My definition of healthy eating: Eat food that is enjoyable to you, in the quantity that is good for you. ~ Margaret Marshall
No one would be overweight if maintaining a healthy weight were easy. Losing weight is difficult and many people give up too easily. The weight loss process is an everyday effort, yet the results are not visible every day unless you look in other areas. When the only place you measure your success is on the scale, you are not being fair to yourself or your efforts. Strive to achieve sustained weight-loss through healthy living, rather than a quick, short-lived method.
As you eat healthier and develop new habits, you’ll find changes in:
· Mood and temperament
· Relationships
· Activity level
· Self-esteem
· Stamina
· Posture
· Skin, hair, and nails
· Food choices
· Ability to speak up for yourself
10 Tips for Successful Sustained Weight Loss year-round:
Have a positive attitude. Negative thoughts are usually followed by negative actions. Believe in yourself. When thinking is positive and beliefs are strong, you’ll be well-equipped to ignore negative comments and thoughts.
Eat a variety of food. Eating all low-cal monotonous fare everyday
will cause you to overeat and give up. Eat food you like in moderation. Eat
what you like and learn how to eat it. Refer to my Five-Finger Food Guide.
Eat breakfast. The meal people skip most often is breakfast, or they have a quick breakfast comprised of carbohydrates or a sugary item. Breakfast should include protein, along with the carbohydrate to give you energy throughout the morning. Skip the sugar altogether!
Eat every three to four hours for optimum
calorie burning. An all too common
weight loss mistake is starving all day. This will store calories rather than
burn them.
Eat more whole food rather than processed food. Eating too many processed foods means you are
eating too many artificial ingredients, preservatives, and sodium. Eat as close
to the natural state of food as you can. For example eat a potato rather than
French Fries.
Stop the dieting sprees. Dieting sprees lead to deprivation and weight gain.
Strive for perseverance. A total lifestyle change will give you the long-lasting
weight control that you desire.
Drink water. Too little water will slow down your metabolism
and stop weight loss. Drink water, it’s what you need to survive, and add in
other beverages as you desire.
Understand the natural fluctuations in your
body: Allowing the scale
to rule your mood and actions will continually lead to yo-yo dieting. Familiarize
yourself with the natural fluctuations of your body and only give the scale the
power of being just one tool.
Exercise is a must. Not everyone loves to exercise, but those who do realize the benefits. Begin by doing an activity you enjoy, and in time it will be routine.
Ignore the magical pills, potions, and powders. These are gimmicks that make false promises. Concentrate
on healthy eating and exercise habits, the only proven equation for weight loss
and weight maintenance.
It’s only with daily lifestyle changes that body weight lessens. Live healthy in your thoughts, your body, and your actions.
Margaret Marshall The Healthy Living Expert is a media personality, an international speaker and the creator of “The Five Finger Food Guide”. She is the author of “Body, Mind & Mouth” and “Healthy Living Means Living Healthy”. She is an articulate communicator who employs realistic strategies to maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle that result in successful career paths for her audiences.
Margaret enjoys almost three decades in the wellness/weight loss industry. She had a seventeen- year run as a speaker and trainer for Weight Watchers and now is an international speaker who presents wellness programs for corporations such as:
Amtrak, Pepsi, JDA, Amex, Metlife, Cannon USA, National Grid, Sterling Equities, Fort Hamilton USAG, Time Inc, Time Warner Music, Verizon, Morgan Stanley, Sterling National Bank, KPMG, Neuberger Berman, Fordham University, Hofstra University, Molloy College, The New York College for Health Professions, IPRO, United HealthCare, St. Francis Hospital, Winthrop Hospital, The Catholic Health System, The Mets Organization, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises.
Her articles are published in The Huffington Post, Forbes.com, Thrive Global, and in women’s magazines, news outlets, and government publications, nationally and internationally. She appears on national and local television and radio programs, regularly.
Margaret Marshall is a past executive board member for The National Speaker’s Association in New York City and a past Area Governor for Toastmasters.
Learn more at www.MargaretMarshallAssociates.com