If I had a dime for every time I have heard the words, "I can't do that yet," or "I'm not quite ready yet," I could retire a very rich woman. On a regular basis, I will have students tell me that they want to lose 10 pounds or 30 pounds or fix their flabby arms or just look and feel better. If I had a magic pill in my pocket, I bet they'd pop that pill right into their mouths, no hesitation! But if I suggest a change in the way they eat, whoa! Now wait a second! No one is ready to jump on that.
I have talked about the change monster before. The big, ugly, scary change monster that threatens your comfortable denial. Because even if you are overweight, your current symptoms may not be so devastating. Sure, your knees hurt when you climb a flight of stairs, and you certainly wouldn't want to try running a 5K, but on most days you feel good enough. Maybe not great, but not bad enough to warrant making a scary, uncomfortable change.
Okay, so you are not going to overhaul your whole diet and lifestyle today. You're just not ready to make any big changes. What can you do TODAY to make a difference in your health and fitness? If there is no magic pill to pop in your mouth, what small change can you make easily that will get the ball rolling in the right direction?
Here are a few suggestions for simple, easy changes that can be the first step toward losing weight, increasing your overall health, and feeling better:
1) Drink more water! I have said it before and I'll probably spout this advice like a broken record until my last gasping breath. Water is the stuff we are made of. It is the basis of all life on earth! And yet, most of us walk around in a constant state of dehydration. Get yourself a good water bottle and make sure you drink at least 10 cups of water each day. Notice the changes! All those little aches and pains will suddenly evaporate once your cells have the water they need! Every system of your body functions more efficiently when well-hydrated.
2) Get more sleep! This is another no-brainer. Why do we resist it? A nap will do in a pinch, but a minimum of 8 hours of high-quality sleep at night will cure what ails you. Scientists who study sleep cannot even explain exactly why we all need this, but it is a given. During the hours that you sleep, your body and mind are actually busy repairing all types of cellular damage and injury, healing muscle fibers in order to make you stronger, releasing various hormones, and boosting your immune system. When you cut your sleep short, you are setting yourself up for failure in many ways, including that elusive weight loss. Lack of sleep will lower your metabolic rate and make it harder to burn those calories, set you up for injury, accidents, and sickness, as well as cause sugar and carb cravings. Not a pretty picture!
3) Eat more veggies! I am starting to sound like your grandmother, right? This advice is nothing new. It is not surprising or original. In fact, it is probably boring the pants off you right now. But it is yet another simple way to increase your health, while helping you drop those excess pounds. Every time you choose to put a forkful of veggies into your mouth instead of a forkful of cake, you are giving your body more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and other health-giving substances that we haven't even discovered yet instead of just feeding your fat cells. Eat a full rainbow of colored veggies every single day, from red, ripe tomatoes to orange baby carrots to yellow squash to green kale to blue berries to deep violet beets! Try adding a veggie to every meal and snack. Choose fresh, locally grown produce when you can, but frozen is almost as good. Now that summer is practically here, start hitting those farmers markets!
If the Zone diet, or any diet plan of any kind, is looking like way too much change for you to handle right now, just pick one of the above and get started TODAY! Make your life a little better immediately. And maybe in the future, you might like to add a Step Two to your regimen. Let me know what happens when you take just one small, simple step in the right direction.
I have talked about the change monster before. The big, ugly, scary change monster that threatens your comfortable denial. Because even if you are overweight, your current symptoms may not be so devastating. Sure, your knees hurt when you climb a flight of stairs, and you certainly wouldn't want to try running a 5K, but on most days you feel good enough. Maybe not great, but not bad enough to warrant making a scary, uncomfortable change.
Okay, so you are not going to overhaul your whole diet and lifestyle today. You're just not ready to make any big changes. What can you do TODAY to make a difference in your health and fitness? If there is no magic pill to pop in your mouth, what small change can you make easily that will get the ball rolling in the right direction?
Here are a few suggestions for simple, easy changes that can be the first step toward losing weight, increasing your overall health, and feeling better:
1) Drink more water! I have said it before and I'll probably spout this advice like a broken record until my last gasping breath. Water is the stuff we are made of. It is the basis of all life on earth! And yet, most of us walk around in a constant state of dehydration. Get yourself a good water bottle and make sure you drink at least 10 cups of water each day. Notice the changes! All those little aches and pains will suddenly evaporate once your cells have the water they need! Every system of your body functions more efficiently when well-hydrated.
2) Get more sleep! This is another no-brainer. Why do we resist it? A nap will do in a pinch, but a minimum of 8 hours of high-quality sleep at night will cure what ails you. Scientists who study sleep cannot even explain exactly why we all need this, but it is a given. During the hours that you sleep, your body and mind are actually busy repairing all types of cellular damage and injury, healing muscle fibers in order to make you stronger, releasing various hormones, and boosting your immune system. When you cut your sleep short, you are setting yourself up for failure in many ways, including that elusive weight loss. Lack of sleep will lower your metabolic rate and make it harder to burn those calories, set you up for injury, accidents, and sickness, as well as cause sugar and carb cravings. Not a pretty picture!
3) Eat more veggies! I am starting to sound like your grandmother, right? This advice is nothing new. It is not surprising or original. In fact, it is probably boring the pants off you right now. But it is yet another simple way to increase your health, while helping you drop those excess pounds. Every time you choose to put a forkful of veggies into your mouth instead of a forkful of cake, you are giving your body more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and other health-giving substances that we haven't even discovered yet instead of just feeding your fat cells. Eat a full rainbow of colored veggies every single day, from red, ripe tomatoes to orange baby carrots to yellow squash to green kale to blue berries to deep violet beets! Try adding a veggie to every meal and snack. Choose fresh, locally grown produce when you can, but frozen is almost as good. Now that summer is practically here, start hitting those farmers markets!
If the Zone diet, or any diet plan of any kind, is looking like way too much change for you to handle right now, just pick one of the above and get started TODAY! Make your life a little better immediately. And maybe in the future, you might like to add a Step Two to your regimen. Let me know what happens when you take just one small, simple step in the right direction.
It is very important that when you start to do work out for best fitness, you have to go it with step by step. You have to eat diet food and do the exercise. Take a regular sleep as you can. Drinking more water is also good for the health.
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