DIET is a 4 Letter Word! HELP is on the way!

D.I.E.T. - Good heavens it has the word "die" in it!  Not my idea of fun.  I always cringe inside when people ask me "How's your diet going?"

Let's learn to give this a new spin and call it a Healthy Eating Lifestyle Plan or H.E.L.P.
There...isn't that better?  Help...say it...Help.  We all love help, right?  A simple Healthy Eating Lifestyle Plan! 

Life is beautiful, and so are you.  Life should be enjoyed.  Food should be a beautiful experience not a punishment.  If you don't like green beans, don't eat them!  Simple!

DIET vs. HEALTHY EATING LIFESTYLE
It is so true that weight loss really begins with the "diet" (ugh, there I said it), but I am using this term as the basic definition of: Diet:The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.  I have never been a fan of the word "diet". When the experts make statements that your weight loss begins with your diet, they mean you have to cut out all of the garbage you are eating and clean things up, not starve yourself. I feel that most people set themselves up to fail when they go on a "diet"! You are already telling yourself that this will be a short term adventure. Make a lifelong commitment to be conscious of what you are eating!

CALORIES IN vs. CALORIES OUT
Yes you need to consume less calories than you burn, creating a deficit, but starving yourself is not the answer.  Depriving yourself of food will make you go out of control and binge with a vengeance on all of those things you love so much.   Not to mention what it will do to your metabolism.  Going into starvation mode will only cause your body to hold on to all of those goodies you put in it when you finally binge. Sound familiar?  And how many times have you gone on a binge and then felt physically and mentally beaten when it was over?

If you are eating a healthy, clean balanced "diet" you will most probably automatically be in a calorie deficit because good, clean foods are naturally lower in calories and fat than the processed junk we find ourselves addicted to.  And think about it, if you get up and move a little you will burn even more calories creating an even greater deficit.  But if you continue to get most of your calories from "White stuff" (processed wheat and grains, sugar, etc) you can exercise until you drop and you won't see the results you desire.

FOCUS ON YOUR FOOD/SNACKS
We are all so guilty of mindlessly eating at times. You know what I mean...grabbing for that bag of chips, box of crackers, package of cookies, granola, ice cream, etc and going to town. I do believe it is OK to have these things within reason but it is of utmost importance to serve yourself a true portion and not just "eyeball" it, right?

CRAVINGS
I am not craving anything at this moment, but I do miss eating certain things. Jorge's plan is great at balancing your hormones and getting your insulin levels under control. I will be posting about cravings later and why they happen. It really is so simple once you understand it.

TRY A "CHEAT MEAL"
If you are finding it hard to stick to a rigid healthy eating plan and you are really missing eating certain foods then try giving yourself a cheat meal once every 5 - 7 days.

This means you can go have that nice dinner with your friends, or attend that luncheon or brunch. Don't go crazy, but eat those things you are missing. You don't want to undo all of your hard work by ingesting 7000 calories, right? But having a small piece of that cake you have been craving or a small serving of those Ravioli's from your favorite Italian restaurant won't kill you. But Jorge's original Belly Fat Program really let's you eat pretty much anything. Don't forget that if you take this route then you must also follow your healthy eating plan perfectly for the other 5 - 6 days! No excuses, lol.

GET UP & MOVE
You don't have to go overboard if you are not used to working out, but just get up and move. Take the stairs at your work, you can burn 100 calories by doing that. Park a few extra spaces away, let someone else have that really close spot at the mall. Walk! Break up your workouts into 3, 10 minutes sessions a day instead of 1 long session. Get a walking buddy and walk during your lunch break or go for a brisk walk first thing in the morning.

NEVER GIVE UP!
We all fall from time to time.  Let's really try to find out what is going on that is causing that constant falling back into our bad habits.  You can do this and learn to love it and love yourself.  So many good things to eat.  You just have to find ways to be creative with your meals.

Stick with me and have some great food and fun while we Live, Laugh & Love Life! Cheers!