Discovering Your Potential

Saying you want to start living a healthy lifestyle is one thing; committing to one is a whole separate ball game.  Diets are short lived, the motivation to exercise is lacking, and you – yet again – reach that point of despair.  “That point of despair?” you ask.  We have all been there.  It’s adopting the mentality that nothing works.  Thinking that no matter how hard you try, the healthy body you’ve always wanted is just simply not achievable.  You continually make excuses for not reaching your goals, and dismiss what you don’t want to hear.  Well my fellow Collegiates, it’s time to finally face the music.  If you truly want to change your body, then you’re going to have to get real serious about changing your lifestyle once and for all, and it starts with the food you choose to put into your body.  It’s time to stop feeling sorry and take control of those unhealthy habits.  What is it that you crave more: the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, or the lean and healthy body?  If you crave the latter, then read on my darlings.  This collegiate finally figured it out, and she is willing to bet that you will too with a little tough love and the following tidbits of advice for changing the way you eat.

 
1.  First and foremost: stop complaining. 
Do you think to yourself, “I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing but I still cannot lose weight?”  Well stop kidding yourself, because – let’s be honest – if you were doing everything you were supposed to be doing on your health plan, then you would be losing weight.  You can’t expect to achieve your health plan goals in spite of the fact that you cannot divorce yourself from Ben & Jerry’s on the weekend.  
 
2.  So long sugar.
You’re sweet enough without it!  You will thank me later for this one, even in spite of the fact that the first week devoted to cutting out sugar is not the most pleasurable.  Once you get over the one-week hump, you begin to experience foods differently.  Fruit will taste sweeter than ever. 
 
3.  You don’t need bread to live. 
Once a self-proclaimed “carb-ivore,” trust me when I say I know how tough it is to cut carbs.  Cut your daily carb intake by half, and do not eat crackers or chips – eat veggies instead.  Carbs actually make you feel hungrier and just cause you to crave more.  If you limit your carb intake, soon enough you wont even crave them anymore. 
 
4.  Have your social without the ice cream. 
Seriously, no seriously… ice cream is lethal.  It’s sugar and fat combined, and you are just better off without it.  Have you ever left a bowl of ice cream in the sink overnight?  Try it and see what it looks like in the morning, and maybe you will think twice about that Ben & Jerry’s! 
 
5.  Eat your calories… don’t drink them.
Juice and smoothies are scammers.  They look healthy at first glance, but are loaded with calories and added sugar.  Simply avoid them and always drink water instead.   

 
The next time you feel out of control standing next to a pan of freshly baked cookies, just remember you are strong enough to say no.  The healthy body is the gift that keeps on giving.  The healthy body rewards you with a happier life in accompaniment with the kind of energy you previously sought in a can of Red Bull.  Cookies, on the other hand, are just a dirty trick.  You think the temptation is too much to bear, so you eat one, and then another, and another.  Soon after you are left with a cookie-less pan and a stomach full of regret.  They fooled you into thinking they would make you happy, and now you can’t even remember how they tasted!
 
The secret is patience, commitment, and baby steps.  Regaining control of your eating is extremely daunting, and requires an immense amount of will power.  But it is absolutely achievable and oh so worth it.