Congratulations on embarking on an exciting journey to a healthier you! Set specific and attainable goals for your exercise program and healthy diet. Many people find exercising at home to be less intimidating than working out at a health club. Plus, when you exercise at home, you save the time it would have taken you to drive to and from your health club, and you save the money of a gym membership and child care. It’s important to lose weight in a healthy and safe manner. Crash dieting doesn’t work. Drastically lowering your daily caloric intake can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness, low blood sugar, low blood pressure and may eventually lead to cardiovascular problems and diabetes. You want to approach your weight lose from an educated and balanced prospective.
Follow these simple diet tips:
a) Drink eight glasses of water a day. Make sure that you stay hydrated. Weight loss is often just temporary, caused by a loss of water in your body.
b) Minimize or eliminate alcohol from your diet. Alcohol can be high in fat and high in simple sugars. Alcohol interferes with your metabolism and your sleep cycles.
c) Minimize or eliminate caffeine from your diet. Caffeine is an addictive drug that gives us a false sense of mental alertness. Instead, increase your energy level and concentration level by doing simple cardiovascular exercise like walking, bicycling or hiking. Remember that caffeine is found in coffee, tea, energy drinks and chocolate.
d) Minimize or eliminate animal fats from your diet. Animal products contain a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol, in addition to growth hormones and chemicals. Try to eat a vegetarian diet at least one day a week, as low-fat vegetarian food is high in fiber and high in good-quality complex carbohydrates.
e) Increase the amount of fresh vegetables and fruit in your diet. Aim to eat seven to eight servings of fruit and vegetables per day if you are a woman and eight to ten servings of fruit and vegetables per day if you are a man. You may also include 100% natural fruit and vegetable juices that do not have any sugar added. You could also cook up frozen fruit and vegetables, especially during the winter months.
f) Minimize the amount of simple sugar in your diet. Try to stop eating cookies, donuts, ice cream, and sweets in general. Don’t be too stringent though, and allow yourself to have a little treat as a reward at the end of the week.
g) Try to avoid eating fried food and junk food. You are likely very busy with your career, education, marriage and children, but try to find the time to go grocery shopping for healthy food and minimize your visits to fast food restaurants.
h) Ensure that you are using a good-quality multi-vitamin/ multi-mineral every day. Consider purchasing a vitamin that is especially designed for men or women, depending on your gender.
i) Your brain and muscles require good-quality protein. Opt for healthier choices such as vegetarian sources of protein, including nuts, seeds, beans, tofu and multi-grains. If you must eat animal proteins, then select chicken, fish and turkey over beef and pork.
