” I know that I need to start eating healthier “. How many times have you said this? More importantly, how many more times are you going to say this?
Take a moment right now to take a look into the future. I want you to picture yourself ten years from now – then twenty. What do you see? Do you see yourself healthy, enjoying the simple things in life like taking a walk with your children or grandchildren, climbing stairs, getting in and out of cars, all pain free and with ease? Or do you see your calendar filled with Dr’s appointments and your medicine cabinet filled with prescription drugs? Which ever one you see, one of these means living a happy fulfilled life while the other has no quality of life whatsoever.
DON’T WAIT TO GET SICK TO START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Although, if you are reading this blog, you may already have been diagnosed with abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes, or worse. In that case, you don’t have time to waste! You have two choices: 1] Change your lifestyle ASAP! 2] Put yourself at high risk for getting progressively worse!
Remember earlier when I asked you to take a look into the future? What do you see? Keep looking and keep asking yourself this question! What do you see when you’re 50? How about 65? I personally know folks over 60 in the best health of their life and I also know folks under 40 in the worst health of their lives. The thing is, the people under 40 or in their 40’s can make lifestyle changes that will change their outcomes and change how healthy they will be in their 50’s and 60’s. Are you someone in their 50’s or 60’s reading this? Are you going to Dr’s frequently and have prescription medicines sitting on your counter and filling up your medicine cabinet?
HERE ARE SOME PRETTY DISTURBING STATS:
Three out of four people over the age of sixty-five take medication for chronic diseases and illnesses.
More than fifty percent of adults in the United States take prescription medications regularly.
Twenty-five percent of people over the age of sixty-five take 5 or more medicines daily.
Take a look around. Look at everyone from family members to friends and coworkers. Look at the people who are overweight, sick, suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, joint pain, and depression. Now take a look at folks that are in your age group and older that are of a healthy weight and are happy. After observing both groups, take a look at yourself. Now, I don’t want you to pick which group you belong to – no, no, no, no… I want you to choose the group you want to become. The lifestyle in which you will adapt. Now, begin on creating a better you!
Have Goals?
The main focus [ goals ] should come down to this – “Do I want a shorter life or a longer one? ”
Now that you agree that you want a longer life, you are ready to make short attainable goals that will eventually become long-term life changing ones.
Do you want to be in control? Have more energy? Get a good report on your next doctor’s visit? Then ditch your tired , old, bad habits and replace them with new ones – better ones!
Have patience and be willing to trust the process. You will not get results overnight. You may be someone who needs to lose 20, 30, 40, or more pounds. You know this because during your last Dr’s visit, this is what your doctor told you. He specifically told you that you need to lose X amount of pounds to prevent or reverse damage, or to save your life.
Starting now:
You don’t need to give everything up! Start with making small adjustments. For example: If you usually put 3 packets of sugar in your coffee, then I am asking you to only use 1 and a half packets starting now. If you are drinking 3 cans of diet soda a day, I’m going to ask that you drink 2. If you are a cookie monster and eat 6 or more cookies. I’m going to ask that you don’t allow a package of cookies in your home and that you buy 3 small cookies or 1 big one from the bakery. I know it sounds like I am telling you to continue with your bad habits. If you quit cold-turkey, your chances of failure are high. Weening your way off will allow your body to adapt along with your taste buds. If you enjoy your coffee with 3 packets of sugar, sure, the 1 and a half packets wont be as sweet, but you will still taste the sugar and you will be grateful for that. These adjustments should last 1 to 2 weeks tops before readjusting. For example: Your 1 and a half packets of sugar will them become 3/4 of a packet. Your 2 cans of diet soda will become 1 and your 3 small or 1 big cookie will become 2 small cookies. These are just examples as only you know your temptations. You will continue to readjust until you aren’t using any sugar in your coffee, ditched the diet soda, and stopped craving cookies. Meanwhile, while you are weening, you are also replacing. Instead of sugar in your coffee, you can put some cinnamon. Instead of diet soda, you can have seltzer with lemon or lime. Instead of cookies, you can have a piece of fruit like a banana or apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Again, these are examples – you get the idea.
Don’t want to feel hungry all of the time?
First of all, never, ever skip breakfast! Make sure you get protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates, along with plenty of water in the A.M. While you were asleep, you were fasting. You need to put gas into the tank so you can start your day off right. Here is something that works well – it’s called ” grazing ” Eat twice as often, eat half as much, and chew twice as long. When you eat more often, eating smaller portions, and taking your time to chew, you wont feel hungry.
MOTIVATIONAL TIPS TO GET YOU IN THE HABIT OF EATING HEALTHY:
Keep a food journal. If that’s not working out for you there are sites and apps out there like MyfitnessPal . They help you keep control on your daily nutrition.
Team up with your spouse, family member, friend, or coworker. This way, you aren’t doing it alone and you can hold each other accountable and support one another.
Eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism up and running. Use the food you eat as fuel [ energy ] throughout the day.
Keep healthy & nutritious foods on hand and ready to eat. Keep them in your fridge, pantry, car, and at work. Foods like trail mix [ no M&M’s ], whole grain crackers and low fat cheese, hard boiled eggs, veggies with hummus, yogurts, fruits, etc. This way you wont go hungry on a busy day.
Plan and prepare for the week! Don’t ever leave things to chance! Chances are you will make the wrong choices and have a set back.
Don’t get stressed out if and when you do have a set back. It will be okay. One time won’t hurt. Obsessing over it and spiraling out of control will hurt though. Just get back to normal the next day. It will go away. I promise. We are human and we make mistakes. It’s how we choose to deal with them that counts. You are so much stronger than you think.
Don’t allow junk food in the house [ as best as you can control ]. Do you have kids that enjoy cookies and milk, ice cream, or chips? Plan out when they will have it and only get single servings – so there isn’t an entire box of cookies sitting in the cabinet or a gallon of ice cream in the freezer screaming, ” eat me, eat me ” Even when you have company and they bring over something that makes you drool. Take a small serving and put it away!!! Don’t keep it on the table in pain site. Out of sight, out of mind!
Going out to eat can be daunting. Decide what you are going to have beforehand so you don’t get tempted into eating poorly as well as overeating. When ordering, you can ask how something is prepared and request them to prepare it differently. For instance, you order the broiled salmon. You find out that it’s prepared in a butter/lemon sauce. You can ask them to ditch the sauce and bring you fresh lemon. Even vegetables in many restaurants are sauteed in a butter/oil sauce. Ask for them to be steamed instead.
Have trusty resources to fall back on. Talk to a nutritionist, personal trainer, use social media, health coaches etc to help keep you motivated. Search for inspiration!!! Follow bloggers and stories of those who were in the same boat as you and read their success stories! Believe in yourself. If you can think it, dream it, and visualize it, you can have it!
Remember to take it slow, expect set backs without freaking out. When you have obtained a goal like removing that diet soda out of your life, reward yourself! It doesn’t have to be dessert or something. Reward yourself with some new clothes or a massage or something. You should put a prize on your goals. Something to look forward to besides better health and a longer life.
Research Low Glycemic Index Eating. You wont get steered wrong. You can look into talking with an RD as well as a personal trainer. Of course a healthy diet along with exercise is the ticket. Interestingly enough, diet plays 80% and exercise 20% when it comes to losing weight, keeping it off, and staying healthy.
I hope you are motivated to eat healthier and make a lifestyle change that your future self will thank you for!
Hugs, Health, & Happiness
Bernadette Ricci
Take a moment right now to take a look into the future. I want you to picture yourself ten years from now – then twenty. What do you see? Do you see yourself healthy, enjoying the simple things in life like taking a walk with your children or grandchildren, climbing stairs, getting in and out of cars, all pain free and with ease? Or do you see your calendar filled with Dr’s appointments and your medicine cabinet filled with prescription drugs? Which ever one you see, one of these means living a happy fulfilled life while the other has no quality of life whatsoever.
DON’T WAIT TO GET SICK TO START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Although, if you are reading this blog, you may already have been diagnosed with abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes, or worse. In that case, you don’t have time to waste! You have two choices: 1] Change your lifestyle ASAP! 2] Put yourself at high risk for getting progressively worse!
Remember earlier when I asked you to take a look into the future? What do you see? Keep looking and keep asking yourself this question! What do you see when you’re 50? How about 65? I personally know folks over 60 in the best health of their life and I also know folks under 40 in the worst health of their lives. The thing is, the people under 40 or in their 40’s can make lifestyle changes that will change their outcomes and change how healthy they will be in their 50’s and 60’s. Are you someone in their 50’s or 60’s reading this? Are you going to Dr’s frequently and have prescription medicines sitting on your counter and filling up your medicine cabinet?
HERE ARE SOME PRETTY DISTURBING STATS:
Three out of four people over the age of sixty-five take medication for chronic diseases and illnesses.
More than fifty percent of adults in the United States take prescription medications regularly.
Twenty-five percent of people over the age of sixty-five take 5 or more medicines daily.
Take a look around. Look at everyone from family members to friends and coworkers. Look at the people who are overweight, sick, suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, joint pain, and depression. Now take a look at folks that are in your age group and older that are of a healthy weight and are happy. After observing both groups, take a look at yourself. Now, I don’t want you to pick which group you belong to – no, no, no, no… I want you to choose the group you want to become. The lifestyle in which you will adapt. Now, begin on creating a better you!
Have Goals?
The main focus [ goals ] should come down to this – “Do I want a shorter life or a longer one? ”
Now that you agree that you want a longer life, you are ready to make short attainable goals that will eventually become long-term life changing ones.
Do you want to be in control? Have more energy? Get a good report on your next doctor’s visit? Then ditch your tired , old, bad habits and replace them with new ones – better ones!
Have patience and be willing to trust the process. You will not get results overnight. You may be someone who needs to lose 20, 30, 40, or more pounds. You know this because during your last Dr’s visit, this is what your doctor told you. He specifically told you that you need to lose X amount of pounds to prevent or reverse damage, or to save your life.
Starting now:
You don’t need to give everything up! Start with making small adjustments. For example: If you usually put 3 packets of sugar in your coffee, then I am asking you to only use 1 and a half packets starting now. If you are drinking 3 cans of diet soda a day, I’m going to ask that you drink 2. If you are a cookie monster and eat 6 or more cookies. I’m going to ask that you don’t allow a package of cookies in your home and that you buy 3 small cookies or 1 big one from the bakery. I know it sounds like I am telling you to continue with your bad habits. If you quit cold-turkey, your chances of failure are high. Weening your way off will allow your body to adapt along with your taste buds. If you enjoy your coffee with 3 packets of sugar, sure, the 1 and a half packets wont be as sweet, but you will still taste the sugar and you will be grateful for that. These adjustments should last 1 to 2 weeks tops before readjusting. For example: Your 1 and a half packets of sugar will them become 3/4 of a packet. Your 2 cans of diet soda will become 1 and your 3 small or 1 big cookie will become 2 small cookies. These are just examples as only you know your temptations. You will continue to readjust until you aren’t using any sugar in your coffee, ditched the diet soda, and stopped craving cookies. Meanwhile, while you are weening, you are also replacing. Instead of sugar in your coffee, you can put some cinnamon. Instead of diet soda, you can have seltzer with lemon or lime. Instead of cookies, you can have a piece of fruit like a banana or apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Again, these are examples – you get the idea.
Don’t want to feel hungry all of the time?
First of all, never, ever skip breakfast! Make sure you get protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates, along with plenty of water in the A.M. While you were asleep, you were fasting. You need to put gas into the tank so you can start your day off right. Here is something that works well – it’s called ” grazing ” Eat twice as often, eat half as much, and chew twice as long. When you eat more often, eating smaller portions, and taking your time to chew, you wont feel hungry.
MOTIVATIONAL TIPS TO GET YOU IN THE HABIT OF EATING HEALTHY:
Keep a food journal. If that’s not working out for you there are sites and apps out there like MyfitnessPal . They help you keep control on your daily nutrition.
Team up with your spouse, family member, friend, or coworker. This way, you aren’t doing it alone and you can hold each other accountable and support one another.
Eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism up and running. Use the food you eat as fuel [ energy ] throughout the day.
Keep healthy & nutritious foods on hand and ready to eat. Keep them in your fridge, pantry, car, and at work. Foods like trail mix [ no M&M’s ], whole grain crackers and low fat cheese, hard boiled eggs, veggies with hummus, yogurts, fruits, etc. This way you wont go hungry on a busy day.
Plan and prepare for the week! Don’t ever leave things to chance! Chances are you will make the wrong choices and have a set back.
Don’t get stressed out if and when you do have a set back. It will be okay. One time won’t hurt. Obsessing over it and spiraling out of control will hurt though. Just get back to normal the next day. It will go away. I promise. We are human and we make mistakes. It’s how we choose to deal with them that counts. You are so much stronger than you think.
Don’t allow junk food in the house [ as best as you can control ]. Do you have kids that enjoy cookies and milk, ice cream, or chips? Plan out when they will have it and only get single servings – so there isn’t an entire box of cookies sitting in the cabinet or a gallon of ice cream in the freezer screaming, ” eat me, eat me ” Even when you have company and they bring over something that makes you drool. Take a small serving and put it away!!! Don’t keep it on the table in pain site. Out of sight, out of mind!
Going out to eat can be daunting. Decide what you are going to have beforehand so you don’t get tempted into eating poorly as well as overeating. When ordering, you can ask how something is prepared and request them to prepare it differently. For instance, you order the broiled salmon. You find out that it’s prepared in a butter/lemon sauce. You can ask them to ditch the sauce and bring you fresh lemon. Even vegetables in many restaurants are sauteed in a butter/oil sauce. Ask for them to be steamed instead.
Have trusty resources to fall back on. Talk to a nutritionist, personal trainer, use social media, health coaches etc to help keep you motivated. Search for inspiration!!! Follow bloggers and stories of those who were in the same boat as you and read their success stories! Believe in yourself. If you can think it, dream it, and visualize it, you can have it!
Remember to take it slow, expect set backs without freaking out. When you have obtained a goal like removing that diet soda out of your life, reward yourself! It doesn’t have to be dessert or something. Reward yourself with some new clothes or a massage or something. You should put a prize on your goals. Something to look forward to besides better health and a longer life.
Research Low Glycemic Index Eating. You wont get steered wrong. You can look into talking with an RD as well as a personal trainer. Of course a healthy diet along with exercise is the ticket. Interestingly enough, diet plays 80% and exercise 20% when it comes to losing weight, keeping it off, and staying healthy.
I hope you are motivated to eat healthier and make a lifestyle change that your future self will thank you for!
Hugs, Health, & Happiness
Bernadette Ricci