Life is all about making choices. The average person is faced with hundreds of choices each day. All the choices we make over time will eventually accumulate and create change. This change will either be good or bad. It’s up to you to make it positive change.
If you don’t have your dream body right now, that’s because you’ve made poor choices when choosing what to eat or in choosing not to exercise. In this post, I want to inspire you to make dietary and fitness choices that will create positive change in your life. It’s easier than you might think!
Food Choices
We are faced with food choices every day, multiple times a day. Making the correct food choices over time will have a huge impact on your body, health, and your overall wellbeing. It’s not that hard. You just need to become conscious of your decision making when it comes to food.
Let’s look at some food choices and their positive or negative outcomes…
1. Let’s say you need something quick to eat and decide to order fast food. You’re going to order either a burger with fries and a soda or a fresh salad with fruit. First, ask yourself, which is going to make me feel better? Obviously the salad and fruit. How will I feel after I eat the greasy food? Probably lethargic, crappy and weighed down. How will I feel after eating the fresh food? Happy, full of energy, and glad that you fueled your body with healthy food. Will I regret eating the burger and fries afterward? Yes. Asking yourself questions like these will help you to make the right choice.
2. Something that I like to call “boredom hunger” is a major issue that gets a lot of people. Sometimes boredom can lead to excessive snacking or eating when you’re not hungry. This isn’t good! You should always listen to your body and eat only when you’re hungry. Ask yourself, am I really hungry right now or am I just bored and looking for something to do? If the answer to this is, “No, I’m not hungry,” then I encourage you to close that fridge door and find something to do!
3. Say you’re craving something sweet, and you keep thinking about this sweet treat. You’re contemplating getting it…STOP! Okay, this is where you think, do I really need to have that sweet taste in my mouth? You’ll taste it for a moment and then it’ll be gone. Then, you’ll wish that you would’ve eaten something healthier. So, try to ask yourself “Will this benefit me/my body?” before making a food choice. I’m not saying you can’t eat sweet stuff, just not too much of it. ;)
4. Overeating is another issue that many deal with. I’ve made a rule for myself, which is to never go back for seconds unless I’m still hungry. I wait at least five minutes after eating and usually always feel satisfied. I rarely ever go for seconds, because if I do, I feel stuffed, lethargic, and really weighed down…hate that feeling! Try to listen to your body. When you feel satisfied, stop eating. It’s that simple!
Try to be conscious of your food choices and remember to use the stop and think method. Soon, you’ll start making healthy choices with little effort. I promise you’ll be glad that you made all of those healthy choices when you’re full of energy and loving your body!
Fitness Choices
Make sure that you set aside some time everyday for exercise. A lot of people don’t exercise or don’t exercise enough due to poor decision making. Try to move for at least thirty minutes every day. Sometimes, you may need to choose between exercising and doing something that you really wanted to do. You may not have time for both, so always try to choose exercise when you can.
Fitness choices and their positive or negative outcomes…
1. You decide to exercise 30 minutes every day for a year. The result of this choice would be a super healthy and fit you.
2. Let’s say you get home from work or school and you haven’t worked out yet. You have 2 hours of TV recorded, waiting for you to watch. You can either watch the full 2 hours…or watch 1 ½ hours and do a 30 minute workout. Ask yourself, what will benefit me more, watching that 30 minute show or working out? Working out will make you feel happier, awesome, and rejuvenated. Watching the show will probably make you feel blah and I’m sure you’ll be wishing that you would have exercised.
3. Sometimes we can’t move every single day because life gets in the way. That’s totally okay! You just need to make sure that missing one day doesn’t lead to you missing lots of days. I don’t work out every single day of the week. I try to work out every night if I can but sometimes I have a busy day and don’t have time for a workout. After missing a day, I jump right back into working out again.
These small choices might not mean much by themselves, but together, they can majorly impact your life. It’s like that saying: one person can make a difference. Every single choice you make will make a difference as well!
I hope I’ve inspired you today! I wish you luck on your decision making! :)
Photo Credit: videohive.net
We all love sweet, sugary foods. I mean who doesn’t. I have to admit, I totally have a sweet tooth. ;)
It’s okay to eat sweets, but only in moderation. There are numerous studies that show that sugar slowly damages the body.
And get this; studies show that sugar consumption can lead to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and many other serious health problems! Not to mention, weight gain, blemishes, and exhaustion, just to name a few. So, it’s not a good idea to be eating sweets all day long. But, it is okay to indulge here and there. I found that setting limits on my sugar consumption was really helpful. You should try to do this, too. Try thinking about it like this:
1) If you have an out of control sweet tooth or eat more than one sugary food a day, I would suggest trying to eat just one treat each day. You’ve gotta start somewhere, right?
2) Ready to limit yourself further? Then, pick two to three days a week where you allow yourself to indulge in something sweet.
3) This is another option that works for a lot of people: Try eating sugar free for 6 days a week. Then, choose one day a week that you let loose and eat whatever sugary stuff you want (don’t get too crazy though). If you do this, then try not to worry about reading package labels on day seven.
Setting limits on your sugar intake will help you in so many ways. One of the big bonuses to eating less sugar is weight loss. Not everyone needs to lose weight, but I know someone who lost weight fast. She lost 8 pounds and all she did was stop eating sugar for 6 weeks! Nothing else changed with her diet! She was a size 6 or 8 before and now she’s a 4 or 6. Amazing, right?!
Here’s an example of what my sugar consumption is like during the week: Last week, I ate homemade chocolate chip cookies on Tuesday and Saturday. The other five days I didn’t consume any cane sugars. If I got a craving for something sweet, I would add a little honey (1 tsp or less) to my Greek yogurt or lightly drizzle some over a banana. I always sprinkle cinnamon on my banana…so good!
Photo Credit: www.tumblr.com
Hey girls! Happy Saturday! :) I wanted to share this cool quote with you: "Food is fuel. Eat to live. Don't live to eat." This quote is SO true! The purpose of eating is to nourish and fuel our bodies. Remember this and you'll have happier healthier days!
Photo Credit: www.simplybloomblog.com
Hey, girls! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Today, I wanted to share with you a few tips that will help you flatten your stomach.
1. Only eat when you’re hungry. A lot of people eat because they’re bored, stressed, or have a food craving. To achieve a flat stomach, you want to avoid all of these false hunger traps. Listen to your body and watch for those tell-tale signs like growling or a churning sensation in your stomach. You’ll know when you’re hungry and when you’re not if you pay attention.
2. Watch the clock. When’s the last time you ate? If you just ate an hour ago, then don’t eat again for awhile. You should give your stomach time to digest your last meal. You also want to let your metabolism rest for a little bit instead of constantly engaging it.
3. Eat until you’re satisfied…don’t stuff yourself! You should feel good after you’ve eaten. If you eat just enough to satisfy your hunger, you’ll feel awesome and re-energized. But, if you stuff yourself, you’ll feel lazy, slow, and downright terrible! No one wants to feel that way, right? I know I don’t!
4. Eat healthy food! We eat food because we want to feel good and we need to nourish our bodies. Often, people go for the unhealthy, junky foods that leave them with a yucky feeling, just to have that taste in their mouth. It’s okay to indulge in unhealthy foods that you love sometimes, just don’t go crazy with it! You can always find healthier alternatives to unhealthy foods. For example: I love chocolate! But, whenever I have a chocolate craving, I eat chocolate chips from the health food store instead of chocolate that’s full of artificial sugars and other unhealthy ingredients. And I only eat a small amount at a time.
5. Drinking water before meals will help you to flatten up your mid section. Studies show that drinking water before meals causes a lower calorie intake, ultimately leading to weight loss. The water provides you with a feeling of fullness.
6. If you need to eat out, always try to choose the healthiest choice. If you’re ordering from a drive thru, go for salad, fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, smoothie, etc. Try to choose these types of feel good, healthy foods instead of greasy foods that’ll make you feel heavy and weighed down. Here’s another scenario: If you’re eating out at a restaurant, look for healthy food choices on the menu. They’re always there; you just need to look for them. Keep in mind that every food choice you make adds up to a final result. This result will either be a muffin top or a flat stomach which will make you feel good. YOU decide.
7. Keep your sugar intake at a minimum. Sugar is really fattening and it’s so not good for your body. It’s okay to eat sweet stuff every now and then, but try not to over indulge! In my family, we only eat a treat once or twice a week, not every day.
Follow these 7 tips and watch your stomach get flatter!
Photo Credit: www.hellomagazine.com
I cooked up this delicious plate of quinoa for lunch today. I can’t wait to show you how to make it. This dish is super simple, quick, and uses few ingredients. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner…I ate it for both meals today, haha! ;)
The crunch from the purple cabbage is one of my favorite things about this dish! And who doesn’t love caramelized onions. I don’t know what it is about them, but I would eat them on anything.
Ingredients
1/3 of a purple cabbage (sliced)
1 small bag of frozen broccoli
2 onions (sliced)
1 box of quinoa pearls (about 12 ounces)
3 TBSP olive oil
salt + pepper
Directions
1) Cook your quinoa by following the box directions. 2) Pour the broccoli in a small pot and follow the bag directions. 3) While the quinoa and broccoli are cooking, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Slice up the onions and add to the olive oil. Sauté the onions until they become caramelized (slightly brown). 4) Once your onions are caramelized, add the sliced cabbage to your pan. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the cabbage. Let the cabbage cook down. Stir onions and cabbage every few minutes until cabbage is soft, but still has a slight crunch. You can taste test a piece of cabbage to see if it’s done. 5) Once your quinoa, broccoli, onions, and cabbage are cooked, toss everything together in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy this delicious and pretty dish!
I don’t know about you, but blueberries are one of my favorite fruits! They’re sweet, tart, and so totally delicious! Want to know why you should eat them? I’ve listed six reasons below:
1. A handful of these beautiful berries pack a ton of antioxidants, which is awesome for glowing skin and healthy hair!
2. Blueberries also provide you with vitamin C that’ll keep your skin healthy and combat colds.
3. This fruit is WAY low in calories! Get this; one cup contains less than 100.
4. Going back to school soon? I think you’ll appreciate the brain boosting power this fruit brings to the table!
5. Guess what else they are good for? Weight loss! These blue beauties contain fiber which helps your body feel fuller for a longer period of time. Blueberries also speed up your metabolism which will help you shed those extra pounds.
6. Build up your immune system by including blueberries in your diet.
Ways to include these berries in your diet: You can munch on a handful, add them to your smoothie, or toss some on your salad. They can also easily be washed and tossed in a bag for a quick snack on the go.
Try to incorporate blueberries in your daily diet and you’ll be rewarded!
Picture Credit:
Smooth, creamy, green deliciousness! That’s what comes to
mind when I think of avocados. Why should you eat them? Well, for one thing avocados
can help you to lose weight! How? Well, one of these little green guys contains
healthy amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps to keep that
digestive system running smoothly. The soluble fiber slows down the breakdown
of carbs , keeping you feeling full and satisfied for a longer period of time.
Guess what else this fruit is good for? Healthy skin! Every girl wants to have
a healthy skin tone! The B vits and vitamin E in avocados will give you a
glowing complexion! The B vits will also help out your metabolism!
How do you eat an avocado? Well, a lot of people like to add
avocado to their salad or some even like it plain. I LOVE eating mine in the
form of guacamole with organic corn chips or a pile of baby carrots. Buying my
guacamole pre-made saves me a lot of time and makes it a quick go to snack when
I need something fast.
Try to include them in your daily diet and you’ll reap the
rewards!
Photo Credit: athleanx.com
Photo Credit: athleanx.com
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