photo courtesy of helgasms!
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asked about my weight no less than THREE times, which of course got me thinking. You see I’m NOT overweight, and it seems that this is becoming increasingly unusual in our society.
Everyone has to work at it!
Funny thing is, I’m not asked “how do you do it?” but instead things like, “you’ve never really had a weight problem, have you?” People seem to assume that because I’m at a healthy weight now I’ve never had to work at it. Truth is, like everyone else, I DO have to work at it.
The conversations that I’ve had have made me reflect on the things that I think are the most important success factors and I thought I’d post my list here.
1. Menu plan for the week. This helps in multiple ways. It helps me to be more organized and avoid the daily dinner crisis. It helps me to keep my food budget under control since I only buy what I need for the weeks’ menus. Finally, since my menu plan drives my food shopping I always have healthy food in the house.
2. Plan what you’ll eat each day. It only takes a few minutes and isn’t a lot of work. Start with a healthy breakfast, which keeps you away from the chips and Snickers bars at 10 am. Brown bag your lunch using either leftovers from your dinner the night before or planned lunches. You’ll save money and calories, and I even find that it’s a great stress reducer. I read, eat outside on nice days, or plan a brown-bag lunch with friends.
3. Don’t forget to plan snacks into your day. If the 3 pm munchies are a problem, make sure you’re armed with healthy choices. Fruit, nuts, and low-fat yogurt are my favorites. STAY AWAY FROM THE SNACK MACHINES!
4. Drink water, not soda or other empty calorie beverages.
5. Include protein at every meal. It helps you to feel full longer than meals without protein.
6. Try keeping a food diary to see what you’re really eating. Don’t cheat – write it all down. Then compare what you really eat to your daily needs. You can find good on-line trackers and tools to calculate your daily calorie needs at www.thedailyplate.com, www.mypyramid.gov, and www.mycaloriecounter.com. This was a real eye-opener for me and my kids!
7. Most important, EXERCISE. Make it a daily habit, at the top of your priority list just like sleep, sex and brushing your teeth. You’ll feel better, look better, sleep better and control your weight better.
Planning is my key to success
There’s more to it of course, and different things work for different people, but it turns out that for me planning is key. I don’t have to decide what I’m going to eat and look for a healthy choice over and over each day. Decisions are already made, good nutrition is at hand. I still have to resist the M&Ms in the break room, but it’s easier to do when I have a ripe nectarine or an apple and some almond butter.
Taking care of my health is one of the building blocks of my good life. I want to be strong, have loads of energy, and look my best. It’s not impossible to do, as long as my approach to eating and exercise are mindful, thoughtful and well informed.
How do you do it? What are the challenges that you face?
