When food is one of your main sources of happiness, staying healthy can be a huge struggle. Especially when the holidays swing around, bringing cakes and pies and sausage balls with a vengeance, your taste buds will sing while your waistline will stretch. But I cannot blame eating junk food on Christmas, when it is something I battle every day, warm or cold, rain or shine. Here are eleven tips to staying healthy and fit in all seasons:
1. Drink Water.
I mean lots of water. Try to ditch the soft drinks. They contain enough acid to clean a toilet with, can you imagine that does to your intestines? I feel like a hypocrite writing this because Diet Dr. Pepper is my poison of choice, but those who cannot do, teach, right?
2. Workout 4-5 times a week.
A regular workout routine is key to burning calories, building muscle (which burns fat), and revving up your metabolism so that you will even burn calories while you are sleeping. I personally recommend any exercise program made by Beach Body (Insanity, T25, Hammer and Chisel, etc.). But going for a run a few times a week would be effective. Just get active. Adding a weight routine is wonderful for calorie burning as well.
3. Give up processed foods.
There are few things I enjoy more than turning loose on a box of family size Cheez-Its, but ultimately there is nothing nutritious to be gained from that beautiful red box. Like nothing. All processed foods like crackers, pop tarts, chips, etc., having nothing to offer that will further your quest for fitness. Eliminate them from your diet and your hips will thank you.
4. Eat at least 4 servings of veggies a day.
Vegetables, though they are the downfall of many poor souls, are so valuable to your body. I am not saying you have to carry around a bag of carrots everywhere you go. Spice it up with green beans, peppers, or asparagus. At my house we put hot sauce on cauliflower. It is crazy what people will do to avoid normalcy.
5. Control your portion sizes.
Too much food is always bad, even if the quality of the food is good. Small portions train your stomach to expect small intakes of food, which in the long run will shrink your stomach. Large serving sizes stretch your stomach to accommodate, so do not over eat.
6. Count carbs.
Look up the stats for your gender, height, and weight, and how many carbs you should be taking in a day. Then try to stay under that number. This eliminates the excess of carbs from foods that you would not expect, such as milk, fruit, and yogurt.
7. Eat clean all week, then give yourself a splurge on the weekend.
Having something to look forward to on the weekend will give you the motivation to stay healthy during the week. Limit your splurge to just one treat, though, or you will blow your whole week's progress over the course of the weekend.
8. Eat 5 small meals a day.
Eating a 300 calorie meal every two hours is better than one or two big meals a day because it keeps your metabolism going. If your body thinks it is only going to get fed once or twice a day, then it will hold on to every little bit it is given. If your body knows more is coming, then it will process faster.
9. Do not live by the scale.
It is okay to track your progress by weighing yourself, but the scale does not reveal everything. It will not show you if you have lost inches, which often comes before losing pounds. Muscle also weighs more than fat, so do not be alarmed if it seems that you are gaining weight initially. Ultimately, it is how you feel that is important, not what number the scale shows. So do not obsess over it.
10. Love the body you have.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel healthy, but it is so important to love the body you are in, all the time. If you do not, then the time it takes to achieve fitness will be a miserable season for you. Our bodies are made imperfect, and there will always be flaws to point out, no matter what size we are. So love the skin you are in and focus on being the healthiest you that you can be.
