So, you've committed to eating better. Great! In our society it's easy to fall into the trap of overeating and eating the wrong things. Then, often, when we try to 'diet' we do it wrong and end up depriving our bodies of vital nutrients. This creates a vicious cycle called the yo-yo dieting effect where one loses weight then gains weight, up and down, up and down, like a yo-yo. Here I have compiled a few quick tips to keep from falling into these traps.
Habits:
1) Look at the time.
When you eat you should get into the habit of looking at the time. This habit is first because it's the most neglected when starting a new diet (food intake control plan). The idea here is that you should eat EVERY 2.5 TO 3 HOURS. Neglecting this will slow your metabolism drastically. I don't suggest you have a whole meal every 3 hours, however a 100-200 calorie snack will suffice. This could include a piece of fruit, a protein bar, a handful of nuts. Hitting these markers will really get your body churning!
Tip: When eating, look at the time and calculate an additional 2.5 to 3 hours. This is when you will eat next.
A few more notes on this topic. Don't eat within 2.5 to 3 hours of bedtime. 5-6 smaller meals is much better than the traditional 3 larger meals a day. Don't go more than 3 hours without eating (unless sleeping). Eat as soon as possible after waking up.
2) Know your food
Nutritional knowledge is your best friend. Knowing your food and how it will effect your body is essential to a diet. It's not easy to get started on a knowledge base of nutrition if you have neglected this for a long time. I read a book called 'You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management' by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen. This book really fueled my knowledge base of how my body reacts to food. Having this knowledge is essential to making the right food choices throughout the day.
Tip: Commit time to researching how food effects your body. This will help you make better food choices. Think of food as fuel for your body not a source of entertainment.
3) Routine
Having a daily routine will help you get into the swing of your new lifestyle. Be careful here, as eating the same foods everyday will become boring. By routine I mean eating times, not actual food. Scheduling food around your busy day to day activities is a challenge but it's wroth it. Having a plan makes it possible to eat healthy throughout the day despite where you might be. You can plan to bring a couple snacks to work with you everyday. You can pack a protein bar with your school supplies. You simply can't know what you need if you don't have a plan. Once you have a plan that's easy to follow, it becomes a routine.
Tip: Plan ahead. Responsibility starts right now.
4) Portion Control
I would NEVER suggest counting calories or weighing out foods. It's too much of a chore. Instead, begin to learn about your body. How much food do you really need? For example, say you're having a family dinner. In front of you is a platter of grilled chicken breasts, a bowl of steamed veggies and a pasta dish. You need to know BEFORE you ever sat down at the table how much you need to eat of each dish. First grab a chicken breast, pile the veggies on your plate, and grab a spoonful of the pasta dish. This is a balanced meal. I'm assuming anybody committed to a diet will also be leading an active lifestyle. This meal is intended to fuel the body for activity. The protein (chicken) fuels your muscles (having strong muscles burns a lot of calories everyday just by having them. I highly suggest keeping your muscles in good shape), the veggies provide countless benefits to your body and are freebies (you can eat as many veggies as you'd like, provided you don't ruin them with butter!), and the carbs (the pasta) you get a single serving of to help fuel your body and mind.
So, as your knowledge of food grows, you will learn how much food you truly need to fuel your body. This comes slowly.
Tip: Watch your portion sizes. Listen to your body it will tell you what you need.
5) Eating in
Eating out is full of temptations. They serve you too much and you can feel obliged to eat all of it to get your money's worth. A habit I developed while eating out is to go boxes. I typically eat a bit less than 1/2 of the portion a restaurant serves me and I'll bring the rest home to eat 3 hours later. This spreads the meal out into two separate meals, and I never feel hungry while still getting my money's worth out of the restaurant. If you like eating out a lot, apply your knowledge base of foods to the menu. Which foods will help your body the most? Avoid fried foods at restaurants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost every restaurant will bombard you with a menu full of unhealthy choices.
I enjoy eating out on occasion but eating in is much more effective. Typically, eating in costs less and is more healthy. It's a win-win situation. The downfall is cooking. If you don't know how to cook or don't enjoy it this can cause a problem. However, on the course of a weight control journey picking up cooking as a skill is very valuable. Also, sometimes we don't have time (breakfast) to prepare a healthy meal. Below the habits I will share what I do for breakfast and why it works so well for me.
Tip: Eat in when possible. When eating out really pay attention to portion sizes and menu choices.
This concludes the 5 habits of highly effective eaters. Below I will write a bit about breakfast: why it's important, why it's a challenge for many of us, and what I do to make it simple.
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is the meal you eat directly after waking up. While sleeping, our bodies go into a recuperative stage that slows our metabolism. It is essential that we jump start our bodies with a healthy, nutritious meal as soon as possible. Eating a good breakfast is so essential to a good diet or any healthy lifestyle. A good breakfast: wakes us up, turns on our brains, jump starts our metabolism, and puts us on a good footing for the rest of the day.
Breakfast is a serious challenge for many of us. We need to get out the door, get on our way as soon as possible. We don't like waking up any sooner then necessary so if possible we'd like breakfast to be short and simple. Many people neglect breakfast because they are always in such a hurry to get out the door. Others, simply aren't hungry when they wake up (or can't eat after waking). Personally, I've had both of these problems for most of my life.
So, how did I fix my breakfast conundrum? I use something called a meal replacement shake for breakfast every morning. This shake is nutritionally loaded and the portions are already measured and ready to go. I simply pour 8 Oz. of cold water into a cup, dump in 1 scoop of my shake, stir with a knife, and drink it on down. This makes my life so simple and fast in the morning. The meal replacement shake I use is called Shakeology. It is nutritionally LOADED with all the good stuff. It's the ideal meal, it's simple, fast, delicious, and it gets me out the door quickly! Also, I have found that by starting off the day with a healthy choice, makes it so much easier to make healthy choices for the rest of the day.
If you're interested in learning more about Shakeology (there is a lot to learn, the stuff is simply amazing), check out this website:
http://myshakeology.com/swflSteve
It's $4 per serving. More expensive than cereal, less expensive than Mc'Ds b-fast. The most nutritious breakfast you will ever have!
I recommend chocolate if you're interested!
Comment or message me on Facebook if you have any questions!!
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