Sticking to Your Healthy Meal Plans for the Week
Scientific evidence repeatedly continues to prove that a healthy diet does wonders for our mind and body. It should be simple, right? All you need to do is eat some vegetables and fruit, maybe throw in some greens and voilà, you’re a healthy human being. Not quite. The problem typically comes from our tendency to deviate from our healthy diets and downward spiral into fast food oblivion. Oftentimes, our healthy meals plans for the week go by the wayside as the week progresses. This can happen for a number of reasons, but you shouldn’t quit because you’ve cheated or lost momentum. Your old habits of junk food and convenience food may not disappear immediately, but with some tenacity and clever planning you’ll be able to re-route your meals into the proper direction. Here are some good tips to help you along the way:
Be Prepared
This is a basic principal that can make the week easier. Preparation can be on a Sunday, if it helps. Storing prepared meals in the freezer or simply chopping and storing vegetables can go a long way. You want to know what your week will be like (remember, there will always be weeks where meals don’t go to plan). If you’re able to predict the week, you can project your meals accordingly. While challenges will arise, each week you will gain more experience and will, as a result, improve your healthy meal planning.
Don’t Guilt Yourself
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you cheat. Cheating is, more than likely, inevitable. The idea is to ensure that you are consistently improving. Nobody goes from eating a bad diet to an amazing diet in one day.
Never Starve Yourself
You should never starve yourself. Skipping a meal can be detrimental to your body and mind. It’s okay if you’ve got a little hunger, but you should never be experiencing rapid changes in blood sugar or severe hunger pains.
Get Others Involved
If possible, try to share this experience with someone else. Even if you are posting daily updates about your healthy progress on Facebook, it can help. Having other people there to share the experience with you is great motivation, as you will find yourself suddenly more accountable for what you put in your stomach.
Eat Whole Foods and Stay Active
Eating whole, unprocessed foods and maintaining an active lifestyle are key components of accomplishing your healthy goals. Eating those supposed healthy frozen meals may not be a good option after all, as most frozen meals are highly processed. Maintaining an active lifestyle (running, walking, cycling, martial arts, etc.) can enhance your well being even further. These two components are detrimental to maintaining a healthy life style and fostering good habits.
It may seem intimidating at first and it’s certainly not easy, but this kind of routine and lifestyle creates positive changes in your life. If you feel stuck, try tapping into a number of available resources. Cookbooks, magazines and the internet are all filled with thousands of inspirational ideas that can help you maintain your healthy meals.