Most of us get overwhelmed when we decide we want to eat healthy. It’s hard to know the right thing to do is when there is s much conflicting advice out there. Take it slow and start implementing baby steps. ADHERENCE is the #1 factor in dieting successfully. Let me ask you this which do you think you can stick to best, drastic rigid guidelines and a diet that outlaws the stuff you love or a more flexible progressive approach. While you may think you will do best with a more drastic approach because it will help you loose weight quickly I ask you to look at your personal history, has that worked so far? While a drastic approach may help you loose more on the scale, has it stayed off?
If the answer is no then try my preferred approach, baby steps to optimizing your current diet. Here are a few simple steps
1. Drink more water. Try using this timed water bottle. It reminds you to drink. What a concept.
2. Stay full…Eat veggies at every meal. If that sounds too overwhelming try adding a green salad to your dinner each night. Once that seems second nature try doing the same at lunch.
3. Swap out simple carbs (sugar, white bread) for more complex carbs (whole grain breads).
4. EAT PROTEIN… When we make protein the main building block for all our meals we can stay fuller. Most of us are more successful in dieting when we can stay full.
5. Slow down. Many of use (myself included) inhale our food. Well, it takes 20 minutes for the food to reach our stomach and therefore we don’t actually feel full until 20 minutes past our meal. In that time many of us reach for seconds or thirds which we don’t need. Try bringing awareness to your eating…SLOW DOWN.
I hope you found some of these helpful. When I work with my clients I try implementing 1 change at a time to prevent anyone from getting overwhelmed. Let me know how you do with these. I would love to hear what worked and what didn’t.