I would argue that one of the strongest triggers to dietary and
lifestyle failure can be traced back to impatience. Does this scenario
sound familiar? You wake up one day and do all this planning to start a new
workout program, a new diet, and the list goes on. Three days into your master
plan you fall off the wagon in one way or another and feel like a failure.
The reality is you’ve set yourself up to fail. Taking on
too many changes at once is overwhelming AND challenging on top of everything
else: life’s daily stressors, breaking old habits, meal planning, working out,
family life, and social engagements just to name a few.
So what’s the solution? Small changes. Making tweaks to
your daily routine and lifestyle can pay off big time. Why? Small
changes are manageable over a long period of time and they provide momentum
toward achieving your goals; momentum keeps us motivated. It’s just like a
staircase; take it one step at a time and before you know it, you’ve reached
the top!
Try one of these tweaks for a week and see how you do.
Sunday: Include a leafy green veggie in each of your meals
today. Add spinach to a breakfast smoothie, steam broccoli, roast
brussels sprouts or asparagus, sauté collard greens, or make kale chips.
Whatever your preference get a green veggie in each meal: breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. Eat green to be lean.
Monday: Go to bed early. Get at least eight hours of shut-eye
today. When you’re well rested you’re less likely to cave into
temptations in your diet.
Tuesday: Walk for 30-60 minutes before or
after work. Grab a friend, take your dog to the park, catch up with a
family member on the phone while trekking it; low intensity cardio burns that
fat.
Wednesday: Drink water and only water. No
coffee, tea, sodas, juices, just pure aqua! This helps to flush your
system and keeps you feeling full. Aim for half your body weight in ounces of
water daily.
Thursday: Take a multivitamin everyday. It helps to fill
in the gaps in your daily diet. You may not feel an immediate difference
but getting your daily value (DV) of vitamins and minerals helps to support
some serious bodily processes that keep you feeling fresh. We recommend
the NEW One Daily Multivitamin or NEW Multivitamin Soft Chew when you’re on the go.
Friday: Cut out the sweets. Eliminate all refined sugars-
anything with added sucrose, high fructose corn syrup- cakes, cookies, candies,
pastries. More often than not, these cause a spike in blood sugar that provide
a temporary lift in energy followed by a crash that leaves you feeling tired,
lethargic, and craving more sugar.
Saturday: Get social! Commit to a goal and share it with everyone on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, friends, family…everyone! You’re more likely to stick with it
when you’re accountable to others.
All it takes is one step forward.
Which
tweak are you going to implement this week?
