Healthy Living Today - My Journey
Healthy living today is here to help people think about following a healthy eating plan and selecting a form of exercise that will have a beneficial effect on their body.
If you are overweight, you can gain confidence by shedding those extra pounds. The main thing is that you start by creating goals for yourself. Start off with small goals and also plan for long term goals. If you believe that 4-5 pounds is a reasonable amount of weight per month that you can lose – write it down and stick it on your mirror or refrigerator or maybe, on your computer screen. By doing this and being able to see your goal, it is easier to accomplish them. Remember the thoughts we think, help create our reality. I know this to be a fact, because I was 40 pound overweight and I had a milestone birthday coming the following year. I was going to Rhode Island to celebrate with family and friends. I had my goals clearly defined so I decided to lose weight by following a healthy diet and getting myself involved in some form of exercise.
I had a tendency to be a bit of a comfort eater. I really never thought about what I ate. If I wanted hot chips - I ate them. If I wanted fast food - I ate it. Suddenly, I decided to change everything. I joined a pilates class and a yoga class – I had never done either before. I only lasted for two weeks and two pilates classes but that was four years ago, but I am still doing yoga, a minimum of twice a week. I went out and bought yoga DVDs, and without fail, would get up early every morning, put on a DVD and practice for at least 30 minutes. Why did I pick yoga over pilates? I really think it had a lot to do with the teachers. At pilates, there were no words of encouragement but at yoga it was totally different. I think when you are overweight, and trying to lose the weight, words of encouragement mean a lot.
My diet was simple. I designed my own . Like a lot of people who want to lose weight, you buy so many books on the subjects. They are like a small library. I had also previously been to group meetings, but even though I lost the weight, I would slide back into my old bad habits when I stopped going. If I wanted a cake or candy – I had it. This time, I had changed my mindset, and staying on track seemed easier.
My main changes were with bread and cereals and cutting out sugars. I cut out breakfast cereals and replaced them with two pieces of fruit. My maximum amount of bread per week was four slices. For lunch, it was always a salad with a small amount of cold meat or tuna or salmon. I would usually have another piece of fruit after lunch. For my evening meal, I would have four to five serving of vegetables and a small piece of meat, chicken or fish, about the size of the palm of your hand. I kept a jar of almonds in the pantry, and if I had to have a snack, I would have about ten. I tried to drink a glass of water every hour. Wine was only permitted on Saturday night with dinner.
This worked for me, and today four years later I have not regained the weight. I am very conscious of what I eat and the portion size. I still love my fruit and vegetables and about once a month I may have a piece of cake. I have actually stepped up my training, because two years ago I joined a gym with a personal trainer. I believe you need a combination of both flexibility training and a weight bearing exercise. This is how I believe healthy living today should be. Have a healthy diet and maintaining an exercise and fitness program has changed my life, my weight and body shape. I do not believe that I will ever slip back into bad habits again.
If you are overweight, you can gain confidence by shedding those extra pounds. The main thing is that you start by creating goals for yourself. Start off with small goals and also plan for long term goals. If you believe that 4-5 pounds is a reasonable amount of weight per month that you can lose – write it down and stick it on your mirror or refrigerator or maybe, on your computer screen. By doing this and being able to see your goal, it is easier to accomplish them. Remember the thoughts we think, help create our reality. I know this to be a fact, because I was 40 pound overweight and I had a milestone birthday coming the following year. I was going to Rhode Island to celebrate with family and friends. I had my goals clearly defined so I decided to lose weight by following a healthy diet and getting myself involved in some form of exercise.
I had a tendency to be a bit of a comfort eater. I really never thought about what I ate. If I wanted hot chips - I ate them. If I wanted fast food - I ate it. Suddenly, I decided to change everything. I joined a pilates class and a yoga class – I had never done either before. I only lasted for two weeks and two pilates classes but that was four years ago, but I am still doing yoga, a minimum of twice a week. I went out and bought yoga DVDs, and without fail, would get up early every morning, put on a DVD and practice for at least 30 minutes. Why did I pick yoga over pilates? I really think it had a lot to do with the teachers. At pilates, there were no words of encouragement but at yoga it was totally different. I think when you are overweight, and trying to lose the weight, words of encouragement mean a lot.
My diet was simple. I designed my own . Like a lot of people who want to lose weight, you buy so many books on the subjects. They are like a small library. I had also previously been to group meetings, but even though I lost the weight, I would slide back into my old bad habits when I stopped going. If I wanted a cake or candy – I had it. This time, I had changed my mindset, and staying on track seemed easier.
My main changes were with bread and cereals and cutting out sugars. I cut out breakfast cereals and replaced them with two pieces of fruit. My maximum amount of bread per week was four slices. For lunch, it was always a salad with a small amount of cold meat or tuna or salmon. I would usually have another piece of fruit after lunch. For my evening meal, I would have four to five serving of vegetables and a small piece of meat, chicken or fish, about the size of the palm of your hand. I kept a jar of almonds in the pantry, and if I had to have a snack, I would have about ten. I tried to drink a glass of water every hour. Wine was only permitted on Saturday night with dinner.
This worked for me, and today four years later I have not regained the weight. I am very conscious of what I eat and the portion size. I still love my fruit and vegetables and about once a month I may have a piece of cake. I have actually stepped up my training, because two years ago I joined a gym with a personal trainer. I believe you need a combination of both flexibility training and a weight bearing exercise. This is how I believe healthy living today should be. Have a healthy diet and maintaining an exercise and fitness program has changed my life, my weight and body shape. I do not believe that I will ever slip back into bad habits again.
