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.
WWW. QUEENSIZEMAGAZINE. COM | JANUARY 2017 ISSUE