NUTRITION IS THE KEY TO HEALTH

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Tag: diet (Page 2 of 2)

Additional tips for your diet

June 7, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Here are some additional tips when starting your new diet. Just keep in mind that you are on a journey, not in a race. Look at this as you being sick and tired of not helping yourself be the healthiest person you can be, and you are ready to start taking steps in the right direction, to boost your nutritional intake, and hopefully your overall health.

If you haven’t seen my first post on getting ready for your new diet, please check out the below link.

https://nutritionisthekeytohealth.com/getting-ready-for-your-new-diet/

You’re in this for the long-haul

I still think about the tortoise and the hare story. It is true like everything in life, you cannot rush perfection. Your diet will be your “new normal” because it is your new lifestyle change.

Does that mean you aren’t going to find yourself in front of the ice cream bowl one night? Nope, there are no guarantees here. However, only you have the power to get yourself back on track.

You had a moment of a lapse of judgment, so accept it, and get on with it. Note it in your journal and how it made you feel afterwards. Maybe when you are ready to break your diet again, you will go back on read that, and it will give you to power to say, “No way. I am staying the course”.

Water

Please remember to drink plenty of water when starting your new diet. When you go on a healthy diet, your body will start to purge toxins. You will need to assist your body with this by providing it H2O.

If you are still drinking sodas, you are not doing yourself any favors, even if they are diet. Also, energy drinks are a no-no. I allow myself one cup of coffee in the morning. By a cup, I mean 8 oz., not a 26 oz. Yeti to take to work or the gym.

I drink bottled water in non-BPA containers. It is not the best option, but it is a step above my area tap water. It also reduces your barriers to entry, when striving to get your daily water intake.

If you have it cold and ready to go, you are much more likely to grab and go, assisting you in reaching your goal. You can purchase a high-end water like, Fiji. However, they are extremely expensive, but it all depends on your budget. This is your journey.

I will also filter my tap water that goes into cooking. I have a countertop pitcher for this. A Zero or Brita works well.

Remember please recycle any bottles you use. Our planet is like our body, it is the only one we have. When it is gone, it is gone. We don’t get another one.

Try to get moving

Even if it is parking further from the doors, when you go to work, school or the store, try to get those extra steps in.

If you live in a hot area like Texas, or have a health condition and you cannot be outside due to the air quality, when you make your trip to the store, take some extra passes down each isle. If you do this everywhere you go, it will assist in getting more steps in.

Walking helps with a great many things. Remember this saying,

“Motion is Lotion”

Moving only small amounts helps with your stiffness, especially if you have auto immune diseases like fibromyalgia or arthritis (especially in your back). It will also assist in getting those intestines moving.

This is your journey, enjoy it!

Alicia

How to start a diet

June 2, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Nutrition is the Key to Health Podcast

If you have ever gone on a diet before, you know that the thought of your favorite foods being striped from your list of “allowed” foods and calorie restrictions is daunting. How about counting calories? It all sounds so dreadful!

The one thing is for certain, a healthier diet involves a great deal of thought and prepping to be successful. That is until now. I am going to show you how to start your diet, so you will be in a better position for success.

This will be like no other diet you have known before. We are going to ease into this with a few basic steps. For those of you that want to go all in, go for it! Just know that you have a greater risk of deviating from the diet. The key is to be the tortoise, not the hare.

I am hoping all of you, choose to make this a more permanent way of life, than a mere diet to lose a few pounds. To change your level of health, you must commit to a permanent approach. However, when I say “diet”, I really mean “lifestyle change”, so these words will be interchangeable in my blog. The only diet that I would not suggest as a long-term plan is The Keto Diet. Even the hardcore Keto gurus, cycle in and out of their carb restriction times. We still do not know the long-term effects this diet might have on your health.

Steps to start your diet

  1. Sit down with a journal and write down your “why”. As in, why are you going on a diet? Is it to lose weight, get healthier or control your blood pressure? Maybe you have heart disease or you are a pre-diabetic.
  2. Pick your diet plan. Is it going to be The Mediterranean or a WFPB Diet? Maybe there is another diet you wish to try that was not mentioned here. Again, we are looking for a lifestyle change that can be permenant and not just a diet. So, Keto is not going to be among the ones I would pick. If you do, you need to be under a doctor’s supervision. Also, if you are going to pick Keto, make sure that you make it a “Clean Keto”, which means your meats are lean and not full of sodium and fat.
  3. Learn the rules of your new diet. What foods are allowed and what foods must you avoid. Learn any specifics of the diet as well. Maybe your diet allows certain foods, but not in the first 90-days, which is what I will be asking of you here. So, your things like alcohol, high-fat items, and highly processed foods, that might send you and your cravings through the nearest drive-thru, are not going to be allowed in your first 90-days.
  4. Make sure you visit your health provider and get the green light for your plan along with any baseline labs.

Gathering Information

So, we have journaled our why, picked our diet and have a bit of knowledge what foods will be allowed. Our healthcare provider has given us the green light. Now if you would like, you can take a few selfies, write down your starting measurements and weight. This gives you a starting point. This will all be kept in your journal.

I would get a journaling notebook, for your health journey. You will want to write down your ideas, thoughts, meal plans and weekly weight, exercise and other information. You can keep a picture of you at your best weight, inside for inspiration or put it up on the refrigerator. Visuals have been proven to assist in reaching goals and are important.

If you do not have a picture, write down your target weight and the length of time you are giving yourself to reach your goal. Put it on the refrigerator. I am going to caution you to be realistic. You are not going to be able to lose 60 pounds in two months. That is extreme and not safe. Also, women tend to lose weight slower than men, so keep this in mind.

We are almost ready to begin.

Alicia

Old habits die hard

June 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Nutrition is the Key to Health Podcast

When starting a diet or exercise program, old habits can die hard. I can only speak for myself, but I find that my old habits get in the way of my success. They are probably the biggest nemesis for me not reaching my goals.

Whether driving through Starbucks, your favorite fast food, or staying in your routine of eating _______________ (fill in the blank) before bed, old habits die hard. I call it “habit creep“.

Breaking the routine

When we are most vulnerable and needing that sugar, caffeine or processed food fix, they are there to secretly cheer us on. Habits make those cravings unsurmountable. I think the secret is trying to do something new in your schedule. You must break the routine, to break the habit. For me, it is diary, particularly cheese.

For each of us, this trigger or craving is different. We all lead different lives with various responsibilities. However, if you normally push away from your meal, and sit on the couch and watch television, try doing something new.

If this is where you eat ice cream, maybe you can do laundry, spend time with the kids, or go for a walk. The secret is break the cycle that you know and have come entrenched in. That is all it is, a cycle of doing the same thing over and over. We can set our clocks by it.

Things to do as you learn to break the bad habits

When the cravings start, you can do a number of things. I guess it might depend on the habit. If you are trying to stop smoking, I am not too sure sitting down and journaling would stay off the cravings. I think you might have to exercise to get beyond that one. I have been told that chewing gum or straws help.

It could be a hobby that you choose to partake in such as journaling, writing, gardening, woodworking, getting ahead of emails for work, walking, biking, playing cards, light cleaning, or reading a book. Maybe you could go for a run or work out. You get the drift.

You must do anything but allow yourself that indulgent pleasure of extra calories, unwanted fats, processed foods, nicotine or drugs. You just need to take yourself out of the geographical location that makes you want that ice cream, drink, cookies or nicotine. Whatever your vice might be, change your location and mix things up.

If you do nothing else, do this one thing

I will tell you if you don’t do anything else on this journey (eg. lose weight, increase exercise, eat healthier), you need to stop smoking! Smoking is a leading killer and affects so many people’s health. All the top killing diseases are attributed to smoking, eg…heart disease, cancer and stroke.

Also, those of you that chew tobacco or vape, you are not any better off, so don’t think you get a pass. First, we do not know the long-term affects of vaping. Second, for those that chew tobacco products, ask anyone that has throat cancer and is on hospice, if they could do it all over again, would they? I bet the answer would be, “yes”.

Habits die hard, but they are not impossible to beat!

Alicia

Welcome to my blog

May 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Nutrition is the Key to Health Podcast

Welcome to my blog. My name is Alicia. After successfully losing 35 pounds on a whole food plant based diet, I decided to “flex” out of my diet for my birthday. My sister wanted to cook for me. It is just easier sometimes to flex for a night or weekend, instead of trying to levy a restrictive diet on someone who doesn’t understand. So, I flexed.

Then the unthinkable happened. A little thing called life, reared it ugly head and I lost my job. The stress sent me straight to my comfort foods of diary, processed foods, cheese and wine. The weight has returned and I feel horrible.

I know what caused it, but I could not seem to stop. Why, because it is a habit. Like when you have had a stressful day at work and you come home and have that one drink just to take the edge off. Pretty soon, that one drink has turned into two, and maybe three. It gets so entrenched in your habits, the drink is in hand shortly after you enter the door. Habits, they can be difficult to break.

Maybe you go through your favorite coffee establishment or fast food each morning. A combo meal at lunch, or happy hour with friends. It’s all the same. It could be a huge bowl of ice cream or six energy drinks/coffee in a day. The effects these have to our health is outrageous.

I decided to create this blog, because I do so much better when I hold myself accountable. Putting my story out there, for even the possibility of one person seeing it, gives me that added drive I need to succeed.

This blog is a work-in-progress, and hopefully will be taking shape in the near future with content that can help you reach any goals you might have.

Thank you for stopping by, and please come back for updated content.

Alicia

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