I feel like weekends are always terrible for me when it comes to staying healthy and making the right choices in my diet. Parties, dates, lazyness, you name it, there's always an excuse for the weekends to throw off your good eating habits. So I just wanted to give you a little encouragement for the upcoming week to get better by helping you avoid 5 major mistakes you can make in your path to getting healthy and better.
1) Don't bring a negative attitude to your week on monday after a tough weekend.
Monday is a new start. Negative thoughts are one of the most destructive things you can bring into your life. Make it a point to map out your week with positive goals and start bright and early monday morning in following through with those goals. Even to run a marathon, you still have to take that first step.
2) Shop Sunday night for your upcoming week's food and make a list first.
If you wait to shop later during the week or when you are rushed and hungry you are more likely to make purchases you normally would not. These include fatty foods and junk food because your body is craving things it shouldn't when you are shopping on an empty stomach. Making a list will allow to you rationally see what you need and want for the week. Then when you shop you won't get sucked in by bad impulse choices.
3) SLOW DOWN your eating.
Eating too fast is one of the biggest reasons we over eat. Whether you pound food or eat it as slow as possible, your brain will still let you enjoy the taste just the same. Try chewing each bite at least 15 times rather than the average 4-6 times. This will allow you to get that 'full' feeling earlier while still getting the same enjoyment out of your well prepared food. Also be sure to always "leave room on your plate" when stocking it up at the counter. House hold plates on average can hold two servings of food. If you make a conscious decision to leave space on your plate you will not feel pressured to eat more because you will have less in front of you. This plus slowing down your eating will make a tremendous impact in your diet lifestyle.
4) Write out each workout you will do.
Everyone enters the gym on fire and ready to get their workout on, then about 15 minutes into it, that motivation is out the window and they are out of there with in the half hour. Writing out your work out will have more benefits than you think. The biggest one being that it will keep you accountable to getting it done. If it's on paper you know exactly what you need to do and will not leave till you do. Also it will let you get a wide range view of what you will actually be doing in your workout and you can make sure it is hitting all the areas you need it to. (i.e is it getting to your total body or are you leaving out key ingredients?)
5) Don't take more than 2 "off days".
Rest is good, period. But if we are taking 3-4 "rest days" then we are allowing the principle of reversibility to come into our lives. That is to say, 'if you don't use it you lose it.' We need to make sure our bodies are active at least 6 days a week. Just because you're not lifting physical weights but 3-4 days a week does not mean your body doesn't need other aspects of fitness as well. This is where you can get in long sessions such as running, swimming, or biking. Not only is a great recovery and work out, it will lead to better heart health and keeping your metabolism moving, aka burning more calories which is what EVERYONE wants. So do your body a favor and give it what it needs.
Hope these help!
-Brandon
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