The 3 “P’s” of a Healthy Diet

No matter how hard you try, do you always find yourself eating things that you know you shouldn’t – things that you know don’t support your health or your weight loss goals? Try these tips to get on track to a healthy you!

Plan

It is very difficult to achieve anything in life unless we have a plan to make it happen. One of the biggest mistakes made when trying to establish better eating habits is having the wrong kind of food in the house. But wait a second you say, I thought there are no bad foods, moderation in all things, what about snacks for the kids, etc. etc., excuse, excuse. The truth of the matter is that there are bad foods, and the kids don’t need to eat junk any more than you do. Believe me because I’ve been there, if that box of cookies is in the house, you will eat it. You have made the decision to eat healthy; you must support that decision with action. If you do not shop with a grocery list, now is the time to start. This is the foundation of your new nutritious eating plan. Need some healthy suggestions to fill that cupboard space? Try these – Walnuts, Almonds, Blueberries, Apples, Yogurt and Avocado.

Prioritize

The reality is that to change your eating habits for the better, you are going to have to prioritize and set aside time to make it happen. It does take longer to prepare healthy food than to grab a burger from the cafeteria or off the roach coach. I would suggest you double up when you cook – Prepare tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch at the same time. Another important thing to consider is your schedule in the morning. Everyone from Mom to Dr. Phil reminds us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but how many of us are willing to get up a few extra minutes in the morning and have a good breakfast? Lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats will start your day off right. If you don’t make it a priority, who will?

Persevere

Many of us tend to get discouraged very easily; it just seems to be part of human nature. I want you to step back and consider – how long have you been eating poorly? Two years, five years, ten years or more? If you are overweight, did you get that way overnight? If you are addicted to carbohydrates and have health problems, did it all come on in one day? Of course not, and to make change takes commitment, dedication and perseverance. It has been said that just because something is simple, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It is simple to make a grocery list, but it takes commitment to do it every time before you food shop. It is simple to add healthy foods to your cart, but can be very difficult to pass by the snack aisle. It is simple to cook two meals at a time, but are you convinced the extra few minutes is worth it?

Erasmus said “We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions, and we reap our habits; we sow our habits, and we reap our characters; we sow our characters, and we reap our destiny.” What actions are you taking today that will give you the results you want tomorrow?

[tags]Lose Weight, Fitness, Weight Loss, Health, Nutrition, Diet[/tags]