One of my goals for this year was to get healthier for myself and my family. I thought to myself, “piece of cake!” but then I got real. There is no quick fix to getting healthy and losing weight. You must dedicate yourself to “you” and that is when you’ll start to see things happening! Watching what you eat and exercising are just a small percentage of the battle of getting healthy. It is a complete lifestyle change and when you are ready, these few fundamental quick and easy tips will help you to get started.
1. EAT SMARTER – Please don’t do what I’ve done and give up all your favorite foods! You are just setting yourself up for failure when you do that. Instead, eat just a little less everyday at every meal or substitute a protein shake for one or two of your meals. Another idea is to leave the last bite or two on your plate at every meal. Over the course of just one week you could save yourself approximately 700 calories!
2. LESS MEAT AND MORE VEGGIES – This is a challenge in my home. My husband loves his protein and I only cook one meal for my entire family. We are going to try to incorporate this into our meal plan though. It is shown that eating red meat increases your risk for heart disease and cancer. Try swapping out one red meat meal a week with a vegetarian one!
3. SERVE MEALS ON A SMALLER PLATE – Psychologically this is one of the easiest ways to start to eat a little less. Most dishes these days are about 10-12 inches in diameter so when you switch to a smaller plate, you will eat less because these is less room to pile the food on! Less is more.
4. COOK AT HOME – Now I know what you’re thinking…..I try to cook at home I’m just so exhausted! Here’s the truth. I am too. I don’t cook every night. I want to, but there are just days that I can’t. None of us are perfect. Try to cook at home just one more night a week than you usually do. Foods that are cooked at home are naturally lower in fat and calories because we are in control of the amount of fat we are cooking with.
5. CLOSE THE KITCHEN DOWN! – I remember growing up that after 8:00 the kitchen was closed. No snacks, no nothing. Late night snacking while sitting on the couch watching TV and unwinding from a long day just turns into many unwanted pounds over time. Your body struggles to “work off” these calories in your sleep. Close down the kitchen just like if you closed a restaurant. If it isn’t open, you can’t get that late night snack. If you just absolutely cannot do it, put your snack in a bowl or on a plate to prevent you from downing an entire bag or box!
6. TAKE A VITAMIN – It is shown that society today is not getting the right amount of nutrients on a daily basis. Taking a vitamin makes sure you get those nutrients regardless of what you eat and you’ll start to feel better within days! If I don’t take my vitamins, boy do I know it! I’m tired, cranky, and dragging all day. Click HERE for the vitamins I take.
Also, there is only two more days to take advantage of our Shaklee free membership! You can get the vitamins I listed above for 25% off with the membership and auto-ship! Makes for a really sweet deal! If you would like more information you can also contact me at nicole@lacicwellness.com
Nikki
I'd like to ask a question, please. I just recently made some of these changes and last night I felt horrible. Not much better today. Do you know is that kind of normal to feel horrible in the first few days until your body adjusts? That's what I'm telling myself to try to keep going but honestly I just want to quit. I really wanted to make the change to feel better and to lose some weight but I just feel worse!
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry!
ReplyDeleteFirst, don't quit! There's always a transition in the body when you start to make healthy changes. The body is full of toxins and when you make these changes, it pretty much shocks the body. (I'm no expert, just from personal experience). I'd love to talk to you more and help you out with this. Email me at nicole@lacicwellness.com and let's see what we can do for you!
Thanks! :-)