With the start of new year, most people make a few resolutions with the intent to keep them as long as possible. Resolutions I have made in the past include swearing off soda, swearing off swearing, and the ever popular weight loss resolution. If anyone out there is like me, you do great with your resolutions for a couple of months, then slowly you slip back into your old ways. The good news is with weight loss, you can hit any reasonable goal that you set within a few months and that is usually enough motivation to keep people from backsliding into a delicious vat of caramel.
January is halfway over, but that doesn't mean that you can't change your lifestyle now. You don't have to have a new year, a new month, or a new week to start making a difference in the way that you live and the way that you treat your body. Remember, you only get one body so you better take care of it... Or get the number to a really good plastic surgeon. (I'm kidding, of course).
Want to know the first steps you should take to start making a difference? I can help you with that. Coming from a girl who was once nearly 180lbs (don't believe me? Look at the photo above), I know a thing or two about getting healthy, slimming down, and getting back comfortable in my own skin. My biggest piece of advice would be to gradually slide into a healthy lifestyle. What exactly do I mean by that? Let me give you an example. Most of the time, people get in the mood to diet and they go overboard. They get a gym membership, they limit their food intake to a lettuce leaf and bark off of a tree at meal times, then after about a week of this routine, they find themselves ordering the Grand Slam at the nearest Denny's before they end up in the psych ward begging for a pack of donuts.
As you can see, too much change at once can drive a person crazy. Rather than diving way in over your head, try switching out one thing in your diet for a healthier alternative. Do you drink regular soda? Try switching to diet. Once you think you're ready to let go of soda all together, switch to tea sweetened with stevia, and eventually you will be able to switch to water. A gradual change will be less noticeable and won't drive you half as crazy.
I work an office job and I get a very short lunch break, so a lot of the time, I am forced to eat something from a fast food restaurant. Now, I have already written a very detailed post over how to eat healthy when you're dining out at a restaurant, but let me give you a couple of examples on how you can ease into healthier eating choices. Instead of ordering a combo complete with french fries, start out by substituting the fries with a side salad. When you feel you're ready to make another switch, ditch anything with a bun and go for a grilled chicken breast fillet. Once you've done that, you can ditch the dressing on your salad and go for something like salsa as a healthy topping. Before you know it, you're eating healthy, nutrient rich food and you don't even notice it.
Losing weight and becoming a healthier version of yourself is something that does take time, but with a little effort and giving yourself A LOT of room for error, you can achieve the goals that you set for yourself. This year, instead of setting a goal like "I want to lose 30lbs," try an alternative way of thinking. Let's take those weight loss resolutions and turn them into "This year I want to master healthy eating habits." I promise you will thank yourself for taking the first step towards a healthy lifestyle once you start losing weight and feeling better about yourself! Taking the first step is the hardest, but just remember, no one is perfect and every single day is a learning experience for yourself. Don't beat yourself up when you do have a bad day. Bad days happen, just don't give up on yourself.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you all! Please let me know how you're doing. I love hearing from my readers and the progress they have made. Talk to you soon!
Xoxo,
--Bridget
My personal resolutions this year are as follows:
-Focus more on my own health
-Find happiness in the small things in life
-Spread more happiness to the people around me
-Post more frequently on my blog
-Post more videos on my Youtube page
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