A Healthier You? Try These 10 Tips
Have you ever thought about why you eat? Do you turn to food out of true hunger or boredom or habit? Do you plan your snacks or just head to the pantry when the feeling strikes?
Your attitude about food and exercise may be creating barriers that could be preventing you from reaching your weight loss goals and achieving great health. How you approach food and exercise could mean the difference between success and yet another attempt.
What To Do?
Read through these tips from the experts at the Memorial Weight Loss & Wellness Center. These tips enable successful weight loss and will help you overcome your personal barriers to weight loss so you can lead a healthier lifestyle.
See if you can try one idea over the next week and then observe the overall difference in your attitude toward eating and exercise. Then leave a comment below to share your experience with others!
- Eat mindfully.
Your body needs to be consciously aware in order to register that you are eating and feel satisfied with the meal. Don’t try to multitask, such as watching television, while eating; that will distract your body from knowing when it is satisfied.
- Plan ahead.
Sit down each week and plan what you are going to eat for meals and snacks. This will keep you on track and prevent last-minute hunger binges on whatever is handy.
- Structure meals.
Eat your meals around the same time every day, and don’t skip. Your body needs continual nutrients to have energy.
- Change your view of exercise.
Viewing exercise as just another part of your day, like eating breakfast or getting dressed, can make it a little easier to get started and will help motivate when the need arises.
- Practice moderation.
When we deprive ourselves and then try to indulge again, we have a tendency to overindulge. Moderation is key.
- Soothe yourself without food.
Write down a list of activities you can do when you become upset, irritated or bored. Refer back to this list as often as needed before heading to the kitchen pantry.
- Set small, achievable goals.
Write down small milestones, and then mark them off when you achieve them. Keep this list somewhere you can see regularly. With each healthy decision you make, you will feel more confident and continue to make healthier decisions.
- Measure progress without the scale.
Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, focus on body fat percentage, how your clothes fit and how you feel.
- Be nice to yourself.
Avoid beating yourself up when you make a less healthy choice. It happens. Understand that the next opportunity is a chance to make a healthy choice again. More importantly, you are beginning to realize what a healthy choice is and what may not be. That is a milestone on its own!
- Prioritize you.
Make sure you are making time every day for yourself. Part of taking care of yourself is making sure you stay healthy. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of other people in your life.
Looking for help?
The Memorial Weight Loss & Wellness Center offers a medically supervised, customized approach specific to your individual weight loss goals. Starting the program is easy! Simply apply online with a secure pre-screening form, and we will help you be on your way to a healthier you.