Yes, I said ‘enjoy’. Losing weight and getting healthy doesn’t have to mean torture and deprivation. In fact, it can feel more like an indulgence if you wrap your head around the process in a healthy way. Think about it, would you really be able to stick to your weight-loss plan long enough to do well if you are miserable the entire time? I didn’t think so. You can set yourself up to succeed by following these simple attitude-bending hints:
1. Look out for number one. I’m not talking about ignoring you family or anything drastic, but in order to put your health and emotional wellness on the front burner you’ve got to make it a priority. After all, it’s not selfish to take care of yourself. It’s quite the contrary if you think about it. If everyone around you depends on you to keep their worlds revolving, what would they do if you weren’t up to the physical challenge? Chances are you do a lot of things for others and now it’s time to do some things for yourself as well. The time you spend working out and creating healthful meals and snacks will benefit everyone around you.
2. Pamper yourself. Why is it that when someone else serves you food it always tastes much better than when you make it yourself? Slice up some lemons for your water, put on your favorite dinner music or get out the special china to eat from. Better yet, do all three. The main thing you want to avoid is feeling deprived. Instead, make sure that you feel special about what you’re doing for yourself.
3. Go on a weekly shopping spree (at the supermarket). Okay, so a produce section isn’t exactly the mall; but try to stop treating grocery shopping like a meaningless task. Don’t burden yourself with planning a week’s meals in advance, just make sure that you load your cart with the kinds of healthful choices that lead to low-calorie, low-fat meals. Never let yourself run out of boneless chicken breasts, fresh vegetables and brown rice, for example. Yogurt and granola, seasonal fruit and whole grain munchies should always be on hand as well. Forget brownies, but you can whip up a fiber-rich fruit cobbler when you have a sweet tooth if your pantry is packed with the right items.
4. Forgive yourself for slip-ups. Have a plan in mind for the invariable cheat here and there so you don’t freefall back to square one (or worse). Train yourself to stop after the first bite or two and get back on track right away. A minor infraction (otherwise known as the chocolate chip cookie) won’t necessarily erase all progress on weigh-in day, but a stack of them certainly would. Make adjustments to your next meal to make up for the empty calories that you took in. Either have a smaller portion or skip your planned healthy snack later in the day. If the whole day was one big mess-up, go to bed with the attitude that tomorrow will be a good day. If you miss whatever you do for daily exercise, do an extra chore around the house to make up for it. If you pick up the pace, you’ll end up with a good amount of calories burned and a clean house as well.
Once you chalk up a few good days in a row of healthy eating and getting exercise, you’ll be on your way to losing weight. What’s more, if you incorporate these steps, you’re overall quality of life will feel better too.
Julie Clark Robinson writes on a wide variety of topics which include Georgia colleges, Florida colleges, and online degree programs.