Absolutely Attainable

With most things in life, balance and moderation are the keys to success. With weight loss specifically, we must not fall into the mind frame of absolute thinking. We must learn to incorporate the foods we love and make small changes that will lead to big results. Instead of ordering 3 eggs with cheese cooked in oil, request 3 egg whites with vegetables cooked in no calorie cooking spray. Order a turkey burger and a side salad or steamed vegetables and skip the full fat hamburger and french fries. Order whole wheat pasta when dining out for Italian food or brown rice when enjoying Japanese food. Make a home made banana split with low calorie substitutes for the required ingredients. Be creative with your cooking and ordering. It is our efforts, that added up over time, become results. Changing to a can do mentality, one where we believe that we can enjoy food at home and when dining out, and one where we don't have to feel constantly hungry or deprived, is the key to long term healthful living.

Ready, Set, Goal

Do you ever feel like there is too much to keep up with when it comes to healthy living? Does it seem overwhelming to focus on all the components involved? Does creating a starting point, being prepared and coming up with a plan feel like the most difficult parts of gaining or regaining control? These three components are the three most important areas to look at when committing to a healthy way of living and working towards a goal. Start by deciding what you want. Do you want to lose weight, tone your body, learn healthy habits? Next, be prepared. Commit to one day a week for grocery shopping, food preparation and meal outlines. Then come up with a plan. Make your plan week specific to keep your motivation level high. This week focus on increasing your water intake, next week think about your carbohydrate intake, the following week incorporate new endurance exercises. It is this combination of being mindful that keeps us motivated and working towards being the best version of ourselves.

I Can't Get No

Often times after a meal is complete we still find ourselves searching. Sometimes we are searching for more of the same food, sometimes we want something else. It is important to identify what our body is really telling us and asking for. Are we still physically hungry? If the meal that was just consumed was balanced and eaten over a 20 minute period of time, likely it is appetite, rather than hunger, that is talking to us. So the important tool to learn is to eat foods that we enjoy and that satisfy us and to properly end a meal. Try adding a low calorie or broth based soup to the beginning of a meal. Add a side garden salad with spray dressing. Bulk any meal with an extra serving of vegetables. Add a flavored five calorie beverage. End the meal with a piece of fruit, a 10 calorie jello or a piece of sugar free gum. This will assist us in identifying the completion of a respective meal and will help the mind connect with the stomach. Becoming conscious of our body's true feelings of hunger and appetite can help us to find satisfaction. Someone should let Mick Jagger know.

Control What You Can Control

There are times in our lives when difficult situations arise that are not anticipated but finding a balance that allows us to maintain our healthy habits is of utmost importance specifically during these times. When feeling like life is out of control, that is the best time to gain extra control over oneself, one of the only things in life that we really have full control over. With so many variables stronger than us as individuals, putting our personal needs first will often help to lessen the stresses that are associated with tough times. Emotional eating as a tool to get through a rough time often results in a negative spiral of out of control eating. This can lead to poor feelings about oneself, thus adding more stress to an already stressful situation. During a trying time it is beneficial to reach out to family and friends, take up a hobby that has always interested you or begin a new work out routine. The journey to healthy living is about much more than the number on the scale. It is about learning who we are, pushing ourselves to be better, training ourselves to be stronger. How we manage ourselves, and the things that are important to us, during difficult times is a true measure of our character.

Rules To Eat By

It is amazing when one stops to think about what really contributes to weight loss. It isn't all so intense. In fact, it is the basics that can really help us lose weight. Please enjoy a few small tips that I believe contribute to big results.

• Don't eat two of the same treats in a day. To do this, you must first understand the difference between a snack and a treat. A snack in nutritious. An apple, carrots with hummus, a banana with Better 'n Peanut Butter. A treat is a Vitalicious muffin top, popcorn, 100 calorie ice cream.
• Assess your hunger. Learn to differentiate between hunger and appetite. Hunger is a physical feeling. It is in your stomach. It may cause dizziness or nausea if not addressed. Appetite is when you finish dinner, the low fat tilapia parmesan was amazing, and you want more. You don't need more, you want more. A good tool for getting through these moments of appetite is committing to an activity for 10 minutes. Laundry, dishes, a phone call, and then if you feel that you truly need more, serve yourself a small portion.
• Understanding that each meal is not the only time you will have the food you are enjoying. There is always leftovers for lunch or another day that you can enjoy that food. Don't use the excuse that you don't know when you will have it again so you have to eat a lot of it. If you want something enough you will make an effort to cook or buy it again.
• Hunger can be mistaken for thirst. Be sure to stay hydrated. If you aren't sure what you are in the mood for but are feeling appetite and the need to snack, try pouring a glass of Crystal Light or sparkling water with lime.
• Be present at events for the company, not the food. Don't forget what you are celebrating or who you are celebrating with.

Becoming consious of your behaviors and habits leads to success. One change at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time.

Actions Not Excuses

As with most things in life, it is up to oneself to create the universe they wish to live in. So it goes with weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle. It is easy to pay to join a weight loss program and hope for results. It is easy to stock our refrigerator with all the clean foods to keep us focused. It is great to pay for a gym membership and try to find time to work out. Most times though we need more than hope and trying. We need a plan. A commitment. Often times people feel that their efforts are so strong that they should be losing weight, seeing results. If we are not happy with our own progress it is time to stop and access. Actions, not excuses. If we eat a grain at three meals a day, only drink one bottle of water a day and have four treats, but no nutritious snacks, we may need to look at how we are working our own program and revamp what we are doing. Change our food program. Substitute our morning grain for yogurt with berries. Give up our bread at lunch three days a week and add an additional protein, fruit or vegetable. Commit to three bottles of water a day, instead of only one. We are constantly changing, and growing, and weight loss, as with life, must be looked at and reevaluated from time to time to ensure that even if we are not working at full potential that we are moving in the direction of working at full potential. Small changes, over the course of time, equal big results.

New Year, New You

Make this year count. Make this be the year you get to your goal weight, and stay at your goal weight. Make this year be the year you buy that bicycle you always wanted and start riding the trails that you always drive by but never had the courage to actually cycle. Buy the gym membership you have been thinking about or hire the trainer you always wanted. Make time for a manicure and pedicure or the massage you have been putting off but could desperately use. Make time for your family and friends. Leave the office a little earlier than usual, just once in a while. Read the book you have not had time for. Maybe while realaxing in a bubble bath. Buy the designer jeans you love and hang them on your bedroom door so you can see them for a few days. Then wear them. Often. Don't save them for a special occasion. Today is a special occasion. It is the beginning of the new you. By making time and taking time for ourselves we can be better daughters, sons, sisters, brother, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends. Better versions of our ourselves. What happens next? We start to believe how worthy we are and we start to achieve our goals. Happy and healthy new year to all.