Don't Listen To That Negative Voice In Your Head

The question I get the most from family and friends is, "how do you stay so fit after having had two kids?". My answer is a simple one, "I work hard to look the way I do".

I don't diet, I don't take weight-loss pills, and I don't starve myself. My methods are the tried and true ones that continue to be the most effective of any diet I've ever heard or read about, "I eat right and exercise". Period. And though I always consider myself to be a work-in-progress, I know I am a lot further along than I was several years ago, and I'm proud of that fact.

So the advice I give to those who tell me they don't know that they can stick with a program long enough to see the results they'd like is they are their only roadblock.

It's not about being skinny, it's about being healthy, and being healthy is about changing the things about your life that contribute to your feeling bad about yourself—food and all.

The first step is to overcome that voice in your head that keeps saying "you can't" and replace it with the one that you've buried deep in your subconscious. The one that knows "you can".

Go find that voice and let it out. It's time for it to be heard. 

Source: google.com via Kimberley on Pinterest

Make A Resolution to Live Healthy, Not Lose Weight

Diets aren't my thing. I mean, living healthy can seem a bit like dieting but, when you're talking about making a lifestyle change, it's not exactly the same as someone who has signed up for Jenny or Weight Watchers for as long as they can pay the fees and afford the foods. No, a lifestyle change is simply a decision to "eat this, not that" and that's as simple as I can put it for those who like simplicity.

That said, every day can be a challenge for even the healthy minded because there is always new information about food and some new definition of "healthy". It's a challenge that I have trouble facing up to, from time to time, I must admit. But, eating healthy and preserving this God-given body of mine is something I am so passionate about that I am willing to make the effort to do what I can to remain informed and not succumb to whatever information is force fed to me through less reliable sources with an agenda.

Even so, I am not perfect.

I enjoy a slice of cake every now and then, and it can be difficult to turn down a piece of chocolate when the craving hits me but, for the most part, the mantra for me remains to "eat this, not that" and keep up my regular exercise/stretching regimen and that is something that has always worked for me. 

Many people, I feel—and if this sounds arrogant or short-sighted, please trust that is not my intention—complicate the process too much by subscribing to one dietary plan for some random extent of time. The only plan that has ever worked, consistently, is to eat right and exercise. It's not now, nor has it ever been, rocket science.  That's the tried and true way to remain healthy and lose weight—if losing weight is your goal.

You have to commit to this not for 30, 60, or 90-days, but for a lifetime, anything less is futile.

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Being Healthy Isn't The Same Thing As Being "On A Diet"

I cannot tell you the number of times I have made this statement since I embarked on my quest to become healthier.

People often misinterpret my decision to not partake in the potato salad at a barbeque, or eat a slice of pizza at a party, as a sign that I am "on a diet". So, when I respond that I've simply made a decision to not allow those foods into my body on a regular basis—if it can be helped—they respond in a perplexed manner.

Some say, "good for you, but there's no way I could do it", or the more flattering version, "if I had you're figure, I wouldn't worry about a slice or two of this or that". Well, as nice as the latter statement is to hear,  it belies a common misconception about living a healthy lifestyle—that it's a temporary fad, and not a life decision.

It's easy to latch on to a fad diet, a miracle pill, or a detoxification program and say that you're making a move towards losing weight, but being healthy is not about weight-loss, it's about choosing to make your body into something more sustainable over the long haul.

Personally, I stay away from red meat, eschew caffeine and coffee, and eat a diet that is as plant-based as possible (meaning lots of fruits and veggies, and very little—if any—processed foods). That's how I've chosen to live my life at this point—that works for me.

Is that a diet? No...it's my lifestyle choice.

The one thing I always hope to do when someone honors me with a question about what I do to stay fit is try to educate them with the things I've learned along the way first. And while I am by no means an expert, I try to give the most accurate information I can.  In the end, however, it's about what works for you.

My family isn't forced to eat what I eat—mostly because they still don't dig soy as a substitute for chicken or almond milk as a better option than a cow's—but I do make sure they get the best of my world and theirs by offering them whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and the healthiest snack options available—with a few treats here and there.

In time, as they are introduced to more and more of the foods that pepper and sustain me, they come to enjoy them as much as I do—albeit accompanied by what they call "real food" as well.

It all goes back to making choices.

Diets are temporary. They're great for looking good at your class reunion or fitting into a great outfit for a special occasion but, in the end, to live healthy you have to be committed to something bigger. And once you are, your life will change—hopefully for the better.

Related articles

• How to Eat Healthy and Lose Weight (womenandweight.com)
• 500 Calories a Day? The 3 Worst Fad Diets of 2011 (fitsugar.com)
• The Common Sense Diet (millenniallemons.com)
• The Weight Loss Myth of Fad Diets (webmd.com)