Healthy Living vs Dieting

Everyone gets to the point where they know they need to make a change. For me, I know that I need to be healthy. I need to know that one day I will wake up and be better. Of course, it doesn't happen overnight. You can't just decide cold turkey that you are going to give up on food completely. But it takes time. And lots of planning. And even more water. Water. Water. WATER.

The first step for any avid food eater, or anyone who like me has spent way too much time eating junk food every day, is to drink lots of water. And to replace the consumption of Pop (Soda, or anything along those lines) is to drink other things. Juice. Coffee. Tea. Remember that the best way to do this is to always change it up. For me, I like trying out different coffee’s; Expresso, Hazelnut, Columbian, you name it. I also have a preference to Peppermint and Orange pekoe teas. People always think that in order to diet and lose the pounds, you need to suffer yourself. But if you do it cold turkey, the chances are that you will be gaining the weight quicker the moment you stop. Of course, you should remember that too much coffee will also make you shaky and super shrieky (because you know coffee).

The second step is to add fruit to your diet, especially if you are like me and don't really like anything green. (I'm talking salads here). Instead of reaching for chocolate, indulge in some strawberries, or a mix of berries with sugar on top. Find work arounds. You get hungry after work? Eat crackers and low-fat cream cheese. Don't cook meals that you like. Make things that are different. Take everything in moderation. And occasionally give yourself allowances. Treat yourself but not every day — seriously, not every day. If you are someone who eats a lot of fast foods, instead of going for crispy meats switch to grilled chicken, baked chicken or even indulge in a little pita pit, or Subway meals.

Step number three. EXERCISE. This doesn't have to be in the gym. Not everyone can find the time to go there (or the money). Try some exercises at home. Take the stairs more. Park further so you have to walk more. Try Zumba! I love Zumba, or dancing in general to be honest. To be honest, movement in general is the best way to make yourself lose the pounds.

Even changing the way you eat would help. Eating more meals at different points of the day is actually more helpful, especially if you don’t eat high-carb meals. I’ve lost major inches on my waist line and I think I’m definitely eating more than I ever have. Instead of three meals a day I do four and one snack break in between one of the meals, lthough I do know that a lot of the diet sites say that you should eat 6-10 meals a day.

That’s also rule number four! Don’t look up diets. They pave the road to hell. Also, most of them are extremely unhelpful and usually involve lots of fish and weird measurement tools. I mean let's be honest, are you really going to spend your valuable time boxing up measured lunches? It is my honest opinion that, yes you can look up different diets, but you can choose what steps will work best for you. Don’t be crazy and look at diets like it will magically make you go from two hundred pounds to fifty. While sometimes it will work that way, chances are when you get off the diet, you will gain everything back. Keep in mind that the word "Diet" has the word "DIE" in it. It’s probably there for a reason.