7. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated and feel full longer. Start each morning with a tall glass of water, before you even think about
breakfast. Drinking a lot of water will stop you from mistaking thirst for hunger. Squeeze a lemon into your water once in a while to help keep your system squeaky clean. The cleaner the system, the better the digestion, the flatter the tummy. If you are a number person, and you want to know the exact number of ounces you should be drinking for your body weight, google it.
8. Avoid processed, refined and deep-fried foods as much as possible. Even the humble, hearty and nutritious potato is repeatedly bastardized by modern man. Who doesn’t love a french fry or a potato chip?
9. Avoid added sugar. Sugar in fresh and dried fruit is, of course, natural and perfect. In my experience, a bit of raw honey can actually be beneficial. If you buy soy milk, go for unsweetened. If you buy yogurt, choose plain. But also allow yourself the occasional treat, and harness the discipline to indulge in moderation.
Here are a few tricks to help: instead of making a batch of cookies at once, bake one or two at a time and freeze the rest; instead of buying a box of muffins or a bar of chocolate, buy one muffin
from a bakery or an individually wrapped one ounce
portion of chocolate; for a chewy sweet treat that offers a bit of nutrition (in addition to dried fruit), eat a few gummy bear vitamins and vitamin D gummies each day. (My whole family, from toddler to grown man, is addicted to gummy vitamins.)
10. Limit alcohol consumption. That means one drink per day, party people. Maybe two, if you’re a big strong man with a lot of muscle to metabolize the alcohol. I suppose you could save up all of your drinks and imbibe 7-14 in one evening, but be wary of the choices you make while you’re drunk, and hungover for that matter. If your social life depends on alcohol, take a step back. Do you need to drink to have fun?
11. Exercise. Incorporate cardio, strengthening and stretching exercises into your weekly routine. Shoot for three hours per week at a minimum. We’re not lying when we say exercise makes you feel good. Endorphins are nature’s best antidepressant.
Don’t be intimidated by the word “strengthening.” Do a few push ups, lunges, squats, leg lifts, bicep curls, sit ups, and you’ll be stronger in no time. But I do recommend mixing up your routine to keep challenging your body. Lucky for us, the internet has about a billion and one resources for exercise newbies. Google it, my dear.
12. Call on your higher power for help. For will power. For confidence. For patience. Also, call on your most supportive family and friends. Don’t be shy, we are here to encourage you. Taking charge of your health is admirable and brave.
If you follow all of these tips for a week, and you don’t notice yourself looking or feeling different, don’t give up. Please, don’t give up. If you don’t have patience, you don’t have anything. Humans are creatures of habit, and it takes time and determination to form new habits, but once you’ve gotten a grasp on good health, you won’t ever want to let it go.
Lucy Miller Robinson is a mother, stepmother, writer, and health entrepreneur. She founded Herbal Philosophy Teas upon the belief that Mother Nature is mankind’s greatest chemist. Lucy is currently writing her second novel and editing her first novel. She blogs about living for your highest self (or at least trying to) at Lucille in the Sky, and about herbal medicine at the Herbal Philosophy site. Follow her on Twitter and please introduce yourself. She likes making new friends.
4 Comments
Nice tips, nice to hear something a little different and more natural than the typical mainstream advice, although I will add counting calories worked great for my husband and I initially.. more than the gym etc. But you are right, just living naturally (keeping all the bad stuff out of my life almost permanently) has been the best change.
Thank you, Faren. I think that counting calories didn’t work for me because a food journal also did not work very well. And I wasn’t so good at remembering portions, etc. I like to tell people: find out what works for you. I definitely lost a few pounds back when I went RAW for a few months. But I can only eat that way when I’m living in a warmer climate. (Or during the summer!)
Great tips Lucy…thanks a lot for writing this article..
Recently I was asked to reduce fat and sugar intake..Funnily i haven’t listened to my inner voice warning me about it..
So once decided and acted, I lost 2.5 kg in a week..
Mostly it’s going back to more raw food and lots of walking in the nature..
Sure I see you saying the same here..THANK YOU!!
Lucy, it’s awesome that you mention how eating raw only felt right for you in warmer climates or in the summer, because I seem to remember reading a few different places that has a lot to do with eating in season and a more natural way of being too!