Many people have been posting about the latest diet fads, whether it be paleo, the Atkins diet, biggest loser diet, or one of the others that many grab on to for a temporary moment in time. However, as many of these diets tend to come in and out of fashion, so does their ability to be sustainable to anyone's actual lifestyle. These diets cannot be sustained for long periods of time, and although they might seem attractive, you cannot actually live on them alone for long periods of time. So, in response, I decided to post the tips that have actually worked for me. I decided to post these tips, not to make anyone feel bad, but in light of the fact that technology has made life a little too convenient for people, I found that these simple tips have done more for my health and well-being than any of the fad diets I have tried. The best thing about these tips? If you want to keep your diet, you can! These tips are simple, fun and although they may seem like common sense, they are good reminders for anyone. Enjoy!
1. Get rid of your car. Seriously. Not only will you save money, you will lose that weight and anxiety you get from driving a car everywhere. People make many excuses for why they need a car, but most of the time, it is out of convenience, not out of necessity. I lost a solid 5 pounds when I got rid of my car because I was forced not to be lazy. I would walk and ride my bike everywhere, and take public transit which still required me to walk to and from each locale. When I did get lazy, I took cabs and/or ride shares, but I usually was able to guilt trip myself into doing the more active thing. My body has thanked me for this and so has my back. You would not believe what consistent moving will do for a body and your overall well-being. My anxiety and stress levels have gone way down since I gave up my car, which also helped me burn stubborn calories. Stress fat doesn’t exist you say?
Look it up, it does!
2.
Cook instead of eating out. Or, at least cook 5 days a week. But, cooking is hard, you say. Tough shit, I swear it will become fun with practice. But, cooking takes time. No duh, good things take time! Restaurants, fast food places and cafes do not cater to health, they cater to taste. Therefore, I can pretty much guarantee you are getting twice as many calories in a meal than if you made it yourself. Fat is not your enemy, it is your friend if you are the one that controls what goes into your food. I was forced to learn to cook at a young age when my mom was unimpressed with me becoming a vegetarian and told me she wouldn’t cook vegetarian for me. I was so stubborn, I vowed to cook all my meals, and eventually I grew to love cooking. You do have to become a savvy consumer and you can find healthy versions of things you love with a bit of research and trial and error. You also have to learn how much you consume and buy produce and perishables in quantities that won’t go bad before you eat them. All the other stuff, usually keeps for a while, so you can save money when you buy in bulk. In addition, if you are worried that you don’t know how to cook a healthy meal, just follow this one rule...lots o’ colors! If your meal only has one color, you need to add some other colors in there to make it healthier. And no, you cannot just dye your food rainbow colors and think that counts, only your eyes will be fooled. I like a meal to have a lot of green, a bit of beige/brown (for rice/pasta) and orange or yellow. You will start to get super creative trying to incorporate crazy colors into your foods like red quinoa or blue potatoes. If you can’t make the food taste good right away, at least it will look good. Then eventually, with time, recipes and practice, your food will taste as good as it looks, and you will to ;-).
3. Fix things yourself and make stuff by learning a trade. Carpentry, plumbing, mechanics or small repairs will require you to DO something, as opposed to sitting there and having someone do it for you. You probably won’t be a pro at fixing things yourself which will require you to sweat and toil a bit, which is great for burning calories. In addition, the sweet satisfaction you will get from fixing something yourself will release a ton of dopamine and you can gloat to all your friends, and look hot while you do it.
Wait, that’s it? What’s the catch? The only catch is that this requires effort, motivation and will only work if you change yourself and your lifestyle. There are no shortcuts and changing your convenient habits is not always fun at first. But, it does get fun. I have so many funny/interesting/frustrating/ fun stories from these three tips I followed and my life is richer for it.
As Biggie would say, "if you don't know...now you know!"
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