time…yes, it is something that you can adapt to any lifestyle. You don’t have to go “competition” crazy, just start by making small adjustments to your diet. Practice saying empowering things like “I will feel good after I eat this chicken and roasted vegetables”, not “I just can’t say no to a burger and fries”. I mean really….we all know what those foods taste like, and, make us feel like. The idea is to make a plan, the start sticking to it. This change is not about beating yourself up if you eat a “bad” food, it’s about feeling good when you eat healthy, energizing foods!
How do you start? I will give you some options, or choices, if you will, to help you determine how to begin making changes that you can live with. Whether you work full time, or have a few picky eaters in the house, there will be something here that you can do. Just commit to at least one change daily, then go from there. Pretty soon it will become a habit, and soon after that, you will start to feel, and look better! Again, this is not about sacrificing everything, it is about slowly changing bad habits, into a lifestyle that will benefit you in body, mind, and looks!
I’m going to give you 3 plans. You can choose one, or incorporate all into your daily eating routine! This is not about sacrificing…if you “must” have chocolate, have a piece every day that is dark, and preferably organic….savor it, and be done. Whatever you do, focus on the positive reasons you are doing this!
PLAN 1
Eat every 3-4 hours
pack your lunches (notice LUNCHES) the night before
YES, you have time….
we are not counting calories, we are choosing small amounts of clean foods that will keep you full for a couple of hours. A yogurt, and a half a sandwich…..a piece of fruit and some peanut butter, or string cheese…..easy to eat, easy to pack.( Check out previous posts for clean eating books, and recipes)
PLAN 2
Drink 2 eight ounce glasses of water before EVERY meal
This is an easy one!
Studies have shown that people eat up to 20% less when having had 2 glasses of water before a meal!
PLAN 3
Add 2 vegetables to every meal in addition to 1 lean protein.
If you normally eat a tuna sandwich, eat some carrot sticks, and raw broccoli.
If you are having steak for dinner, great…also have some steamed spinach, and a sweet potato or squash.
What does this have to do with willpower? What happens when you plan ahead, and don’t make random choices, is a couple of things. You stay full longer, so you aren’t “grabbing” the first thing you see. Your blood sugar will stay level, not dropping and peaking and sending you crashing, and starving! And, the most important thing to me…you will feel that you have started to gain control of your eating habits. It feels really good at the end of the day, when you can go to bed and feel you did something positive for your health! Saying “NO” to unhealthy, fattening foods, will start to be a common occurrence! With more energy, you will look forward to the next best step, strength training. If you are already working out, you will start to see results that maybe you didn’t see before!
Now get to the grocery store, pick out some healthy, colorful foods that you like…..get a lunch bag that keeps everything fresh, and start your day tomorrow feeling great!!
Making these choices today, will definitely affect all of your tomorrows!!