One day at a time for improving my diet

hazeljordan1974
hazeljordan1974 Posts: 107 Member
in Motivation and Support
After admitting on here how a poor diet and excess exercise left me with some health issues I am making an effort to get my diet and exercise in order to ensure a well nourished and maintained body at the end of it. Any advice greatly received, my ideas are as follows:-

Eat more protein - I know it helps with building muscle, keeping me full and is good for my health
Increase healthy fats - it is no surprise my hair, nails and skin are dry and lackluster without a good amount of good fat
Increase strength and weights at the gym - cardio alone is not going to improve my body, I need the heavy stuff!
Take rest days regularly - exercising every day is not going to help me get fitter, rest days help my body recover
Eat more "clean" food - processed foods especially "diet" and "low fat" foods are full of sugar and should be kept in check
Give myself a break - I am not going to eat 100% perfect all the time - aiming for 80%/20% is a better goal
Keep logging everything - when I stop logging I get lazy and the weight creeps back on
Drink plenty of fluids - water is best but herbal teas and protein shakes are ok too.
Get plenty of sleep - a rested body works better.
Listen to my body - if I'm craving deep fried chicken or a salty snack look into why I am and address that.

That's all I have for the moment - I'm sure I'll add more, any other tips gratefully received!

Replies

  • amberxy
    amberxy Posts: 35 Member
    Looks like you've got a good handle on things :) 68 pounds lost... WOW!!!

    One piece of advice I've read while lurking in the forums is, if you feel you're struggling, do a "Just for today". So, if, like me, you have a habit of stuffing your face at night (with ALL THE NOMS), you say to yourself, "Just for today, I'm not going to snack after dinner". This way of thinking, for me anyway, makes the war on weight less overwhelming, as you're only doing this "Just for today".

    Hope I explained that properly, and you go get em girl!! xx
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    That looks like a pretty great list! I'm in the same mode. I need to get back to lifting, but it bores me to tears...the circuit, that is. I've been doing really well over the last 3 days or so with my eating. I need to keep it up and really only eat when truly hungry...even if that means not eating anything for a few hours after I wake. Also, going to cut back on the coffee and see how that affects me. I've also started using Stevia or Truvia instead of Splenda. I was using Equal, but switched from that to Splenda and now onto Stevia. I'm hoping this will reduce my cravings and appetite. I need to learn to feel what hunger is again and realize that I won't die if I don't get something in my stomach as soon as it starts to growl. I'm so used to be stuffed in order to feel full and I never like how I feel after eating that much. Just trying to find my happy medium! I hope we can both achieve our goals! But you're pretty much at goal. I'm still about 15-20 lbs away. I'm attempting to hit this goal by early next year and finally fit into ALL of my clothes again! :bigsmile:
  • benefiting
    benefiting Posts: 795 Member
    After admitting on here how a poor diet and excess exercise left me with some health issues I am making an effort to get my diet and exercise in order to ensure a well nourished and maintained body at the end of it. Any advice greatly received, my ideas are as follows:-

    Eat more protein - I know it helps with building muscle, keeping me full and is good for my health
    Increase healthy fats - it is no surprise my hair, nails and skin are dry and lackluster without a good amount of good fat
    Increase strength and weights at the gym - cardio alone is not going to improve my body, I need the heavy stuff!
    Take rest days regularly - exercising every day is not going to help me get fitter, rest days help my body recover
    Eat more "clean" food - processed foods especially "diet" and "low fat" foods are full of sugar and should be kept in check
    Give myself a break - I am not going to eat 100% perfect all the time - aiming for 80%/20% is a better goal
    Keep logging everything - when I stop logging I get lazy and the weight creeps back on
    Drink plenty of fluids - water is best but herbal teas and protein shakes are ok too.
    Get plenty of sleep - a rested body works better.
    Listen to my body - if I'm craving deep fried chicken or a salty snack look into why I am and address that.

    That's all I have for the moment - I'm sure I'll add more, any other tips gratefully received!

    Well done and good luck to you! It's good your have a better understanding now. :)

Categories