5 simple rules to help you stick to your diet

We all start diets with great intentions. Follow your diet with complete accuracy, vows to never miss the gym , and voila in 3 months people will be asking us what we did- how did we transform our bodies. I can't tell you enough how many times I have played this scenario in my head. I know I can't be the only one. But it seems like some how, my diet gets derailed, my workouts don't always happen, and I don't get the changes in my body I had hoped for. After going through this cycle for a long time. I have vowed to this time make it work. Here are 5 rules that I have implemented that I have found help me tremendously stick to my diet plan. Let me know if you have any more. We can share tips and support each other to achieve our goals.

Tip 1: Plan ahead. Know what you will be eating for the day and make your meals ahead of time. This can be achieved by making your meals earlier in the week and just putting them into containers for the day. Having a plan always makes it easy. This has helped keeping me from cheating on my diet or scrounging the cupboards trying to put together a half decent meal.

Tip 2: Drink lots of water. Often I have found that I am just thirsty and not in fact hungry. Mistaking thirst for hunger is an all to often mistake. I now travel around with my water bottle.

Tip 3: Have a list of healthy alternatives on hand. Whether it is you have to eat out or you just don't have time to leave the office to get something to eat. Have a plan. If its eating out, have a list of safe things you can eat at several restaurants- don't have a list? That's okay. Restaurants are completely okay with making you what you want. You are paying them good money to do so. Ask for a grilled chicken or fish, with a side of veggies/salad/ or broth soup, if its early in the day, have some complex carbs. If you just can't eat because you are stuck at work, have some healthy snacks you can eat-fruit, nuts, protein bar, etc.

Tip 4: If healthy eating is new to you, try to stick to the same foods over and over until you get the hang of it. Once you have figured out the tenets of healthy eating, play around with you meals. Make some delicious foods so you don't miss the unhealthy counterparts you have ditched from your diet.

Tip 5: Make sure all your meals have some protein. This is actually something that has greatly helped me stick to my diet. I don't mean pound a protein shake in between every meal- you can however if you'd like and it fits into your daily calorie allotment, but eat some protein with all your meals. It will help you feel fuller longer. It helps level out your blood sugar. By keeping it level you will avoid blood sugar dips that make you feel ravenous. 

Let me know if you have any more tips to add to the list. Good luck on your body goals. Just for reference, I am 5'2 and 123 pounds right now. I want to increase my muscle mass and drop body fat. I would like to be at about 16-18% body fat- I am about 23% right now. It's been such a struggle to decrease my body fat-despite my best efforts. I know I can't be the only one. Join me on my goals. Set some goals for yourself. Together we can achieve them. 

What goals are you working towards? Drop me a line. I would love to hear from you.

Stay fit and pretty.

-C