Queen Size Magazine January 2017 Issue | Page 7

BABY STEPS TO HEALTHY EATING | QSM 7
1 . Counting Calories and Carbohydrates work for some but not for all . If you are one that can do the counting then by all means go for it . But if you are not , then do like I do ; I tend to eat with my eyes . I like presentation so I tend to add color to my plate . Make sure to always add some pretty greens to your plate ; greens are very good for you . Try to stay with the fresh greens or the frozen ones . You can sauté your greens in garlic and onions for a different taste . YUM !!! If you are like me and you LOVE chicken ; bake your chicken instead of frying it , it ’ s much healthier for you . Add some sliced up red , orange and yellow peppers when baking your chicken as well ; it adds beautiful colors to your plate and provides the body with an excellent source of vitamins .
2 . Put that big plate back in the cabinet and get a smaller plate . Your portions don ’ t need to be so grand in order to get fulfilled . We tend to overstuff our plates when we don ’ t need to . Go get a smaller plate and eat slower . Give your brain time to tell you when to stop eating . If you rely on your stomach to tell you then you will end up spread out on the couch with stomach cramps unable to move for hours . Then you more than likely eat on a full stomach , which they tell us not to do ALL the time .
3 . Baby steps …. What does that mean ? That means that you don ’ t have to make all your changes at once . Take it one step at a time . Once one change becomes habit for you , then move onto another change . Continue to that until you are comfortable . You will notice that your weight begins to drop and you begin to feel healthier inside and out . Do Not Pay Attention to your weight loss . This is the easiest way to backslide . Once you begin to get into the habit of eating healthy you will realize that it is hard to go back to eating unhealthy . The keyword is HABIT ! You MUST get yourself and your body into good habits just as you got yourself and your body into bad habits . Reverse the cycle the same way you set it . Once you get into the habit of eating smaller portions , it is going to be hard to stuff yourself . Your stomach size begins to shrink , which will limit the amount of food that you can hold without feeling sick .
4 . Be realistic with yourself . Don ’ t say to yourself that you are never going to eat fast food again . If you want to cheat then do it smart . Start out by eating out less then you already do . And again , do it in baby steps . Eat smaller portions ; try getting a kids meal instead of a whole value meal . Choose wiser from the menu ; instead of a burger , get a fish or a grilled chicken sandwich . And try to stay away from the sodas .
We don ’ t need to follow diets to get healthy and we don ’ t need to fool ourselves into thinking that this is a 90 challenge . This is a healthy lifestyle challenge . Listen to your body , and most importantly , listen to your common sense . We know what ’ s bad for us and we know what we need to do change things . Baby Steps to a healthier life .
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