How You Stay Motivated!

Susan_RD_101

Okay, it's time to start a new discussion to inspire and support one another. What I want to know is:

How do you stay motivated when trying to make dietary and lifestyle changes?

Here's one from me:

I make healthy eating the easy (or only) choice! To do this, I:

• Make sure fresh vegetables are always washed and prepped in my fridge (which I pair with my favorite hummus)
• I don't bring foods into my house that I find it difficult to portion control (hello coconut ice cream)**
• I make sure I have a lunch, snacks, + some extras for those long workdays or when I want to go to the gym after work
• I never leave the house without my water bottle (seriously, I even take it into restaurants despite my husband's embarrassment!)

** Just because I don't bring it in the house doesn't mean I don't eat it. I'm just MINDFUL about having an indulgence. Ever 2-3 weeks, I go for a date with my husband or friends and get a huge cone, guilt-free.

Let me know yours!

Paul

Hmm. Prolly preaching to the C, but: Make sure you've got a sharp knife in the kitchen. It's safer, and a pleasure to use. Victorinox chef's knife is a good minimum, but maybe invest in something that feels right, along with a steel for sharpening (honing). (oh, and good tunes on the radio)

(On blissful sleeps) Get a blue light filter on your devices if you use them in the evening (Apps like f.lux, or there's one built into windows 10 :'Display settings' -> 'Night Light Settings').

If I were to give my recent self any advice in hindsight, it would be:- don't cry when your cafetiere breaks—a strainer and kitchen towel will do in a pinch. Also, when you discover falafel, don't make 9 falafels and eat them all—and definitely don't nestle little cubes of red leicester cheese in each one of them. It didn't melt, and now you've got a hulking anomalous hump in your cronometer stats.

There was a recent reddit post for depressed people and nutrition. I get the impression most people here have earned their years in wisdom, but here it is nonetheless.

Hilary

I have made a rule for myself to NEVER eat out at lunch when I am at work. This has been working for me really well, and I only ever break my rule if I am meeting someone else for lunch.
I agree with @Paul; having the right tools in the kitchen makes everything so much easier. On that note, I find I am much happier and healthier if I make a point to have my kitchen completely cleaned up before I go to bed. That way, I am much more tempted to use my kitchen, and not do something easy like fry some frozen perogies if I have the tools and counter space ready to go to make something more interesting.
AS well - this might sound counter-intuitive based on the common perception that social media is kind of a bad habit but I use Instagram as a motivator for healthy cooking. The main accounts I follow on Instagram are healthy food bloggers, so every time I log on to Instagram there are beautiful photos of healthy, delicious meals with recipes and tips to go with them!

Susan_RD_101

@Paul and @Hilary

Those are great tips! One other thing I wanted to share that I stole/borrowed from a personal trainer friend is to use the phrase "can I just?".

For example, he is a marathon runner with a new baby and will ask himself: "Can I just get out of bed? Can I just put my shoes on? Can I just run until I reach that next bend?".

I find this brilliant, as it instills a sense of mastery and helps to break huge goals into small, easy-to-attain steps.

(As an aside, I use the same language when I clean my house and have found it to be very effective!).

tanyahosler

Hello there, thanks for sharing the post. My friend was also suffering from weight loss, depression and he tried many diet plans for losing weight. Most of the time he gets in negativity and unable to overcome it. As suggested by his friend he visited to voyance pure who motivated him to stay positive and guided him a right path.

IF_proponent

My best all-time tip is "decide what you want most versus what you want now. " Who could really want cheap , "creme"-filled cookies instead of (insert your heart's desire here). It helped me lose 40 pounds and is keeping me going - together with Crono - brilliant.