After being on my fat loss journey for about a week now, I have learned a few things about what I want to start working on to get me to my desired weight. In this post, I will share 5 tips I've read about in various documentations that I am aiming to introduce into my new way of living.
2. Spice up your meals-
Somethings that I think really helps curve my cravings and makes my meals taste more fun are using different spices and herbs. Certain spices and herbs have been known to boost your metabolism, control appetite and reduce inflammation. Some of my personal preferences to include in salads, meats, and even shakes are: paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric (very helpful for acne and giving your skin a golden glow), cinnamon, cardamom, dandelion root (I prefer drinking this as a tea mixed with a bit of lemon to get rid of its earthy taste), and hibiscus (which helps with excess water retention.)
3. Find healthier alternatives-
For me, one of the greatest roadblocks for me are the treats that I am scared of giving up to live a healthier lifestyle. Although I do believe in listening to your cravings, I think that there are always healthier ways to do so. I have always had the biggest sweet tooth, so that was probably one of the main reasons as to why I started so late on my fat loss journey. I would cut out all the sweets from my diet and stick to bland broccoli, chicken breast, and brown rice because my dad had it drilled in my mind that even fruits were the enemy of weight loss. However, that way of living for me was simply not possible. Period. After eating so boringly for about a week or two and not satisfying my cravings, I would binge on heavily processed sweets and candies. It was horrible, and it definitely took a toll on my body. I soon realized that natural sugars, such as those found in fruits, are a totally acceptable way of not making me feel like ripping my hair out! This past week, I noticed something completely different from my last diet: I wasn't craving anything. I was eating exactly what I wanted, and I felt phenomenal! When my tongue tingled for the taste of carrot cake, I whipped out my trusty lap-top and searched for raw,vegan versions of it. The outcome of this was a batch of mini-cakes which tasted exactly like the real-deal, but it was healthier and made from whole, real foods that contained lots of packed vitamins and minerals. Score!
When I was on the broccoli, brown rice, and chicken breast diet, I stuck to only green vegetables. Why? Because I was so obessed with the whole 'any kind of sugar is a bad kind of sugar.' Oh, how very wrong I was... I refused to each red colored vegetables because they were known to have higher sugar amounts in them. Even if the sugar concentrate was really low, I focused on keeping my sugar levels as low as possible. Sadly, I wasn't able to realize that different colored vegetables had different vitamins and minerals to offer me. I was constantly tired, had muscle cramps often, and had a great deal of back pain. Now, I try to have at least two different colors of vegetables within each meal. The total amount of colors I try to eat in a day would have to be around 5 to 7. (You can just imagine how many different vegetables are in my fridge. Thankfully, my mom let me have a shelf all to myself where I can put all of my health foods.)
I hope whoever reads this diary page enjoys these tips and that they turn out to be useful for you, too! I plan on writing tips for myself weekly as goals for the upcoming days. Next week's tips I'm planning to write (and learn about) are based on calorie counting, exercise, and what I'm eating to lose fat as well as a body update. If anyone has any tips they noticed worked for them, please feel free to share.
- Drink more water-
2. Spice up your meals-
Somethings that I think really helps curve my cravings and makes my meals taste more fun are using different spices and herbs. Certain spices and herbs have been known to boost your metabolism, control appetite and reduce inflammation. Some of my personal preferences to include in salads, meats, and even shakes are: paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric (very helpful for acne and giving your skin a golden glow), cinnamon, cardamom, dandelion root (I prefer drinking this as a tea mixed with a bit of lemon to get rid of its earthy taste), and hibiscus (which helps with excess water retention.)
3. Find healthier alternatives-
For me, one of the greatest roadblocks for me are the treats that I am scared of giving up to live a healthier lifestyle. Although I do believe in listening to your cravings, I think that there are always healthier ways to do so. I have always had the biggest sweet tooth, so that was probably one of the main reasons as to why I started so late on my fat loss journey. I would cut out all the sweets from my diet and stick to bland broccoli, chicken breast, and brown rice because my dad had it drilled in my mind that even fruits were the enemy of weight loss. However, that way of living for me was simply not possible. Period. After eating so boringly for about a week or two and not satisfying my cravings, I would binge on heavily processed sweets and candies. It was horrible, and it definitely took a toll on my body. I soon realized that natural sugars, such as those found in fruits, are a totally acceptable way of not making me feel like ripping my hair out! This past week, I noticed something completely different from my last diet: I wasn't craving anything. I was eating exactly what I wanted, and I felt phenomenal! When my tongue tingled for the taste of carrot cake, I whipped out my trusty lap-top and searched for raw,vegan versions of it. The outcome of this was a batch of mini-cakes which tasted exactly like the real-deal, but it was healthier and made from whole, real foods that contained lots of packed vitamins and minerals. Score!
4. Bulk up your meals with a variety of colored veggies-
When I was on the broccoli, brown rice, and chicken breast diet, I stuck to only green vegetables. Why? Because I was so obessed with the whole 'any kind of sugar is a bad kind of sugar.' Oh, how very wrong I was... I refused to each red colored vegetables because they were known to have higher sugar amounts in them. Even if the sugar concentrate was really low, I focused on keeping my sugar levels as low as possible. Sadly, I wasn't able to realize that different colored vegetables had different vitamins and minerals to offer me. I was constantly tired, had muscle cramps often, and had a great deal of back pain. Now, I try to have at least two different colors of vegetables within each meal. The total amount of colors I try to eat in a day would have to be around 5 to 7. (You can just imagine how many different vegetables are in my fridge. Thankfully, my mom let me have a shelf all to myself where I can put all of my health foods.)
5. Take time to relax-
I am such a hypocrite for saying this, but some people need to just chill... Seriously, though. Taking some time out of each day has been extremely hard for me lately, and I don't want to blame my family, but I think I kind of have to. (Sorry mum and dad!) I am always rushing to Uni straightaway in the morning, rushing back home to complete as much homework as I can before helping my mom make dinner, and topping it off with listening to my dad complain about things at work after dinner until bedtime rolls around. Then my day would start the exact same way. Every. Day. Sometimes, when I get very lucky, I am able to complete my assignments before my parents and sister come home from work. Those times are complete bliss. When I get even just a few hours of alone time, I notice that my mentality gets a whole lot clearer. I am not as harsh on myself and my way of thinking is so much more happy. Something that I thought was really cool about this tip was that even something that may seem so small, can actually have more impacts on your body than thought possible. Not only does it affect your mind, but it has been proven to help with weight loss by reducing your cravings for processed foods. Stress is something I know many people go through each day, and a high percentage of those people don't do anything about it. For this week, my main goal is to find at least 30 minutes each day to work on myself and focus on finding time to relax my mentality.
I hope whoever reads this diary page enjoys these tips and that they turn out to be useful for you, too! I plan on writing tips for myself weekly as goals for the upcoming days. Next week's tips I'm planning to write (and learn about) are based on calorie counting, exercise, and what I'm eating to lose fat as well as a body update. If anyone has any tips they noticed worked for them, please feel free to share.