5 Tips On Making Your Diet a Lifestyle
I have always been a little chubby, I was even my mom’s largest baby. Always struggling with my weight I could easily gain 5lbs by looking at a pie. I have dieted successfully twice in my life. The first time I fell into the statistic and sadly gained what I lost back plus 20%. The second time I learned from that mistake and managed to make it a healthy lifestyle. How did I do this? Here are my 5 Tips on Making Your Diet a Lifestyle.
1. Keep Healthy Snacks Available at all Times
When you are dieting or changing the way you eat, you never know when you might get hungry. Having healthy snacks such as nuts/seeds, protein bars or vegetables (precut or bite size) handy for when hunger strikes makes cheating more difficult. Keep a bar in your car at all times too. Stopping at a local coffee shop can be disastrous for a healthy lifestyle and since we cannot live without coffee a go to healthy snack is imperative to prevent us from buying sugary snacks we really don’t need!
2. Stay Hydrated
This seems obvious but for me, it was hard to do. That is until I saw the benefits. Staying properly hydrated can help fight hunger it also helps you loose weight by flushing out toxins and other byproducts. It goes without saying, stay away from sugary juices and sodas and if you drink coffee, double up on your water intake as coffee can dehydrate you.
3. Make Slow Changes
If you are able to find a diet that works and have successfully lost your weight or have become healthier, slowly start to resume your normal eating habits. What I mean by this is if you were on a no sugar no carb diet (my diet of choice) introduce healthy sugars and carbs slowly. Rye bread and fruit, yogurt and beans. This way you won’t shock your system and it will help you maintain the lifestyle you want.
4. Choose Restaurant Food Wisely
Try to avoid restaurants that are too tempting such as any fast food establishment. If you do like to go out for dinner, and who doesn’t, try restaurants that you know offer food you enjoy eating that doesn’t stray too far from your healthy lifestyle. And if you can’t, remember that there are always ways to adapt – order that hamburger without the bun or ask for a half portion of pasta. Don’t be afraid to ask the waitress to leave parts of the meal behind, it doesn’t have to come as it says on the menu.
5. Stay Motivated
Perhaps the hardest of all is to stay motivated and on track. Dieting is hard and maintaining a healthy lifestyle after is harder. A cheat night every so often is a good way to help fight cravings. It is better to indulge heavily once a month then a small amount every day. Get your friends and family to help out too, have them remind you or point you in the right direction when you need it.
There are many different diets and suggestions everywhere these days and with the ease of Internet, recipes and guidelines are not hard to find. However, the trick to any diet is to find one that you can make into a lifestyle because if you don’t, you have a high chance of gaining all the weight you lost plus more! I hope these tips have helped and good luck on your journey!
