Nutrition Tips & Tricks
Let's talk about nutrition... No, I am not going to tell you how to get skinny in 5 days. Or some crash diet to try. We are talking about lifelong healthy choices!
In the past, when you have tried a "fad diet" or "crash diet" has it worked for you? Did the results actually last? Most likely, the answer to those questions is "No." Crash diets may give you results initially, but it is crazy to think that you can keep on those diets forever! No one can go their entire life without eating carbs (like the Keto diet promotes).
So how do you lose weight the "healthy" way?
You need to make smart choices. That's it. That's the tip. Just kidding, I will explain more about this, but that is the main premise!
To make smart choices, here are some easy swaps you can choose:
1. Swap out fried foods for non-fried options! Such as: choose the grilled or blackened option instead of fried when ordering food! Everyone loves fried chicken, and you can still have that on occasion, but choosing to not add the fried breading on top of your food will help you in the long run! Same thing with the sides, choose to get the side salad or grilled veggies instead of french fries. Just saving some you extra calories ;) Fried foods cause bloating & have a lot of salt in them! If you do choose to eat the fried foods, DRINK A LOT OF WATER to flush out all of the sodium from your system.
2. Kick soda to the curb. Soda tastes great, but it really packs on the pounds over time. Who wants to drink your calories when you can eat them?! Choosing zero calorie soda is better than full calorie, but it still makes you bloated & it has sodium in it! Start by lowering your soda in take to one soda per day... and then see if you can cut it out & replace it with fruit-flavored water! (my favorite water is peach-blueberry -- if interested i can make a full email about water flavors)
3. Drink Water! For a healthy body, you are recommended to be drinking HALF OF YOUR BODYWEIGHT IN OUNCES PER DAY! I know that can sound overwhelming, but make it a goal! Take it one glass at a time. You can do it! For example: I am 168lbs which means I need to be drinking 84oz. of water daily. Do I always hit that? No. Sometimes I forget to drink enough water, but I try to actively drink as much water as I can in a day to help hydrate my body. If you are working outside and sweating a lot, then be sure to drink more than your recommended daily intake!
4. Eat less processed foods. Sounds easy right? "Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industrial methods used to make convenience foods." Most snacks or meals that are convenient, are processed. Crackers, cereal, chips, cookies, etc. So opt for things that are FRESH! Fruits & veggies make excellent snacks, same with yogurt, & nuts! To name a few.
5. Calorie deficit = weight loss. Yes, if you expend more calories than you take in each day, over time you will lose weight! So making smart choices & doing physical activity daily will help you to lose weight over time.
I have struggled my entire life with the scale & my weight. Who hasn't? Once I started implementing these changes, not only did I lose a few pounds, I FELT HEALTHIER! And that's what it is all about, feeling and being healthy. Small changes over time = big results! But you have to be consistent. One "bad day" here and there won't kill you! Just hop right back on track the next day and keep moving forward.
Hope you enjoyed these tips!
- Britt
