Welcome to 2013, chickadees! I hope you had a healthy, safe, and fun New Year’s Eve! Now that we’ve made it to the new year, it’s time to make ourselves a little better and a little healthier each day, right?
Ever year it seems we have such good intentions with resolutions: lose 20 pounds, go to the gym every day, finally organize that pesky closet in the hall, the list goes on and on. I might not have the answers for that hall closet, but I do know that when I eat healthy I tend to lose weight, feel better, and have more energy.
In order to make your healthy-eating plans work, though, you need to know it’s not always easy, convenient, or even fun. So how do you stick to it without becoming one of those people who eats carrots and celery only, never going out to have a plate of nachos and a margarita? Here are some tips on how to keep on the healthy-train:
1. Grab a buddy. Or two. Or five. If you have a person committed to your goals, you’ll have someone to brainstorm meals with, someone to complain to when you’re sick of eating kale, and someone to answer to when you just HAD to stop for french fries. It works best to have this be someone you live with, or eat with on a regular basis, but you can also use a program like Spark People to help count calories, write your food journal, or ask a question.
2. Meal plan. Most people tend to eat lunch out, right? This can be easy and delicious, but also lead to a dent in your budget and added pounds. Planning your dinners, and lunches, can help you to ensure everything you eat is healthy, and fresh. Make a little extra each night to bring to work the next day, or plan one night a week that you prepare your meals. Meal planning will also help when you grocery shop so you don’t make impulse purchases, or overspend because you don’t know what you’ll need.
3. Cheat a little, sometimes. Not only is no one perfect, but also what is life without cookies, chocolate, or a delicious pasta dish? Healthy eating is a lifestyle change, and eating healthier is better than eating healthy for a week and then going back to your old ways. Start simple: swap out two meals a week with healthier alternatives, then three, until you get to every night of the week. Delegate a cheat worthy event – birthdays, date nights, parties, or holidays, rather than a cheat day (which can lead to you eating badly for the sake of eating badly.)
4. When in doubt, follow this mantra: Do the best you can, with what you have. If you don’t have a big budget, or have a small kitchen, or have a partner who simply will not eat that, no way no how, do your best. Healthy eating means a lot of things – more veggies, less calories, less refined carbs, less sugar, more nuts and fish, etc. Cutting out a few things, or even committing to 4 veggies and fruits a day instead of 2, is a change your body will thank you for later.
Do you guys have other tips and tricks for keeping your food-related resolutions?
[addtoany] Yum