Steps To Building A Healthier Lifestyle Or Starting A Weight Loss Journey, A 5 Part Series

Assess: Look back over your food logs and assess  Where do you see room for improvement? Which area do you want to aim for first? What action will you take?

Aim: Maybe you see your calorie intake is higher than you need or you realize you eat a lot of prepackaged foods or processed carbs or fatty meats and/or dairy or you aren’t getting enough fruit and/or veggies. Pick one area to aim at first.

Action: What action will you take? Remember this is about establishing long term changes so small steps are important.

Let’s tie it all together! Say you decide to work on your carb intake, do you use sugar or sweetened creamers in your coffee? Maybe try putting one less spoon in each cup. Or maybe you eat white breads and pastas, try switching to multi-grain or whole wheat. Maybe it’s fatty meats and/or dairy. Switch one red meat meal for turkey or chicken. Or incorporate a fish night or even a meatless night (use beans as the protein or quinoa). Or switch to a reduced fat milk or cheese or just cut one serving out. Maybe you want to up your veggie game, add a serving of veggies to your breakfast or lunch everyday.

What I have done: My first focus was carbs! Since I do not carb count I had to figure out how to start and gradually decrease my overly processed carbs.

1st – about 4 years ago I switched from sweet tea to half unsweet tea. Over that next year I continued to reduce until I was drinking fully unsweet.

2nd – I went from 3 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee to 2.

3rd – We switched to all whole-grain or whole wheat breads and pastas.

4th – We incorporated more fruits and veggies. (We eat fruit as snacks and add veggies in our main courses not just as a side. We try to have veggies at all three meals.)

5th – I reduced my coffee sugar to 1 teaspoon (yes, I actually measured). Then I joined WW (weight watchers) which really opened my eyes (again) to the unhealthy choices I was making.

6th – I switched to no sugar in my coffee and fat free milk. I am always looking for healthier swaps and really watch my portions. 

I hope this helped you decide what small step you will take first! 

Be Peaceful!

~Nettie