Habits of a Healthy Lifestyle

Have you ever walked into the grocery store, grabbed your cart, and found yourself completely overwhelmed with what to actually put in it?

 Have you ever went to the store to come home and discover you essentially only bought drinks – wine, beer, soda water, juice, coffee, tea, regular water, and a few treats?

Have you ever walked into the grocery store hungry and ended up with tortilla chips, a protein bar, and other foods easily ripped open to be devoured on the drive home?

Ok, so every one of the above situations I have totally repeated many times in my life. I am happy to say I have moved past the first two (mostly due to proper planning and practice), but the last one I am still working on :). LOL

Most of us are just winging it with how we eat. And there is nothing wrong with that. But if you want to get serious about leading a healthy lifestyle, preventing disease and chronic illness in the future, or dropping a few pounds of fat now, then you got to change that. You’ve got to get a plan so you can be prepared. And then practice. Practice. Practice. Fail. Keep practicing. It’s the only formula for success.

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out. ~Robert Collier

The good news is though, just like anything else the more you practice something the easier and more automatic it becomes. In the beginning it can be difficult, (think about the first time you went to hot yoga or something difficult:)), and how over time it became easier. This is true for getting better at eating for a healthy lifestyle.

5 Habits To Practice For A Healthy Lifestyle

1) Clean out your kitchen. When was the last time you went through your pantry or the fridge? I go through mine all the time. It’s a great de-stress tactic I use (ha!), it gives me a clear picture of what I have in the fridge and should be eaten soon or thrown out.

What’s in your pantry? Do you have food in there that has been sitting for a while. Get in there and start trashing the stuff you don’t want to be eating. If it’s in the cabinet it is going to tempt you, especially chips, crackers, cookies, granola bars, and pre-packaged foods. These foods don’t provide much nutrition, just empty calories. If you want to to enjoy these type of foods once in a while, by all means do. But purchase a small bag, eat what you want, and then throw it away. Do you really need all that quinoa, pasta, rice, risotto, etc? Chuck it.

Also, check out your condiment selection. There are a ton of empty calories in ketchup, salad dressing, etc. Mustard and mayonnaise are ok, but try to rely more on fresh herbs and seasonings to bring out the flavors in your food then processed condiments that aren’t really real food anyway.

2) Schedule Food Planning For The Week – Before you go grocery shopping for the week, take 30 minutes to plan your meal plans. If you want to make your life easier during the week, a little planning now goes a long way then. Don’t rely on willpower and motivation towards the end of week when you’re tired and been really busy. They will always fail you at some point. We are human:).

So set yourself up for success by getting a working understanding of your mental calendar for the week. Are you going out to dinner or lunch with friends? Traveling? Work dinners? Consider all these things as you lay out what you will be eating. Being at the whim of your hunger without a plan makes eating healthy much harder. Give yourself a break with a plan:).

 

Meal Planning tip: Framework for putting together meals

Option #1: 1/3 Protein, 1/3 Veggies, 1/3 Starch

OR

Option #2: Anytime Meal (Pictured)

 

3) Create A Grocery List – Once you have an idea of what you are going to eat, put together a grocery list. Stick to what you need for each meal. Your list should be heavier on the veggies and protein with some fruit and starch. Try to keep most of the list full of fresh food.

 Our grocery list: olive oil, grass fed butter, organic chicken, fresh wild caught fish, grass fed beef (occasionally), eggs, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, brussel sprouts, celery, carrots, fresh herbs, avocado, arugula, kale, spinach, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, sweet potatoes, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, dark chocolate & red wine (non-negotiables :)), sometimes tortilla chips, greek yogurt, occasionally Haagen Dazs – Belgium Chocolate.

4) Grab Already Prepared Foods – You can make your life a whole lot easier by grabbing foods that have already been prepped partly for you. When it takes extra time to prep foods especially vegetables when you’re hungry or in a time crunch you’ll avoid it. So grab pre-washed and pre-cut veggies and greens so when you get home you can dump them all in a bowl and there you go. Half your dinner is already prepped, then you can add your protein and fat. Also get prepared proteins, like rotisserie chicken, deli meats, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

5) Prep Your Foods For The Week Immediately Upon Return From The Store- As soon as you get home, as you’re putting your groceries away do some prep work for the week. Boil some eggs. If you’re into starches during the week, cook up your sweet potatoes or brown rice and then put them in the fridge to eat later. Bake some chicken that you can put on salads during the week.

So again, when it comes to creating a healthy lifestyle it takes small steps repeated each and every day. If these habits seems a bit overwhelming start with practicing just one. Get good at it. Then add another.

I created the Better Bikini Bum Program for people that wanted to start at step 1, take all the guess work out, and just have a plan to execute. If this is where you’re at, this program will be a great starting point. It is equipped with all the resources you need to get going on your healthy lifestyle.

I’ve included sample meal plans for reference (pictured below), a systematic guide to weekly meal planning for fat loss (pictured below), and much more. There is also a macronutrient guide and a meal generator – all very helpful tools for the kitchen. If you practice the habits I recommend in the program you’ll be well on your way to making your healthy eating an easier and more automatic part of your life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Better Bikini Bum Program is only available for 2 more days – until end of day Thursday July 16th. If you want an entire program that will jumpstart your healthy habits and fat loss don’t miss this. All the info is here.

If you have any questions let me know.

Xo,

Julie