this year one of my promises to myself was making healthier choices. here are a few tips i've learned along the way...
1. replace pop, juice or coffee with water or herbal teas.
i've never been much of a pop drinker (at all really) & juice i have maybe once a month, so i find this step pretty easy to do as i love my water, tea & milk too! if you love your sugar-packed juice, find a replacement so you're not completely depriving yourself.
2. if you don't want to be eating it, don't have it in the house.
if you have a bag of chips in the house, you're more than likely to grab those for your late night snack rather than a banana, am i right? i know i would, so i just generally try not to keep it in the house. that's not to say i never eat chips anymore, i do...just not as often.
3. [on that same note] don't cut out something entirely.
when trying to eat healthier, the main thing i used to do that made me 'screw up' was telling myself i could NOT have [insert chips/chocolate/cookies, etc] EVER. that is such a big mistake. i know for me that if i tell myself i am not allowed to have something [period] a) it makes me want it more, and b) if i do eat it, the guilt afterwards is terrible. just cut down...and as i said, don't keep it in the house if it's something you don't want to eat regularly.
4. pre-make your meals.
i cannot stress this point enough. every sunday [or whenever i need to] i make a big batch of quinoa for my lunches. i pre-pack them for the week and bring them to work everyday. packing a lunch means that i'm eating healthy everyday, and bonus - also saving $$!
5. have healthy snacks on hand.
i tend to make the worst choices when i am staaaarving. i grab whatever is quick and easy because i want food NOW, haha [but seriously] make sure that you have healthy choices on hand [apples, bananas, cereal] so that when you're hungry you have something to grab quickly.
6. be colourful.
choose foods that are brightly coloured because the bright foods tend to have more anti-oxidants in them & because colour is fun!
7. exercise.
DUH, right? i've really started to incorporate exercising into my daily activities. i don't have my license so i'm always walking because i have to, but i'm also making more of an effort to get to the gym, or if i can't, to run up and down my steps a few times or do some lunges in my living room. exercising feels SO GOOD, i just need to remind myself that when i feel like a lazy ass.
8. rest. get a GOOD nights sleep.
it's proven that we eat more, and worse when we aren't well rested. i will take that and run with it, because holy shit this girl loves to sleep. make sure you're getting your 6-8 hours, whatever works best for you, and relaxing.
i hope this didn't sound too infomercially. i re-read it and kind of didn't sound like myself haha, but i also hope it helped!
