"Food" for Thought...

We are a week into 2015 and every commercial on TV is for some sort of magical weight loss program or gym.

And don’t get me wrong, it is possible to reach these goals, but far too many of us sabotage our effort with an “all or nothing attitude”.

So this year, rethink your direction. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here’s some “food” for thought:

-Start by forgiving yourself.  You can’t go back, so don’t beat yourself up for sleeping late instead of getting up to workout, or eating cake instead of fruit for dessert, or any of the things you promised yourself and didn’t do. Looking back at past “failures” only feeds the negative voices.

-Take baby steps. Prepare yourself emotionally for change, Start to develop a positive experience with healthy foods, Experiment with foods that take a little longer to prepare but are worth the effort. Focus on savoring the enjoyment of healthy food that you either cook (in reasonable portions) or, if you can’t cook on regular basis, research restaurants and prepared food places in your area that offer healthy food choices.

-Realize that you are NOT too busy or too broke to eat well. If you can afford to eat fast food or buy processed food, you can afford to eat healthfully. Write down everything you eat for a few days. Then, see what you kinds of substitutions you can make to improve your nutrition and cut down your intake of processed foods. (Email your food log to me and I’ll send you some suggestions. I promise!!).

-Try to move more. Get a Fitbit or Garmin Vivofit or just a plain old pedometer, and start tracking your steps. Maybe you won’t run a marathon, but you can increase how much you move each day and that’s a great way to start. Walk, do laundry, clean the house, run after your kids. If you track your movement and see what you’re already doing, you’ll be motivated to move even more.

-Be grateful. If you are in good health or on the road to recovering from an illness, be grateful that you have a chance to make things better. You have a working body that can walk, run and move and that’s more than enough to reach your fitness goals.

-Recognize that this is one part of your life that you have total control over. You might not be able to make that cute guy at work ask you out, you can’t control the hiring process for that job you’re trying to get; but, you have complete power over your nutrition and fitness. It’s your time for you, your food choices; you make the decisions.

So what will you decide?

Happy 2015! Make it your best year so far!!