It’s been my experience the hardest part of dieting is starting. If you can start your diet right things get much easier – exercise, eating right, and you’ll even begin to enjoy them. It doesn’t take long for the health benefits of healthy eating and exercising to become noticeable.
Tips To Help Start Your Diet Off Right
Since starting a diet can be difficult I wanted to share a few tips t help you start your diet off right.
Starting moving more slowly
Don’t push yourself too much when it comes to exercise.
Exercise is a critical piece of your weight loss journey, but it’s also important not to turn yourself away from it. Rather than running to the gym and pushing yourself until you can’t walk start slowly. Go for evening walks, each night walks further than the night before, and slowly starts adding in different activities. After you’ve walked for a week or so maybe toss in a morning walk or morning yoga routine. I tend to stick to things when I don’t burn myself out from the get go and work slowly toward a bigger goal. It doesn’t take long to notice the health benefits of just moving more which is motivating to push yourself to do more.
Clean out the cabinets
Cleaning out the cabinets is often easier said than done. Just keep in mind it’s not only for your health but a lot of the junk food isn’t a healthy choice for your family. Of course, you’ll probably still have things in the house that will not be “diet approved” but you won’t have that bag of chips calling out to you one night when you can’t sleep.
Dealing with cravings
When you start your diet, it’s okay to crave things your body is used to getting such as sweet and salty foods that you’ll need to avoid on your diet. I’ve found it easy to avoid these temptations when I plan for them. If I’m craving something sweet, I don’t run out and grab a candy bar. Instead, I’ll grab a yogurt or piece of fruit.
Be real
Not getting the results you plan for can throw you a huge curveball which is why it’s important to set goals that you can reach. I always avoid numbers, my goal is not to lose 10 pounds but rather to walk further each day, stick to my healthy eating goals, and noticeably feel better. Later on the down the line, I might start to focus more on weight but in the beginning, it’s about getting to a place where I can see and feel the difference.
Rewards don’t have to be ice cream
You should reward yourself but rewarding yourself with everything you are trying to stay away from isn’t always what is best for some of us. Sure you might do good with a cheat day, but there are some who don’t get the same benefit from it. One cheat day can lead to another and maybe another which can cause someone to take a long detour and end up right back where they were before. Consider rewarding yourself with something you like – a movie night, new ring, candle, anything that puts a smile on your face.
Track your steps
I love my fitness tracker; it’s awesome, and it helps me make sure I’m increasing my activity each day. It’s also fun because I can jump online and compete with others who use the same fitness tracker. It’s just another way to hold yourself accountable and have a good time doing it.
Track what you eat
This is one that I can’t go without doing. Tracking how much or how little food is going into your body is an eye opener and can help you maximize your weight loss and learn how to eat healthier. You can do this online, from your smartphone or if you prefer old school grab a pen and a notebook.
Don’t get stuck in routine
Try different things – yoga, walking, jogging, the gym, focusing on weights, or even a day of deep cleaning is great exercise. As long as you are getting regular physical activity daily, you’re doing your body good.
Don’t be so hard on yourself
If you slip up, remember it’s not the end of the world. Pick yourself up and keep going.
Don’t starve yourself
Cutting back too many calories often takes you in the wrong direction. Try eating throughout the day, just small amounts of thing that are healthy. I like to snack on fruits, veggies, nuts and sometimes I’ll make a sandwich and cut it into four pieces to snack on after lunch but before dinner.
WATER, DRINK WATER
Be sure you are drinking enough water! If you find it hard to drink water in the beginning, just stick to it. I promise it gets easier, and before you know, you’ll choose water over all those sugary drinks. I love water, even when I’m not dieting it’s my drink of choice, but it hasn’t always been that way. I had to make myself drink water for the first few days and before I knew it I wanted water.
Meal plan
This was one of the hardest parts for me. Coming up with and shopping for everything I need to lose weight isn’t easy. I’ve spent a lot of time researching and creating a weekly meal plan for myself and its time I don’t have, to be honest I don’t know where to start, there are some great meal plans out there. I would love to hear your thoughts on the best meal plans out there.
