Want to lose weight? Have more energy? Be healthier? Save money in the long run? I’m going to make the first steps simple for you! No calorie tracking and no complicated eating plan. You just need to know two things to get started.
1. Eat more fruits and vegetables!
This doesn’t mean you have to be a vegan or vegetarian. Just FOCUS on eating more fruits and vegetables. When I say more, I mean make it 50-60% of your diet. When you look at the research, most people are at less than 20%. There is no lack of research supporting a plant-focused diet as the healthiest diet and better for the planet. Some great ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables…mason jar salads and fruit for desserts/snacks.
2. Eat less packaged (processed) foods and eat out less!
By packaged food I mean, chips, cookies and any foods that substitute for whole foods (like ‘ahem’ veggie straws). When we eat more of those things, we eat less fruits and vegetables. They may be lower in calories or fat, but they lack anything your body really needs. And chances are they contain chemicals that are actually sabotaging you feeling healthy and any weight loss you are trying to achieve.
It is really hard to eat out a lot and be healthy. Let’s be real. You aren’t going to find a truly healthy option at McDonald’s. You can make a “healthier” choice, but if you really want a healthy lifestyle, eating out has to decrease. This is more of the same issue with eating packaged foods, you don’t know what they are putting in it even if it is advertised as healthy.
There’s no doubt if you know me well you know I’m passionate about a healthy lifestyle. It’s been that way for me since high school. I don’t even know completely what started it other than I made the connection early on with eating and how I felt. I gave up sweets in high school for a few weeks and recognized that I felt better. The change wasn’t to lose weight. I didn’t have weight issues back then. I just wanted to see what happened as a result.
I also learned from the mom of a family I was a nanny for more about eating healthy and being active. She had 7 kids at the time and still made it a priority (she is a mom of 12 and is still living this lifestyle out). It made me realize you can eliminate excuses if you really want something.
Then in my early 20’s after lots of random health issues, I went on a very strict diet (the candida diet) to try to improve my immune system. I felt the best I had felt in years. It wasn’t sustainable, but it confirmed for me what I put in my body ABSOLUTELY has an affect on my health and quality of life.
Some of my friends would say to me back then, I want to enjoy life, I’ll just die younger. But that isn’t how it works! Medicine makes it possible to sustain life but at a lower quality. Eat now to live better later!
I’m had my ups and downs of not eating healthy and not being active over the years even though I knew better! I saw how it played out in a low-quality of life, weight gain and placing the wrong emotional priority on food. I don’t want that for you!
Figure out what is at the root of what you choose to eat – too busy to eat real food, an emotional need, entitlement mentality that we deserve to eat whatever we want.
Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, I’d love to share in your journey for a healthy lifestyle. I’m not selling anything. I’m just a girl who is passionate about living healthy & young at heart, mind and body. And I want to help you do that by encouraging you, providing you ideas for healthy living and reminding you that you aren’t alone in this journey!
Fit Busy Lizzie 