Indulging Without Overindulging

Overindulging in your favorite foods seems like it’s unavoidable, particularly if you’ve been on a diet and missed their taste. If you’re like many of the people I work with who have tried diets and failed, you found that one slip often made your run toward the forbidden foods and eat it like there’s no tomorrow. Often consuming far more than you might otherwise and regaining not only the weight you lost, but a few extra pounds in the process.

The forbidden fruit often tastes better.

If your favorite food was forbidden fruit, that might not be bad. Almost all fruits and vegetables are part of healthy eating. Instead, most people love the forbidden family size of chips or baker’s dozen donuts, so one weekend of gorging can put on several pounds. There’s a better way than simply banning these foods from your diet. In fact, I often encourage people to intentionally make sure they include at least some of their favorite foods when they first start. When you know you can eat something indulgent, it just isn’t as attractive as it seemed when you couldn’t.

Common sense and good nutrition is the key to weight loss.

When you eat smarter and more frequently, you won’t get hungry and be tempted by those gas station nachos or candy bars. Plan ahead and make sure you always have a few healthy snacks ready. Learn to substitute one food for another, such as putting Greek yogurt on your baked potato instead of sour cream. While it only saves a few calories, making lots of small changes add up to a lifetime without excess fat.

Add in exercise to make it all work fast.

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. Exercise helps you burn more calories and a healthy diet helps you lower your intake. Exercise also does something more. It develops muscle tissue. Muscle tissue helps you to burn more calories than fat tissue will, so you’ll be raising your metabolism and burning more calories 24/7, even when resting. You’ll also feel fantastic and have more energy to increase your overall activity level and burn even more calories.

As a personal trainer, I always identify client’s level of fitness, learn their goals and find out if they have special needs before I design a personalized program. You’ll be working hard, but never beyond your ability.

The more you workout, the more benefits you’ll see. Some may be physical, such as your improved appearance or ability to control your high blood pressure or diabetes easier. Some will be mental, like your improved self-esteem and self-image.

You’ll look and feel years younger after just a few weeks. Exercise improves your circulation and can help relieve many aches and pains. Often people with back problems find they are pain free after a short time.

You’ll sleep better at night when you exercise regularly. A good night’s sleep is one of the most undervalued health tools available.