First off, I hope you had a very happy Christmas! I hope you all got some lovely presents and had a great time with friends and family :-)
Now it's that time of year when motivation for a better life style seems to come upon us...
But how many of us actually stick to it?
The answer is, sadly not many of us!
And I'm pretty sure why...
As I have witnessed over this attitude for a few years now, including myself - it never occurred to me till now, that most of us seem to get caught up in a pretty vicious cycle.
It usually comes down to one word. One word that we all hate, and shudder when we think about it. You have probably guessed it - That word, Is DIET!
To put things straight, from what I have learned, is that the word and actions of 'diets' are negative, useless, border line evil and most of all, usually one big CON!
We seem to kid ourselves every year - 'New year, New me!'
Sounds great! But we always seem to start off on the wrong foot. And that's by starting a diet.
"This new year I'm going to go on a diet and lose some weight"
(goes and eats equivalent weight in food)....
Now it's that time of year when motivation for a better life style seems to come upon us...
But how many of us actually stick to it?
The answer is, sadly not many of us!
And I'm pretty sure why...
As I have witnessed over this attitude for a few years now, including myself - it never occurred to me till now, that most of us seem to get caught up in a pretty vicious cycle.
It usually comes down to one word. One word that we all hate, and shudder when we think about it. You have probably guessed it - That word, Is DIET!
To put things straight, from what I have learned, is that the word and actions of 'diets' are negative, useless, border line evil and most of all, usually one big CON!
We seem to kid ourselves every year - 'New year, New me!'
Sounds great! But we always seem to start off on the wrong foot. And that's by starting a diet.
"This new year I'm going to go on a diet and lose some weight"
(goes and eats equivalent weight in food)....
I wonder why he/she has done that!
Diets as we all know, forbid certain foods - be it carbs, fat, sugar, or all 3! at least one thing will be off the menu. So what happens when we forbid, or plan to forbid food?
We want it more than ever! It's a very simple form of reverse psychology.
You will always want what you can't have - That doughnut will smell a hundred times nicer, and those chips will be smelt over a mile away... IF you forbid them from entering your mouth...
I can't stand how 'diet' businesses suck us in! There's a key word here... Which is business.
A business aim is to make money, profit, and returning customers. A customer that visits and never returns after service is bad, so - A diet business that encourages you to pay on a regular basis is never going to have long lasting results, unless you keep paying for that product!
Do yourself a favour this year - Don't join a diet club, unless it's FREE!
Why not try something different?
Break the new year habit, and actually positively change something in your life. Change something that you know will stay changed forever, for the better.
So what could you do that's different from the usual diet resolution?
It's easier that you think!
Make simple, achievable pledges - like;
Cut down, or cut out meat -
This could be something really simple, like putting an end to processed meats like ham and pepperoni slices, or swapping sausages for a vegetarian alternative.
If you like fruit, aim to eat more of it, but if you're not a fruit fan, there's lots of healthy snack alternatives.
If you like cakes and biscuits, why not try Nakd Bars. They are a great sweet alternative - My favourites flavours are the Gingerbread, Strawberry Crunch and Bakewell Tart. At less than 200 calories a bar, they're much better than that slice of cake, and what's better is that they are calories that your body can use, as the bars are made mainly from dates and nuts - Don't judge until you have tried them!
If you really want to treat yourself, Graze are a really healthy snack company. You can choose from hundreds of snacks, they even have special diet filters to make choosing that little bit easier. You get 4 snacks in the post, just make sure you only have one snack in a day to insure optimum snack control!
Cut down on the fizzy junk! Shop bought fizzy drinks are seriously unhealthy! Sugary or not - They are full of chemicals that our bodies can't use (therefore dehydrating us) Fizzy drinks are known to give us mood swings, food cravings, headaches... The list could go on. So do yourself a favour and cut out the conventional fizz.
Why not try making your own, Healthy fizzy drink? It's easy!
Just buy (or make) some fizzy water and add your favourite fruit juice (not from concentrate) If you want to make it taste a bit sweeter, just add a little xylitol to sweeten things up a bit.
Should you really want that one glass of regular fizzy pop, then have it! if you forbid yourself, you are just more likely to binge on it later.
Remember that we are not forbidding ourselves from anything, you are choosing to have healthier options because we want to lead better, healthier lives.
Swap some of your sugar intake with XylitolXylitol is a Natural, Safe Sweetener that's great for dental health, and helps keep your bones strong!
It's a lot sweeter than sugar, so you will need to use less, for instance if you have 2 sugars in your tea, you will only need one teaspoon of Xylitol. This is a very simple change that could give very good results! And it much cheaper than a diet club membership.
Just remember that too much xylitol (just like other sweeteners) can give a laxative effect, so if you have lots of cups of tea and/or coffee a day, I would suggest you try to cut down on those drinks too.
Less Caffeine...
This is always a sensitive subject for people, as we just love our caffeine. But there's a glimmer of hope for you!
1-3 cups of coffee a day is actually good for you! But if you are having more than 3 cups a day, then I'm afraid that's not so good. Caffeine dehydrates the body, and as we all know is addictive. Try cutting down to 2 cups a day (one in the morning, one late afternoon before 5pm, or save the second or third cup for those evening shifts) Cut down one cup at a time. Once you are used to having one less cup a day, cut the next one out and so on, until you are at 2-3 cups maximum a day.
If you suffer from IBS, it might be wise to only have one cup a day after a meal, or no cups at all, as coffee can aggravate the digestive system.
Have more plant based meals
Meat free meals are quick to make, easier to digest, and are often much cheaper! Grab some vegetarian magazines to get familiar, and give it a go!
I have some easy plant based recipes here on my blog
Eat Organic Where You Can Another very simple life change. It costs a little more, but I find that if I pay a little extra for my food, I'm less likely to waste it. Organic salad ingredients is a great place to start, simply because it tastes nicer!
Why not try ordering a salad box from Riverford or Abel and Cole? Or a local organic farm?
Walk More
Now this could sound like a really drab tip... but with a little motivation on nicer weather days, you could really benefit from this simple life change. Just 5-10 minutes of direct sunlight gives you your RDA of Vitamin D in any temperature, plus, walking being a form of exercise, will boost your mood, and of course, burn some calories.
You could try walking to the next bus stop, park your car further away from your destination, or make a pledge to go for a walk round the block - Or, take a vow to go for a country walk at least once a week, either by yourself for some self reflection time, or with a friend to make it more pleasant if you like company.
Happy Therapy!
It's good for everything, and I will recommend it for everything! Plan something different to do each week. Not only is this a great motivation, it helps by keeping your brain active, and is an opportunity to make some great memories too :-)
Here's some activities you could do that are cheap or practically free!
Country walk destinations
Swimming
Picnics
Batch cooking healthy meals
Making homemade pizza with friends/family
volunteering somewhere for a day
Explore a town or village that you've never been to before
Movie nights with loved ones
Alcohol free cocktail and pamper parties at home
Pen pals
Yoga Class
In fact, any form of fun or relaxing exercise class!
Gardening (burns body fat and you could grow your own salad!)
Blogging, of course,
Reading,
Buying books from a charity shop and re-donating it when you're finished.
There are SO many ways you could change your life for the better. You don't need to change much in one go either. A small change each year could build to a whole new life style in just a few years! You will be healthier, and probably happier, if you just change one thing at a time.
Don't punish yourself anymore with diets. Change the things in life that will benefit YOU! If you know that a piece of junk food will send you off on a mood swing, take a big step and change that habit in a way that will make you feel better.
Only set yourself achievable goals (that includes goals where you may need to push yourself just a little)
Never overload yourself with pressure. Life is meant to be healthy and happy, not one or the other.
Do what feels right for YOU
Once you have cut the junk, and the fad diets, you will start to realise the better things in life. What those better things are, are for you to find out on your journey.
I hope you all have a happy, healthy, and fun new year, and that this post has filled you with confidence that you have the power to change your life for the better, without having to spend tonnes of money on diet clubs.
