I miss my highschool days. When I could drink energy drinks, eat at buffets, and have dessert everyday. It’s a miracle that I was so skinny back then considering how badly I ate. Don’t we all miss that? When our metabolisms were faster and we could eat and drink whatever we wanted? Some of you out there are lucky because your metabolisms are still fast. They haven’t slowed down yet.
Honestly it’s tough to have your metabolism slow down more and more overtime. And to slowly or quickly gain weight once it does slow. It creeps up on you. I know that weight and health are very sensitive topics for people. For a long time it was sensitive for me as well. But I’m writing this to try to help others who want to live a healthier life. I wanted to share some changes that Erich and I have been making to be healthier.
Before I get into this, I just want to state that I am not a medical professional. This is just about my experiences and my journey with health. I don’t claim to know it all. I can only share what I’ve learned over the past few months about eating better and working out.
So today I just want to share some tips for a healthier lifestyle. Honestly, I’m still learning new things everyday. I don’t claim to have all the knowledge. But I hope that these tips can help someone. Feel free to share your experiences and tips in the comments below. We can all help each other!
Tips:
#1 Sauces/Condiments/Dressings Count
So this one may be obvious but some people forget. I’ve been doing calorie counting (to lose weight, to make myself aware of how much I’m eating and also to be conscientious of what is in the food I’m eating) and you would be surprised how many calories are in the condiments and sauces that you are eating everyday.
Because of this, I try to use lighter condiments such as light mayo and mustard. And I also try to get lighter dressings such as light italian or balsamic. When it comes to dipping sauces like ranch, bbq and honey mustard the calories really add up. So if you are trying to do better maybe monitor how much dipping sauce you are using (maybe just do one squirt of bbq sauce rather than a few) or you could even attempt to skip the sauce every once in a while.
#2 Fried Foods Aren’t Great
This is another one that can be obvious for some but that is true nonetheless. Erich and I have been trying to switch out breaded or fried chicken for baked chicken. We make baked chicken at least once a week. We usually add spices and sauces/dressings to give it some flavor but we try to monitor how much we put on. The good thing about cooking things yourself is that you are aware of how much sauce/dressing is going on your chicken. You can be the judge of how much you put on.
Another fried food that you can swap out is fries. We typically eat sweet potatoes or regular potatoes instead. That way we know they are baked instead of fried at least. Do we still eat fried food occasionally? Of course. But we try to swap out fried foods for healthier alternatives when we can.
#3 Limit or Give Up Fast Food
This one can be really tough. Honestly, I have not completely given up fast food. But I’m trying to eat it less often. Does this mean giving up on eating out completely? No. I just know that fast food in particular is very processed. At least with some restaurants things are cooked more from scratch. But again with a lot of chain restaurants things can be microwaved and/or processed.
What I’m saying is to be more aware of what you are putting in your mouth. If you are going to eat out, be conscientious of where you are ordering from and what you are ordering. Also, try to limit the amount of times you eat out in a week. And if you have to eat out, try to go for healthier options such as brothy soups or salads. Is it okay to eat something unhealthy once in a while? Yes. But try to limit it.
#4 Learning to Cook is Beneficial
If you can cook your own food, then you know exactly what is being put into it. When you go to a restaurant or order food, you really can’t be too sure of what goes into it. You also don’t know how exactly it is being cooked. Cooking your own food makes you more aware of what you are putting into your body. This can help with portion control as well.
You don’t even have to be an expert. You can learn to make a few basics such as baked chicken or fish and use different sauces or spices to give them different flavors. Then you can add a baked sweet (or regular) potato, brown rice, or a vegetable on the side. And with that you have your dinner. Another option is to put chicken in the crockpot with a sauce for a few hours and let it become pulled chicken overtime (it will soften and you’ll have to use a fork to shred it). This requires minimal effort.
#5 It’s the Little Things
You can implement little things into your normal routine to make for a healthier lifestyle. For example, Erich and I have been working from home and we have a counter off of our kitchen. We have been using that counter as a standing desk for part of our day. So instead of sitting at the dining room table working for 8 hours, I will stand at the counter and work for part of my day then sit at the table for the other part of the day.
Also, we have been going on walks around our area whenever we can. If we are done working for the day and we don’t have a ton of time but about 15-20 minutes, we will still go out and walk for those 15-20 minutes. It might seem small. But it gets you outside breathing in fresh air and moving around.
#6 Sugary Drinks Sneak Up On You
I myself am the biggest culprit of craving sugary drinks such as mixed coffee drinks, refreshers, alcoholic mixed drinks and sodas. I used to be someone that chose a coffee mixed drink over food anyday. If you can, try to cut these drinks out completely. But if you find that impossible, start by reducing the size of these drinks. Next try to have them less often. Personally, I just try to limit my intake of these to once or twice a week.
Between the sugar and the calories in these drinks, they are definitely unhealthy. I have definitely felt better after giving up drinking diet soda regularly. Even though it has no calories, diet soda is still just as unhealthy as regular soda. Another benefit that comes from giving up these mixed coffee drinks is you saving money! I was spending $4-5 each time I went to these coffee chains to get a drink. The less you drink it, the more money you save!
#7 Better Snacks
In order to live a healthier lifestyle, you have to to keep healthy snacks in your apartment/house. Because if you keep unhealthy snacks in your place, you are definitely going to be tempted to eat them. Some healthy snacks that I suggest are fruit, pretzels, smoothies or popcorn. These snacks are usually good to hold me over between lunch and dinner. Smoothies are a great dessert substitute but I recommend making them yourself so that you know what’s going in them. When you get them from other places they could be putting a lot of sugar in them. Protein bars with minimal sugar are also good as a quick breakfast or snack. But you have to really look at the sugar in these bars because some are high.
#8 Don’t Go Crazy
Working on living a healthier lifestyle takes time and patience with yourself. Be kind to your body and yourself. Don’t expect your diet to change overnight. You can slowly implement changes in both your diet and exercise overtime. Each one of these changes should be celebrated. You should praise yourself for making each of these changes. It may not seem like much but overtime these changes will make a difference in your life and on your overall health.
I still believe that you can have cheat meals every now and then. You should be able to treat yourself. I typically pick 2 days a week where I’m allowed to cheat for 1 of my meals. Because being healthy is more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet, you have to make it sustainable in the long run and depriving yourself all day everyday is not realistic. You should be able to have a glass of wine every once in a while. Or your favorite ice cream. Or pizza from your favorite place. You should be able to live a little every now and again.
If you are trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, I hope these tips could help. There is nothing wrong with being conscientious of what foods and drinks you are putting into your mouth. Knowing what is in the things you are eating and drinking will help you make better choices for your health in the future.
Stay safe and healthy everyone and let me know in the comments a change you made to become healthier!
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