10 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE TIPS
This is a mixture of 1 part orange juice (not from concentrate) to 7 parts water. I start my day everyday with this. I usually start with 24 ounces and drink that throughout the morning over a few hours. The theory is that when we wake in the morning, we are not actually hungry but we are dehydrated. Drinking this will help to get you hydrated. The natural sugar in the orange juice helps to keep your blood sugar stable and therefore you will experience less cravings. I now don’t eat a meal until I have been up 5-6 hours, and thus I only end up eating two full meals a day. I will often drink more of the H2Orange throughout the day; I just keep my straw cup filled. To make that easy, I keep it pre-mixed in my refrigerator.
2 – EAT AT A LEVEL 3 HUNGER
Hunger happens in 4 stages. It’s important to listen and eat at a level 3.
Level 1 – Not hungry, you eat out of boredom.
Level 2 – You would eat a snack but not leftovers.
Level 3 – You’re ready to eat a full, satisfying meal.
Level 4 – You’ll eat anything in site – don’t ever reach a 4!
Most people reach a level 3 hunger 2-3 times per day. Typically, level 3 hunger occurs 4-6 hours after waking up. Because of this and because of the H2Orange, I now only eat two meals a day 90% of the time, with a small snack between the two meals. I’m just not hungry to eat more often than that. Our bodies are in optimal fat-burning mode between a level 2 and level 3 hunger. It is important not to eat during that time or your body will burn the fuel you are putting into it at the time, rather than the stored fat. This is why 6 small meals a day may not actually work for a lot of people. It has never worked for me. Eating two meals a day automatically means that I am not eating from 7/8 at night until 10 or 11 the next day. This is similar to the intermittent fasting theory (which I haven’t read much about, but it makes sense to me!).
3 – EAT SLOWLY
Be prepared to put your fork down between every.single.bite. Chew everything twice or three times as much as you normally would and eat smaller bites than you ever really have. Set a timer for 10 minutes (I use my phone) when you begin your meal and stop when the 10 minutes is up. Then spend 5 minutes not eating at all — again set your timer. This break will allow your brain to begin to catch up to your stomach. Once the five minutes has ended, start the timer again for 10 more minutes. During the second ten minutes, you will listen to your body and stop eating when you are full, not stuffed but just full and satisfied. Don’t be afraid to leave food on your plate! Eventually you will learn to take less food so you won’t leave food on your plate.
4 – NO SNACKING
Try really hard not to snack. If you can’t make it to your next meal time, but you are at a level 3 hunger, eat a healthy snack. Snacks should be made up of at minimum 2 parts protein to 1 part sugar. Have approved snacks on hand at all times so you are not stuck without choices.
5 – AVOID “TRIGGER FOODS”
Don’t cut out an entire food group – like sugar or carbs or bread or wheat – you will be more likely to “cheat” and thus more likely to fail. I decided to choose one thing that I just loved to eat so much I could eat it any time. Once I figured out what that was, I decided to cut it out completely. For me, it was cold cereal. From the day I decided to steer clear of it, I never looked back. I did use it as a reward after I had lost 25 pounds and guess what? It made me so sick. In addition, as a byproduct of cutting out cold cereal, I also cut out milk.
6 – ATTAINABLE SHORT TERM GOALS
When I began this journey, my end goal was to lose 80 pounds. That is a huge number and super daunting. I decided I need to work in short, attainable goals of 5 – 10 pound increments. Each time I hit a certain weight, I would tell myself that I am never going above that number. Since I have been doing that, I have not gone above any of my goal weights! But I know that if I do, I have the tools to easily lose and drop back down.
7 – ACCOUNTABILITY
Be accountable to someone even if it is just yourself. I have a weight chart hanging in my bathroom. I weigh myself every day but record my weight twice a week. This is not for everyone, I realize that. Daily weighing helps me to look at the day before and what I need to do differently whether I lose or gain. Another idea is to text friends. Find people who want to be on this journey with you; it is so great for encouraging each other. Be open and honest about your weight. Once I was honest about my weight and decided I didn’t care what others thought, it was easier to lose because I could see exactly where I was and own up to it!
8 – EXERCISE
Of course it is important to move, but exercise has been the least important thing for me. Early on, I would walk 3 times per week. I didn’t do anything crazy; in fact, I was working out more before with zero results. Now I am exercising more because I feel so good. I am spending more time hiking and running and just being active in general. But I’m still only exercising 3-4 times per week. Knowing that I really only have to get in 3 times a week makes it easier for me to be successful. It’s another attainable goal. If I started out saying I was going to work out at least 5 days a week, I am positive that I would have failed.
9 – CALORIE COUNTING
In the beginning I tried to stay at or under 1000 calories per day. I knew that if I was hungry and weak or lacking energy that I would need to up my calories. The fact is, I have never felt deprived of calories. I have always had the energy I need to do everything I need to do. This was easy early on when I wasn’t exercising much. It’s harder now to stay in that calorie range because I am exercising a lot more and my body is wanting more calories. Although, with only 2 meals a day, it’s not too hard to stay low in calories. I love using My Fitness Pal to track my calories.
10 – NO DIET FOODS
It’s important to eat real food, with real calories. Try to avoid protein shakes and protein bars as meal replacements — eat something real instead. I spent 9 months drinking a protein shake every morning and exercising a ton. I lost no weight at all. I haven’t had a shake since and it seems as though my body likes the real food a lot better!
RULES ABOUT SNACKS
Always at least 2 parts protein to 1 part sugar
Fruit is NOT a good snack choice unless you pair it with a protein. For instance, grapes — every 4 grapes contain about 1 teaspoon of sugar.
If you want to eat fruit, eat fruit with your meal so that the protein you eat will balance out the sugar in the fruit. Or eat some almonds or nut butter or cheese with your fruit for a snack.
SNACKS THAT I ALWAYS KEEP ON HAND
Almonds – especially flavored almonds – Blue Diamond Sriracha and Habanero BBQ are my favorites.
Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges + pretzel sticks or Triscuits (there are so many delicious flavors of wedges)
String cheese
Snack size cheese snacks
Carrots & hummus
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Hard-boiled eggs
Greek yogurt (I don’t usually use this as a snack because of the sugar, but it is often a go-to meal option for me) Dannon Light and Fit is the only Greek yogurt I can handle!
Any other veggies
Naked Popcorn (giant red bag from Costco)
Beef/pork jerky
Lunch meat
Apple slices and peanut butter
MEALS
Avoid trigger foods at meals as much as possible
My triggers include breads, high-sugar foods, and carbs.
Eat proteins and veggies first
Don’t completely cut out the things that you love!
I love meat and potatoes. I will still eat those anytime, but I try to avoid breads or rolls.
You will start to tell when your body responds better to certain things and when it responds negatively.
Be sure to eat protein with every single meal!
Grill a ton of meat at the beginning of the week. It is so good to have easy, already prepared meat ready to go. I can easily grab some precooked chicken or pork or meat of any sort and pair it with vegetables or salad for an easy, healthy meal.
EATING OUT + MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
Chilis – They have a fantastic low calorie menu. We eat there all the time!
Rumbi Island Grill – They have some amazing salads and even the bowls aren’t too bad for you. They are happy to give you a calorie sheet to look at.
Chipotle – build your bowl or salad as healthy as possible and then eat half of it. The tortilla is the very worst part so don’t get one!
In-n-Out – When I am really wanting to be “naughty” and feel like I’m cheating, I go to In-n-Out. I get a protein style, animal style burger with no pickle. This thing is so good. I mean really good. And it’s supposedly only 300 calories or so. Just don’t order fries or a milkshake to go with it! :)
I love Taco Bell. Weird I know. I used to order the same three things on the menu every time I went. Now, if I have a desire for Taco Bell, I will go and just order one of those things and eat it super slowly. I get the taste I want without consuming all of the calories.
Cafe Zupas – So many great salad and soup options!
Smashburger – the Smash Chicken with no bun is a favorite!
It is absolutely possible to eat at all of your favorite restaurants, just pay attention to what you are ordering and time yourself so you don’t eat too much!
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