Sticking to a healthy lifestyle

Old habits are hard to break…biting nails, smoking, shopping, snacking….

Sometimes I find myself falling back into old habits that I was sure I had conquered. For example, I have been very stressed lately. A few years ago, when I became stressed, I often found food as a comforter…a safety net if you will. I would graze on a bag of chips, candy or chocolate without a second thought of what or how much I was consuming. I would convince myself that I was under such stress, I deserved the treat. Last night, as I tried to de-stress by reading a book, I caught my mind BEGGING me to walk downstairs for a night time snack. My craving would NOT leave me alone! I must have read the same sentence in my book 20 times in an attempt to change my thought process. Ultimately, I beat my craving by turning out the lights and going to sleep rather than staying up and reading, but it got me thinking and worrying about my lack of will power to regress to old habits. I am sure that if I had not gone to bed, I would have given into my mind's incessant pleading and eaten an unhealthy snack.

What is it that we find comforting in junk foods, and how can we successfully train our bodies to avoid them and lead healthy lifestyles?

# 1 - Stick to many of your own food preferences but substitute them for the lower fat varieties. This way it will seem like less of a DIET and therefore more chance you'll stick to it. Remember lifestyle change indicates a change for life!

# 2 - If you need to completely cut out certain "junk" foods then cut them slowly and introduce favorite healthier foods a little at a time. Apple "chips" are enough to satisfy my chip addiction, yet are 100 times more healthy.

# 3 - Try to get into a habit of eating little and often. Keep string cheese, crackers, fruits and veggies pre-measured and always on hand.

# 4 - Always remember to take it one step at a time, big changes are often too much too handle when within a few weeks they seem like hard work.

# 5 - Don't get too caught up with calorie content of everything, it should be a rough guide so you generally take in less calories until reaching your goal.

# 6 - Try to reduce calories slowly over the course of a few weeks, maintain the intake when losing about one pound of weight each week then continue to lower calories slowly when weight loss stops.

# 7 - Don't obsess over scale weight you could be losing or gaining water, buy some fat monitors to check progress. On average, your weight can fluctuate 2 pounds throughout the day!

# 8 - Don't get hooked on trying to achieve the perfect nutrient ratio, as long as there is enough activity and less energy intake the weight should come down no matter how many carbs/protein are consumed.

# 9 - Take a little time each day to plan your activities and stick to them.

# 10 - Set small goals often and enjoy/ revel in the joy when you reach the ultimate goal! Always take a before photo to help you remember and visualize just how far you've come.

Small and consistent changes are the ONLY way to ensure that you maintain and STICK to your decision to lead a healthy lifestyle. Old habits die hard, but given enough time, they will die and be replaced with the new healthy habits that you want.

Good luck!

Have an awesome day!

Fit – NOW – Girl