By Tanya Burton
“Tanya, I’ve started to focus on my nutrition. Where do I start?”
It’s really easy to tell people the following advice: “To lose weight, just move more and eat more veggies.”
So if you are new to eating better, or have been stuck in a rut, where do you start?
1. Track your food!
Why? You will make better food choices. When you keep a journal or track your meals on your smartphone, you make better choices. You become accountable for your habits! Plus you can track your progress better. Within the first couple of days of tracking your calories, it will be a huge eye-opener as to why you gained weight in the first place! There is no more fooling yourself about how much you are or are not consuming when you track it on Myfitnesspal (or any other food tracker app). Journaling and logging your food choices forces you to make better food choices. It is better to eat a healthy and filling chicken wrap than to waste your calories first thing in the morning on Casey’s breakfast pizza and Starbucks Carmel Frappe.
2. You Eat Smaller Portions
Calorie control is not so much about restricting your diet as it is about eating the right amount of good foods. It’s not easy to eat healthy all the time, but portion control is possible when good eating is not. Counting calories helps you eat the right amount of better foods.
Pay attention to serving sizes on food labels, carry a portion chart with you in your wallet or purse, and learn how to visualize what a healthy portion looks like. Healthy portions and calories are easier when you limit processed foods and take-out. Again, when you log your food and calories, you will be inspired to limit your portion sizes, and you will eat different foods on the menus at your favorite restaurants.
3. Drink More Water
Water is an excellent tool for managing your weight! As you drink more water you feel better and less hungry. I know personally, water has helped kick my mindless snacking and cleared up my acne! So how much should you start consuming a day?
You have two options to track your water intake:
Drink half your weight in ounces. So if you weigh 200 pounds try getting in about 90-100 ounces of water a day or aim for 3 clear urines a day. So grab your favorite water bottle and keep it at arm’s length every day and notice how much better you’ll feel as you hit your water goal every day!!
Start applying all 3 tips for the next 7 days and see how easy your weight loss journey becomes!
If you would like to finally lay down the foundation of getting started on your health journey I highly suggest checking out my new Fat Loss For Life course. Each week I go over step-by-step what you need to do to live YOUR life and lose weight. I go over everything you need to know about losing fat, and more importantly – KEEPING IT OFF! Go to womenwarriorslifestyle.com to begin!
Have a great Tuesday!
-Coach T
