Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

From This Day Forward – Healthy Living Day by Day

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Begin your quest for a healthier lifestyle with a journal to chart your goals and help drive your motivation. From this day forward, make a commitment to eat healthy, exercise regularly, get plenty of rest and love your body, mind and soul.

If losing weight is one of your healthy lifestyle goals, there is no better way to shed those pounds than a fitness journal. It has been proven many times that people who keep a fitness journal have far greater success at losing weight than those people who do not.

Recording everything you eat, drink and all the exercise that you do will give you a clear view of your efforts and let you see what is working and what is not. Sometimes you may find that you are consuming more calories than you previously thought. Keeping track of your food intake will help you decide if your current food choices are right for you.

Journaling allows you to focus on specific goals and provides an easy way to chart a path to success. From exercise routines to weightlifting and circuit intervals, you can keep an accurate account of where you began and see your progress along the way. Remember, it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.

Making the decision to live healthier from this day forward means no looking back at past mistakes. Begin your journal from Day 1 and keep looking forward toward your goal. You can use a notebook, purchase a designated journal or find one online. Just be sure to keep it with you throughout the day for best results.

I find journaling to be a great stress reliever. At the end of the day, after my last meal, I enjoy looking over the day’s events and adding my finishing touch. It is important to keep an accurate account of everything you eat and drink so be sure to log in after every meal.

There are many fitness journals available on the market today. Many journal templates are downloadable online, try to find one that has space for everything you want to record. You can even use a simple notebook and design your own with entries for food intake, exercise notes, as well as measurements and weight information. This will be useful as you chart your success to see where you started and how far you progress.

Design Your Own Diet Plan

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Design a diet plan that will work for you and your lifestyle. It takes a dedicated plan, but by designing your own diet, you can take control over your eating habits and find great success in your weight management goals.

Examine your current eating habits, including what you eat and your preparation methods. Keep in mind the amount to time you want to devote to preparing your meals as well as planning them. While eating healthy make take a bit more planning and prep time, you will also want to come up with quick eating solutions for those times when you are on the go or in a hurry.

If your goal is to lose weight, I have found that the best diet for losing weight is to eat every 21/2 to 3 hours. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices. Avoid going for long periods of time without eating, which causes your metabolism to all but shut down in an effort to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories.

The secret to success with this diet is to plan your meals each day. If you work away from home, pack a lunch with healthy snacks of fruit, vegetables, cheese or crackers. Make sure you are getting enough protein, too. When eating up to five times per day, be sure to keep the portions small. You can weigh each serving or estimate your portion by the size of the palm of your hand.

The key to portion control is to stop eating when you are full. Learn the language your body is speaking. Don’t take another bite past that satisfied feeling. Keep in mind that your next meal is only a few hours away.

The real secret to adjusting your portion size is knowing you will be eating again in less than 3 hours. Give it a try. Nutritious food, in sensible portions, eaten several times a day really will keep your hunger satisfied and help you to lose those excess pounds.