Taking on a new "diet" is tough. I mean REALLY tough! But there are some things you can do to make it not so bad. First of all "diet" is a really silly word. It can mean many things, and all too often it takes on a negative connotation. So let's just throw that word out the window before we go any further. Second, a healthy lifestyle is always one that is in balance. When talking about weight loss, we need a specific type of balance. That is the balance between our nutrition and our exercise.
A common misconception when starting any type of lifestyle adjustment is that we have to go either all or nothing. Sure, that may actually work and work well for some people, but certainly not for most. When we go into new eating and exercise habits with that mentality, it is way too easy to fail and get discouraged, eventually giving it up altogether. What I propose is to ease our way into a new lifestyle one small step at a time.
First, let's talk about nutrition. One misconception about healthy eating is that "Low fat" is good and means you'll lose weight. That is not true! Any product that is marketed as a "diet" product is usually working against you in one way or another. So forget "Diet Coke", "Healthy Choice", and "Weight Watchers" because each of these options are highly processed foods with harmful chemicals added in order to make them appear healthy by cutting the amount of calories, fat, or sugar. The problem is that your body doesn't know how to process these chemicals because they aren't natural, so what ends up happening is that these chemicals don't register as food which means that the little switch in your body that tells you when you're full never gets triggered. It also means that your body is full of toxins and chemicals that are harmful to our everyday body processes. Those toxins get stored up in your muscles, your fat, your bloodstream, your gall bladder... pretty much everywhere. And an overload of toxins can cause all types of problems like gall stones, diabetes, and even cancer.
So what should we eat? Well here is the hard part, but one that is essential for your health. Turn off the TV, get up off the couch, and use that time to COOK! Whole foods made from scratch are excellent for our bodies in a number of ways. One, because we get some exercise in from actually cooking them! A great way to start is to tell yourself that the microwave is off limits this month (and so is eating out or ordering in!). Even if you're cooking foods that don't have the highest nutritional value, at least you're moving while making them! Not only that, but we KNOW what goes into our meal that way. We know how much oil or butter we've added, how much salt, and how much sugar. We can actually begin to get an idea of what really goes into our bodies, even if what we cook at first isn't the healthiest option, at least we know what we're eating, and we know how we can adjust it. A great way to eat home-cooked meals throughout the day, is to make a double-dinner. What I mean is, make double the amount you will eat that night. Store half in a glass tupperware container and bring it to work the next day (If you're at work, you can make an exception with the no microwave rule, but if you're at home, since it's in a glass container, you can pop it in the oven to heat it up! Don't forget that the microwave actually zaps some of the nutritional elements out of our food.) As we get more in tune with our food and our kitchens we can begin to make changes... but like I said, let's take it one small step at a time.
Another thing to remember is to never let yourself get starving. Losing weight does not mean trying to fast. Fasting can actually make your body's metabolism change causing your body to GAIN weight! And fasting is definitely not the same thing as cleansing! Stay away from fasting fads.
But what about exercise? Doesn't getting healthy mean working out until we can't move!? NO!! It really doesn't have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn't be that way! Just from cooking our food every day we're already getting in more exercise. But let's take it one step further. Choose one thing that you can do comfortably, maybe something you already do, like walking to the mailbox. What you do, depends on the amount of exercise you already get daily. If you already walk from one end of the mall to the other each day while shopping, use that, but if that is a challenge, start small with something like the mailbox. Some people walk around the pond by their house each day already, while some don't get very much activity at all. So pick something that suits you! Got it? Okay, this is really simple... ready? Let's say the most exercise you get all day is checking your mail, but you can handle that because you do it every day. Now, tomorrow, try checking your mail twice. Yep, it's as easy as that. Maybe check your mail twice every day the whole week until checking the mail twice becomes comfortable and normal. Then, check it three times. If you get bored checking the mail, then maybe you can walk two driveways down and back instead. Basically, you are not looking towards your eventual goal, but rather looking at how you can increase something that you already do by just a little bit. If you start out saying you want to run a marathon, and then run 5 miles your first day of training when you haven't done any running in a year, you are going to burn out. You'll be sore, in pain, and miserable. Chances are, you won't try running again for a long time! This isn't about pushing ourselves as much as it is simply taking a few extra steps from the day before. Does hitting the gym and lifting weights help? Well sure, but only if that is realistic for you. Before you go sign up for a gym membership that costs a fortune and you'll only use twice this year, have a nice long conversation with yourself to find out if it's something you will actually do. Be honest with yourself. Maybe you can turn some of those healthy choice cans of soup you were going to throw away after reading the first few paragraphs of this blog into weights instead. There are also lots of non-weight bearing exercises you can do in your living room! Yoga is great for the body and mind. And there are other healthy excercises for every part of your body that don't require lifting weights. If you feel the gym will be the most effective way to get you moving, then by all means, go for it! If you tend to be lazy about going, sign up for an exercise class that has a set time every week, so you won't be as likely to miss it. But remember to always go at your pace, and be realistic about what that pace is.
My plans for this blog are to get you eating and moving well, and weight loss will naturally follow. Don't get so hung up on how many pounds you've lost each week and just know that just like adding those pounds (that most likely happened over the course of years), getting them off in a healthy way and to keep them off takes time as well. Remember that it's not a "diet" it's a permanent lifestyle change. So take your time and know that everyone's body is different and reacts in different ways. Weightloss is not and should never be a contest. This is about getting the best you out of you! So try your best not to compare. When your friends on "diet plans" have gained all their weight back and you're looking better than ever, then you can know you made the right choice.
This lifestyle is not just about weightless either; it's about overall health. The goal is that every aspect of your body will get healthier down to your very blood. The results will be weight loss, but also more energy and improved emotional health as well!
What am I going to give you so that you can get there? Well my hope is that I will be able to guide you one step at a time, teaching you about nutrition and healthy food choices. I plan to give you recipes to help you learn to cook those foods in a healthy and delicious way. After all, good food does not have to taste bad, we've just forgotten how to make it. I plan to give you exercises that you can do at home to help guide you into better overall health. Remember that when our back or knees ache, the best thing to do is not necessarily lie around waiting for them to "heal". Oftentimes our joints ache because our muscles are not supporting them. When we can target and strengthen those muscles, they support our joints better so that the joints don't have to take all the pressure and impact we put on them. That is what physical therapy is all about: targeting and strengthening certain muscles that help support joints or other muscles. Oftentimes if we have a new injury, we will have to give it some time before we start strengthening, but for those constant aches and pains, exercise is usually the best thing!
Above all, I hope to give you lots of information that you can use to make the most out of your lifestyle change. I hope you decide to join me on this journey. Until the next post, good luck on your progress!
**Please note: This blog is in no way meant to be a substitute for medical advice. If you are extremely overweight or have medical conditions, please consult your physician before beginning this program.
