| Do you tend to sabotage your dieting efforts? Do you | | | | 5. Water, water, water. A good estimate is to take |
| reward yourself for eating your spinach with a piece | | | | your body weight in pounds and divide that number in |
| of chocolate...or five pieces of chocolate? Here are 7 | | | | half. That gives you the number of ounces of water |
| easy steps to reach your weight loss goals with a | | | | per day that you need to drink. Twenty percent of |
| balanced nutritional plan. | | | | your water need will come from the foods you eat. |
| 1. Realize it's a nutritional plan, not a diet. Diets are | | | | The rest of your water need should come from the |
| associated with deprivation and starvation. Diets are | | | | beverages you drink. |
| usually for quitting. They test our willpower to the outer | | | | 6. Eliminate negative thoughts. It's so true - a person is |
| limits. A nutritional plan is just that, a plan to eat right. A | | | | the sum of his thoughts. Get rid of the self-defeating |
| nutritional plan is not about willpower, it's about discipline. | | | | thought patterns which hold you back. Catch yourself |
| It's about making wise food choices for your health | | | | every time you think, "I'll always be fat, it runs in my |
| and future. | | | | family." "I'm just not making any progress." Or, "It's too |
| A nutritional plan says if you eat that honey bun, it will | | | | hard to prepare all that food." You might want to try |
| be hanging somewhere on you in the next few days | | | | writing an affirmation down 15 times a day, like, I am |
| but if you eat the veggies, it will fuel your energy level. | | | | reaching my goal of losing 20 pounds in four months, |
| Do some online research, and then write down your | | | | then saying it out loud. |
| plan. | | | | 7. Celebrate! If you're keeping true to your nutritional |
| 2. Make a list of when you tend to sabotage yourself. | | | | plan, take one day a week to eat a "feel good" meal |
| Is it when you've had a disappointment? Is it late night | | | | with dessert. That's one way of celebrating your daily |
| eating? A feeling of not deserving a healthier life? Get | | | | and weekly successes. Find creative, non-food ways |
| a piece of paper right now and write down each | | | | to congratulate yourself on your self-discipline. Perhaps |
| instance of sabotage. Just the action of putting it down | | | | a massage for reaching your milestone goals or buying |
| on paper will propel you forward to more victories. | | | | yourself something special. When you've finally |
| 3. Define your goals - Write them down. On the same | | | | reached your target goal, celebrate big with a nice |
| piece of paper as your sabotaging habits, write down | | | | meal...and some carrot sticks. |
| your goals. Be specific. I want to lose 20 pounds in 4 | | | | Following these 7 steps will jump start your nutritional |
| months. Or, I want to lose 2 inches in my waist in 12 | | | | plan without a doubt. Be sure to add some cardio at |
| weeks. Be realistic but aggressive. This is your life and | | | | least 5-6 days a week for 30 minutes into your |
| your body. Keep this list on your bathroom mirror so | | | | schedule to reach your goals even faster. Always, if |
| you can see it every day. | | | | you have any kind of health risk, check with your |
| 4. Add more servings of whole grain, fruits and | | | | doctor before starting any new nutritional or cardio |
| vegetables. On Sunday, do your shopping, wash your | | | | program. |
| food, bag portions for work, and you'll be far ahead of | | | | Ooh-rah to you! You CAN do it. You'll be so proud of |
| the game. Be sure to blend your fruits and vegetables | | | | yourself when you win a healthier body, endowed with |
| with portions of 4-6 oz. of lean protein (lean turkey | | | | more energy and vitality. I did it over 10 years ago and |
| meat or tofu). Choose whole grain/flaxseed breads. | | | | it changed my life forever. |
| Plan on eating every 3-4 hours throughout the day. | | | | |