I’m loving this post from Elizabeth from Clementine and Clover! Since Mike and I have been on a healthier lifestyle track for awhile now, I’m always looking for tips on how to improve our routines in a manageable way. Elizabeth definitely makes it seem manageable with these three tips!
I think of the word diet and almost shudder. The word, to me, has such negative connotations: Visions of tasteless shakes, overly-skinny models, and endless baggies of zero-calorie celery dance in my head.
But I think I may have to cozy up to the word, since I find myself in desperate need of one. Years of reaching for chocolate brownie bites from Trader Joe’s and an aging metabolism have caught up to me. Besides, it would be friendlier on my wallet to always stay the same size – fewer clothes to buy! Not that I’m opposed to the extra shopping required of bouncing back and forth between two sizes.
I say bouncing because a year ago, for my wedding, I successfully dropped 12 pounds in one month. Without a diet. I kept up my same old shameful ice-cream spooning, soda-guzzling habits – the key was I added Jillian Michaels’ 30-day shred to my daily routine (albeit staying on level one the entire time).
So, this time around, I know I can get even better results with an overall lifestyle change, not just a workout DVD for 20 minutes a day.
My plan? It’s simple and three-fold:
1. I’m reducing my sugar intake. After reading this interesting article from the New York Times on how fructose is actually toxic to our bodies, I decided to nix it. The article was sparked by a lecture given by UCSF Professor Robert Lustig, MD, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth.” Give it a listen – it’s fascinating to learn how many “low-fat” products actually contain fructose, which your body turns into fat. And it’s shocking how many products on grocery store shelves are loaded with fructose. I now read the ingredients in bread and other products to be sure to choose a healthy one free of high fructose corn syrup.
2. Stick to a metabolism-boosting diet with limited calories: 200-300 calories every three hours during the day (yay for snacking!). I was inspired by this article from Lifescript.com (where I work) on how eating 5-6 small meals per day will speed up your metabolism.
3. A cardio, abs and weights workout for 20-30 minutes per day. Most likely I’ll do Jillian’s videos again or try the Tracy Anderson Method, which a good friend of mine raves about.
I’m happy to report I’ve been on this new lifestyle track for seven days and have so far lost four pounds!
Are you on a similar track trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle? Or running interference against the holiday extravagances we all face at the table this time of year? What’s your plan to stay healthy this fall?
Elizabeth Nixon is a writer and lover of design, event planning and letterpress printing, which she writes about on her blog Clementine and Clover. Nixon works as an editor at Lifescript.com, a site devoted to healthy living for women.
