Here are my 4 simple tips to get you started.
- Choose one food item that you are ready to give up completely for a while. Pick an item that if you start eating it, you just can’t stop or control your portion. Mine was potato chips/tortilla chips. Popular items for other people are soda, those sugary coffee drinks at your favorite coffee shop or bakery items for those with a sweet tooth. You may have other things but don’t eliminate everything at once. You need to see the success of one goal before you tackle the next.
- Eat 80/20: 80% of the time stick to your clean foods, fruits, veggies, oatmeal, lean means, beans, nuts, healthy oils like olive oil. The other 20% you may be eating not so great, some processed foods, some sweets but once you start filling up on those other clean foods, you start to crave the other stuff less and less. Eventually you start living more of a 95/5 eating style. There are tons of clean eating grocery lists online, just google clean eating, and find one today.
- Move: Promise yourself that you will move at least 15 minutes a day of concentrated exercise. It could be setting a timer and going outside and walking around your house. It could be a YouTube video of a beginner 15-minute cardio/stretch/yoga. Just move, quickly the 15 minutes turns to 20, then 30 and even more.
- Most importantly, only eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Really be mindful of why you’re putting something in your mouth. Stop eating because the clock says its time, listen to your body when you think you want to eat and for a while, really ask yourself, why am I eating. Am I hungry, am I bored, am I stressed… If it’s something other than hungry then you need to find something else to do to fill those emotions. I go for a walk, I doodle in my journal or sometimes if it’s at night, I just go to bed and read.
If you do this for a few weeks, you will see some weight come off, it won’t be at warp speed, and you must be patient, but it will come off. If its not then you must be super honest with yourself, maybe keep a food journal because you may not even realize how much you are eating or drinking, sign up with someone like me to help you identify why its not working for you or add in a bit more exercise and change you eating to 90/10. I believe in you; you now must believe in yourself! You deserve it!