Well it’s been one whole month since I started the National Body Challenge. And I thought I would do a post about how I’m doing and share some of the tips that I’ve kind of collected throughout the challenge. Well first off I’ve lost some weight, not substantial, which is to be expected. Since the goal of the Challenge is really to get you more healthy, not necessarily help you lose tons of weight really fast. So some is better than none, right? I have three more weeks left before the Challenge ends, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens then. Hopefully I will have a job by then and if it’s the school one, then I’m definitely going to be losing some weight running after them children.
Here is a short list of some of the tips I’ve managed to collect.
1. There’s a difference between rewarding yourself with a treat and binging. In reality you can eat almost anything, but the key is to eat in moderation. Never deprive yourself of something you love, in the long run your going to do more damage to yourself. I’ll never give up three things: sugar, bread and tea. I need them to survive, which is why any diet that cuts those out is not the diet for me.
2. When a craving comes…distract it by eating some soup (which is more filling then most other foods), a salad (which will help you fill up with less calories and knock three servings of vegetables), and nuts (when kept in moderate potion size, they can really give you a boost in between meals)
3. Be a mindful eater, once you get an handle of be aware of calories and setting your daily calorie intake you’ll hone a skill of knowing which foods will do you good and the portion size of food. You’ll also learn which foods will tend to make you overeat. For me it’s sweet breads, it’s like a tingling in my mouth, once I have one I have to have another and another.
4. An exercise doesn’t have to be some pre-planned can’t change the routine hour long deal. As long as your active in some kind of way, that’s better then being inactive. Granted as you start to get more and more use to being active, you should explore different exercise types and routines to find the best one for you and do that one. And don’t skip out of exercising if you don’t have the full hour or so…if you have 20 minutes 10 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of cardio will do.
5. Getting thin and staying thin is not an impossible dream. If your willing to understand your habits and change them, then you can get thin and stay thin. That’s what this challenge is all about, understanding your habits and changing the ones that need to change and getting new ones.
6. Know what your triggers are. This is really the apex of the challenge to me. We all do things because of triggers, something we see, smell, hear, taster, feel, triggers something in our brains that makes us do something. Understanding those triggers help you control your habits.
7. Variation is good. Change things up a bit, some of the diets out now a day, calls for eating certain foods over and over again. Which is why diets usually don’t work for me. I don’t like restrictions on what I can and can’t eat and when I can and can’t eat something. If I want to eat a slice of pizza for breakfast, pancakes for lunch and a small salad for dinner, then I should be able to as long as I’ve chosen healthy choices then what’s the big deal.
8. Fast food places are not the diet devil. That said, they aren’t a diet haven either. But if you know how to navigate the menu then you should at least be safe for a while. Whenever possible go with grilled or roasted chicken (with out any mayo or mayo-based special sauce), baked potatoes (exclude sour cream and cheese sauce), go for deli sandwiches, if your getting a pizza go with veggie toppings instead of the meat lover’s special, try and have a small salad with every lunch and dinner meal, if you just got have that burger, go with a kiddie sized plain burger, and if you get the meal you could even get fruit for desert.
9. Set your goals. Before you start any weight loss plan, you really need to know what your goal is. Saying I want to lose wright just doesn’t cut. And be realistic, everyone agrees that losing 1 to 2 pounds is an healthy pace, when making permanent life changes it’s best to do it slowly.
10. Stay strong in the grocery store. Have a plan, never shop when hungry, shop along the sides and the back, and take the time to read the labels. Compare the labels of brands to find the one that’s nutritional right for you. Since I’m lactose intolerant, I have to do this any way. Just because it says low fat, how low is it really. And if it’s something you will eat with another item, how would that factor. I heart instant mashed potatoes, so I compared the brands till I found one that had the lowest calories, fat, and sodium, but was higher in iron (I’m anemic as well). Do a couple of items every shopping trip until you’ve gone through your regular items, for instance one trip do crackers, and the next trip do pasta sauce. And do this every so often, companies change up their ingredients sometimes and new brands come out every so often.
Some of these tips are kinda common place now a days in the dieting world, but these are my take on them and the ones that really have helped me along the way.
Bianco Jade