If there is anything I have learned through my years as a personal trainer is that dieting right is the number one obstacle people face while trying to get fit. But filling your plate with healthy food doesn’t have to be a miserable experience.
Here are the best strategies I have found to keep people in shape.
Give Yourself Some Flexibility — If you box yourself into too strict of a diet, you are setting yourself up for failure. It’s true that for most people if you want to lose weight, it is going to have to involve cutting back a bit on how much you eat, but if you allow yourself nothing but rice cakes and unbuttered wheat toast, you turn yourself into a ticking time bomb that will go off onto the nearest piece of cheesecake. Expect that you are going to indulge a little every now and then, and accept it.
Make Your Foods Easy to Make—I’ve discovered that most people eat junk food because it’s just so darn convenient. Microwaveable pizzas take three minutes to make, and there is a fast food joint on every corner who can give you a greasy pre heated burger in a matter of seconds. The only real way to counteract this is by making your healthy food just as convenient as unhealthy food.
For example, you might keep some whole grain tortillas in your cupboard so that you can make a quick and easy burrito with lean chicken or beans. You might also keep some frozen vegetables in your freezer, because they can be heated fairly quickly and be ready to eat. You may also consider buying lots of canned soups, because they take little time to prepare and are often very low in calories.