There are the breakfast skippers who assume skipping a meal might help them with weight loss. Some skip lunch because they are too busy at work or their day never seems to slow down enough to get a quick bite. However, rarely if ever have I heard anyone say they skip dinner. How can they, breakfast was bypassed and lunch is a luxury. Thank goodness for the all mighty big dinner at the end of the long day!
Please note the snarky sarcasm in the last sentence above. Notice the words in quotations, “big dinner” and “end of day”. You want your biggest meal to be at the end of the day? What? No, no, no! Think about what you do at the end of the day. NOTHING! How are you going to burn up that big meal you just ate? Plan on doing some serious cardio after dinner, knowing you’ll be going to bed in a couple of hours? It’s more likely you’ll be sorting through the daily mail, reading emails, do a little casual reading or watch a bit of mindless television.
At the end of the day, your body begins to wind down, so you can rest and get those long hours of needed sleep.
That’s how you recharge brain cells for another busy day. Balance your breakfast and lunch, make dinner the smallest meal and allow a little noshing in between with healthy choices like raw veggies, nuts or some fresh fruit for example. Of course you don’t need me to tell you how important drinking plenty of water is, especially as the hotter months are approaching.
You have to move it, move it, move it!! Yes, move that body. There are no special devices, magical potions or fairy dust that will help you to be feel well and be healthy.
Weight loss can be a simple thought but not always a simple process.
It requires that you create healthy food choices for yourself. Those new choices become a way of living, not just another fly by night diet that you do for a few months. Next comes the balancing of your life, home, work, perhaps school, married life, or even children to be attentive to. Oh, and let’s not forget sleeping. It is as important as the food choices you make and the how and when you exercise.
Oh my, that mean word, “exercise”. That is probably the hardest thing to do for yourself. It requires time, something you will have to carve out for yourself in each day or a few times a week. Don’t get discouraged by this. You may not have time 5 days a week. That’s ok, carve out 2 days a week. Give yourself 20 minutes for those 2 days. I promise you’ll be amazed at how fast 20 minutes will go by. Grab your earbuds and ipod or something of the like and find your personal groove with the music. Pick one thing to do for those 2 days and go from there.
Sleep. I cannot express enough how important a restful nights sleep can be. Notice I did not mention how many hours. Crazy schedules sometimes mean crazy sleep. The key word was and is restful. If you can’t get those 8 hours, that studies show are needed, then at least get whatever hours you can restfully, without disturbances.
The bottom line for a simple daily strategy for weight loss and healthy living is to, create healthy food choices (one that you can honestly live by), exercise 3 to 5 times a week, stay hydrated, and get plenty of restful sleep. This is being good to your body, giving it what it needs to satisfy mind, body and soul.