How to turn your diet into a lifestyle
1. Skimp on liquid calories: focus on the most filling foods to help manage your hunger.
2. Make the healthy choice the easiest choice: a big part of eating right is having the healthiest foods easily accessible. Having a fruit bowl on the counter, making sure your fridge and pantry is well stocked and keep the best choices at eye level. Be sure to put any trigger foods or treats in less obvious places. Out of sight, out of mind.
3. Avoid–or limit–alcohol: alcohol stimulates your hunger, while decreasing any willpower or inhibitions making you order something fatty or an ice cream. Drinking alcohol is a behavior that has been found to be more diet-destructive than eating out a lot or watching hours of TV every day!
4. Avoid exercise fat traps: learn that the fact of being super athletic doesn’t mean you can eat whatever just because you work out a ton. It just doesn’t add up. The calories you eat far exceed what you can burn off with exercise and working out also sparks hunger, making it even harder to not want to eat more.
5. Eat your meals, don’t skip them.
6. Don’t eat after dinner.
7. Set up goals: make weekly and monthly goals to stay motivated and keep on track. Make your goals related to eating well or being physical and not about what the scale says.
8. Reward your accomplishments: whenever you achieve a goal–not matter how small–give yourself a pat on the back.
9. Try to eat the same: weekdays, weekends and even on holidays. Research shows that individuals who eat the same way all week long and generally the same on vacations on holidays, are 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight loss, compared to those who regularly take “holidays” from healthy eating.
10. Small changes equal big results: think about the small things you can change in your behaviors that will add minutes to your daily activity or subtract calories from your diet. Simple swaps like using lettuce in place of a bread roll or a tortilla, enjoying a vegetarian meal once a week, not eating seconds and having more produce as snacks are relatively easy changes that can equal great success.
