Let me start off by saying THERE ARE NO SECRETS to losing weight, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and even living longer. Surprise!!! But something tells me that you already knew that. That does not mean that there are not certain keys and variables to attaining all of those wonderful things. What that does means is that you have to stop making excuses, be honest with yourself about your goals and expectations and what you are doing and what you are NOT doing to achieve your goals. It means that you have to put in an effort to lose weight and be healthy. I know. It's a tough pill to swallow.
Okay, let's get to it. The best way to be successful is to take it one step at a time and make small easy to follow kind of changes in your life. You have to adopt a lifestyle of healthy habits. This does not come easy for everyone. In fact this isn't easy for most people. We are humans after all and humans tend to be rebellious and imperfect by nature. Accepting this truth will help you on your journey to a healthy lifestyle.
DIET PILLS! We all know to well the giant corporations of mass producing promises in magical little pills, that we simply swallow with a full glass of water and all our dreams will come true, all while not changing a thing in our lifestyle, like exercising and eating healthy. That sounds almost to good to be true, doesn't it? You are wasting your money on any kind of over the counter pill that promises to help you lose weight. There is and never will be such a thing. Now, if you are one of those people, like me, who are thinking to yourself, "Oh wait, there most certainly are magical little pills that will help you lose weight" then you are absolutely correct. With that said, the only kinds of pills that actually work are governed by the FDA and are generally controlled substances (or illegal street drugs.) Those kind of pills are called amphetamines. In case you aren't familiar with that term, let me refresh your memory. Speed. Adderall. Phentermine. Meth"Amphetamines." I think you know what I'm talking about. Not only do you need to go see a doctor and get a prescription for some of those items, but do I even need to mention what any and all of those do to your body and brain? I don't think so! While diet pills may seem like the answer to your prayers of weight loss and fulfillment, I can promise you that not only is it not the answer but chances are very likely that If you did lose weight with any diet pill, prescription or street drug, you would gain the weight back as soon as you stopped taking it. Hell, you might even lose some teeth along the way or damage your liver. That's the glamorous life of pill popping and taking drugs to achieve a goal that can only be achieved successfully through healthy lifestyle habits. Period!!!
Now that we have the ugly stepchild out of the way, let's talk about taking responsibility for our own choices and actions and being honest with ourselves. You and you alone are in control of your thoughts and actions. If you want to lose weight and you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you have to take back control of what you say and think and what you do and what you don't do, stop making excuses, be honest with yourself and take action. Start off by figuring out what your goals are and what you hope to achieve. That's the easy part, implementing is the tough one. Once you figure out what you want, then you have to start DOING! If you want to lose weight, you have to work for it. If you want to live a longer and healthier life and feel good, then you have to make healthy choices. You have to change your way of eating, thinking and doing. Once you come to peace with that, it will make the transition so much easier. You are in control.
It is very common for people to start a diet or start an exercise routine and commit for a good week or two only to slide ever so quickly back into their old, busy, exercise free, fast food filled lives, not shortly after. There are a number of reasons that this happens to us. Yes, we do get busy with kids and hectic schedules and for some reason the first thing to go is our healthy habits. We slowly stop exercising and making healthy food choices and before we know it, right back to where we started. An even bigger culprit of the sabotaged resolution to be a healthier you, is the way we think and how we talk to ourselves. Our mental state can affect our ability to commit to a lifestyle change like no other. It seems like If people mess up once then they feel like the whole effort is lost and then they quit, or if what we have envisioned in our minds doesn't work out the way we wanted then we give up. It is okay to mess up and to get off track, because you are going to from time to time. We have to give ourselves permission to mess up and not be perfect. You can't be so hard on yourself or talk negatively about ourselves. The effort is always more important than nothing at all. I feel like if you allow yourself room for mistakes, allow yourself to be flexible to change and only think positively about yourself, then It will make any effort to be a better you that much easier. You know the saying, "You get more bees with honey", well that goes for the way we treat ourselves too. Talk nicer to yourself, allow yourself to make mistakes, but don't dwell on them. Accept the fact that you might have missed two days of working out this week and ate a few extra cookies instead of a carrot and do better tomorrow, but just don't quit. Tell yourself you're beautiful, smart and that not matter how many times you fall, you will get back up and keep on, keeping on. Once you change the way you think and talk to yourself, everything will change and make your success a lot easier an attainable.
Be realistic about your abilities and what you expect from yourself. Don't go out and try to run a mile tomorrow if you haven't ran in years and then get let down and quit when you can't do it on the first day. Have realistic expectations of yourself. It isn't all or nothing. Start small. If the thought of eating vegan or becoming a vegetarian scares the crap out of you, then join the club. You don't have to transform yourself over night and that is okay. It takes time to change your lifestyle and your whole way of thinking, eating and doing. You could start by doing something as little as giving up red meat at first. You could add more vegetables to your diet or cut back on your sugar intake, eat smaller portions or make better food choices. These are all little steps that you can take that in the big picture, will change your life. Once you start small and incorporate these small changes into your everyday lifestyle, they will start to add up. Before you know it, a year will have passed and you will have transformed yourself by taking small steps, not quitting and feeling better and better, everyday.
WATER WATER WATER!!! Need I say more? Water is essential to all life form and survival. The body can go weeks without food but you can't survive 3 days in the desert without water. Your skins begins to shrivel and crack when you don't drink enough of it. A lack of water in the body causes headaches and fatigue among many other issues. Drinking more water will treat a vast number of ailments and make you feel all around better. Water helps digest your food better. Water makes up 70% of the human body. We need water to not only survive but to help us stay healthy and also, yes, you got it, lose weight. If you are working out and sweating, then you have to replace that lost water with more water. The water will keep you hydrated and help to flush toxins from your system, which is crucial for weight loss, working out and general health. Drink more water. Period! Whether you are working out or not, you need to be drinking 6-8 (8oz) glasses of water a day, if not more. That is the golden rule and probably the most important. Because weather you are working out or simply doing nothing, drinking more water will change the way you feel from head to toe. If you don't believe me then do a little experiment by drinking a lot more water for even as little as a couple days and see how it transforms your body. Then take that water away for a couple of days and watch as your body cries out to you in desperation to "please, give the water back!!!" It's Magical!
So, I think you knew this was coming soon. Exercise!!! It's simple. Get off those buns and get moving. Adopt an exercise routine of any kind. There are so many activities, sports and exercise trends out there that is almost impossible to find something you enjoy doing that gets you moving your ass. Let me just name some in hopes of sparking an interest, yoga (a personal fave), dancing, running, hiking, kayaking (another favorite), building large structures with your hands (trust me, you'll be hurtin'), walking through the park and enjoying nature (you're moving, aren't you?), swimming, sports, playing with your kids (they have a lot of energy). I mean, come on. The list goes on and on. The point is that the more active you are, the healthier you will be. That is just a simple fact. Once you start moving and get some blood flowing through those tired limbs then you will want more. I promise you, the more you do, the better you feel. The better you feel, the more you want to do. I have been every size of the spectrum from a size 20 at my biggest to a size 4 at my smallest. I know what it is like to be so heavy that I am tired all the time and don't feel like doing anything and it is a vicious cycle that has to be broken. But the cycle works both ways, you see. Once you begin to lose weight and slowly get your energy back, you won't ever want to feel helpless and worn out all the time. Even if losing weight isn't important to you, the energy you get when you exercise is enough to want to get your body moving. We were meant to feel so much better than most of us actually do. We can be the change. It's easy to feel good when you work for it and take care of yourself. Did I mention that statistically people who are active get sick a lot less than those without an active lifestyle? The pros just keep adding up.
Take some me time. It's a okay to be an individual and to take time for yourself to recharge. It is important to get away sometimes and clear your mind and recharge your energy systems. Take a walk and lose yourself in thought. Meditate (if you can find a quiet place for a few moments.) Practice breathing techniques. Take the time to self reflect and remind yourself of all the things you love and love to do. It helps to focus on positive things and people in your life to get the strength and energy that you need. It is important to have me time because it can keep you grounded when life gets crazy. It helps to remind ourselves of who we are, why we are important and basically it can really prevent one from losing their mind. (Oh, is it just me?) It is okay to have moments to yourself and you deserve it. We all do and it is important for human growth and development. Take some time for yourself and reflect on what is important to you, write down goals and take the first step to feeling better. One step at a time and one day at a time is all you should focus on.
Cut out the crap! It's pretty simple, if it is processed and is not natural, organic or of this earth, then chances are it is NOT good for you. I know you hate to hear it, but it is the truth. We have been given everything we need to survive on this earth, from fruits and vegetables for nutrition to plants and herbs for medicine and wellness. The things that are from this earth were meant for the human body. Our bodies were meant to break down organic foods, not McDonalds, sodas and the mounds of packaged foods we consume. When you start putting unnatural materials into the body, the body starts to respond and not always in a positive manner. The mass amounts of processed foods that we consume are now starting to catch up with us and you see it everywhere from the now very common, celiacs disease (gluten intolerant), to asthma and peanut allergies. There is a lot of diseases and illnesses out there now that were not there 100 years ago. We can thank our diets for that. Our diets of unnatural processed foods that our bodies were never meant to consume. Eat clean, eat healthy and your body will reflect that and will most definitely thank you for it. You will feel so much better and for some, more importantly, the pounds will fall off once you get rid of the chips and soda. Again, try it and see what happens.
I know. I know. You were hoping that I was going to say that I discovered this amazing revolutionary pill that will melt your fat away and you won't have to change a thing. You can keep eating crap and sitting in front of the TV and ta da, you will be healthier and have more energy than ever before. Well, I am sorry, I had to let you down. We all know what needs to be done. No one can do it for you. You have to want it bad enough and it only takes one step at a time. I hope that you will take this information that I have shared and be honest with yourself and take some time to make realistic goals. This is about being healthy and fit, not being skinny. This is about you living longer and stronger. This is about a lifestyle change. This is about feeling great and being happy and being a better person. Do it for you. You deserve it! That's the truth.
A mantra to remind you of why you work hard. Repeat this to yourself , "I do it to feel good, to have energy, to be healthier, to be happy."
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