With so many conflicting messages constantly polluting our airwaves about how to lose weight and get in the best shape of your life, it can be overwhelming to know how to even start the process of living a healthy life. For myself, I like to keep things simple! So here are 7 simple hacks to become or continue to be healthy that doesn’t break the bank, leave you famished or create unrealistic expectations of yourself.
Don’t drink your calories
This means exactly that! Trade in your juice or soda drinks for the all-natural H20! Why waste your calories on liquids especially when those liquids can make you feel hungrier within the hour. Water is ALWAYS my drink of choice. If you aren’t a fan of water then add some fresh fruit and herbs to your water to add a little flavour.
Stop counting calories
Back in my early University days, I attempted to partake in a 1200 calorie diet for a period leading up to a spring break trip. It was a complete disaster! I became completely fixated on counting my every bite and obsessed throughout my day about what I could and could not eat next. Needless to say this extremely restrictive diet caused me to gain weight in the end. This left me feeling defeated, exhausted, malnourished and frustrated. To break this down a little further, consuming such minimal calories, especially as a university student, left me eating Special K cereal with 1% milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner with 2 small unsatisfying snacks in between. It was completely unrealistic and impossible to maintain. I cringe when I see celebrities bragging about how they are following a calorie counting diet within the 1200 range which unfortunately seems to happen often. Once I finally dropped the calorie counting and switched my thinking to eating healthy, wholesome and in moderation, weight was no longer a fixation or a struggle. I like to think of my diet as something that I can maintain for life. I don’t know about you but I definitely could not eat a bowl of cereal morning, noon and night every day for the rest of my life!
Step OFF the scale
Outside of during my two pregnancies, the last time I actually stepped on a scale was closer to 20 years ago. Let’s face it, the scale is NOBODY’s friend. When we are pleased with the number we think to ourselves “maybe I can lose more” and when we are upset with the number we obsess over how we HAVE to lose more! Ultimately the latter ends with some type of self sabotage whether it be binge eating or restricting intake. So my advice to you is just stop stepping on the scale all together. The more you weigh yourself the more fixated you will be on that number. Not to mention especially as women our weight fluctuates sometimes even drastically within a day. So if you are someone who steps on the scale multiple times a day, it can be very discouraging. Now you might be wondering how can I still track my weight loss progress or simply know if I’ve gained or lost weight. The obvious answer being, simply go by how your clothes fit! This has been my go-to method for years! I can honestly say we do not own a scale in our household. So if you are one of those people who step on the scale everyday then toss it out and use your clothes as your gauge.
Don’t eat after dinner
Of course there will be situations where eating after dinner is necessary or unavoidable such as certain medication regimes, health issues or even vacations and weekends but as a general rule of thumb, stay out of the kitchen once dinner is done. Have you ever noticed that you tend to wake up hungry in the morning when you go to bed on a full stomach or engage in late night eating? This of course starts a vicious cycle of eating more throughout the day to satisfy that hunger and the late night eating continues. Now I certainly know it can be difficult to avoid snacking while sitting in front of the TV after a long day of work. So a few tricks I use to help are the following: Brush your teeth after dinner – this somehow always signals to me to stop eating because my teeth are already cleaned for bed. Chew a piece of gum. Drink a large glass of water or have a cup of herbal tea. Avoid perusing social media where videos and images of food are displayed. And lastly, just go to bed!
Eat Mindfully
Have you ever actually timed yourself eating a meal from start to finish? This was an extremely eye opening task for me. Odds are you would be similar to me and can barely recall what you ate because you inhaled it so quickly. In today’s society, life is so fast paced that it can be tough to even fit in all 3 meals in a day. Sometimes I find myself standing while I eat because I’m so rushed with work or kids or other commitments. The problem with eating so quickly is it doesn’t give your stomach time to alert your brain that you are full which can lead to overeating. I was taught in a mindful eating course that it takes at least 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. Enter mindful eating! Instead of eating on the run, take the time to sit down at the table, set a timer and take the suggested 20 minutes to slowly, strategically eat your food. It sounds a bit silly at first but your stomach will thank you! Observe your food, smell it, take a small taste of it and notice how it hits your tongue and what happens thereafter with every bite to follow. Cherish each and every bite you take as if you have never tasted something like that before. Try it out the next time you eat!
Never EVER skip breakfast
It sounds so cliché but breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. You are literally breaking your fast! If you think about it, you’ve gone 8-12 hours without eating and your body is ready for some nourishment. I’ll admit, in my teen years I hated breakfast. I never felt hungry in the morning and typically my mom was dragging me out of bed which left me only minutes to get out the door. So I just simply skipped breakfast. But come 10am I would be famished! And by lunch hour I was ready to eat everything in sight. Of course my food selection involved every sugary and processed cafeteria item because my blood sugars were so low. Fast forward to my adult years and I’m still not particularly hungry in the morning and I still really don’t have time for it but I make it a point to eat it. I always prep my breakfast the night before and bring it to work with me. By the time I get to work I am ready to eat and can start my day out right!
Reverse lunch and dinner
By far, my biggest meal of the day is lunch. My coworkers are always shocked to see how much I eat considering my small build. However, the truth is lunch time is my biggest meal followed by a light dinner. So in theory, I eat dinner for lunch and lunch for dinner. This way I have enough fuel to get me through my day so that I’m not starving when I get home from work. This also gives me the day to burn off my lunch rather than saving it all for dinner and then going to bed on a full stomach. Make sense?