When it is time to teach your toddler how to swim, you don’t just throw them in the pool and tell them to go swim 17 laps.
First, you squeeze their chubby little arms into a brightly colored pair of floaters. Then you let them do a little bit of wading in the 2-feet deep kiddy pool. Maybe you even carry them out to the deep end with you for a little bit. You hold their hands while they start to kick and flutter their feet. Eventually, they may even feel confident enough to put their face in the water if only for a split second.
By the time summer rolls around next year, you will have a confident little water bug on your hands. He or she will probably even be ready to try floating or swimming from the edge of the pool straight into your arms.
Eating healthy is the exact same way.
If you dive right into a super strict diet just so you can lose some fast weight, you are going to drown. Instead of aiming for perfection, start by simply aiming for progress. Every time you sit down for a meal or snack, think about how you can start making healthier choices. Every time you go to the grocery, think about how you can purchase healthier foods. Every time you go out to eat, think about choosing the lesser of two evils.
Focus on being healthy and the weight loss will happen. Before a meal (or snack) ask yourself, would it be healthy for me to eat this greasy pizza? At the grocery ask yourself, would it be healthy for me to buy these Oreos? At a restaurant ask yourself, would it be healthy for me to order deep fried onion rings in addition to the meal?
For a little while, eating healthier will be about will power. It will be about making conscious decisions to improve your nutritional choices. The good news is that eventually, eating healthy becomes a simple habit. It becomes second nature <kind of like swimming>!
Overtime, the vending machine at work will be less and less tempting. Overtime, you will naturally add more whole foods and less processed junk to your grocery cart. Overtime, the deep fried food at your favorite restaurant will be totally unattractive.
In the meantime, allow yourself to eat plenty of clean, mineral dense foods. It is going to take a little bit of time for your body to recuperate the minerals and vitamins it needs after years of eating processed junk food and yo-yo dieting. But before you know it, you will be able to take off that pair of brightly colored floaters and start swimming all on your own!
Cheers to Healthier Eating for everyone!! = )
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