Did you know if you put in the time, effort, stay focused and committed you could lose weight and look the way you want?  It may not be easy when you start, nothing usually is when you are doing something new, but if you stay committed thing will get easier for you.  Here are 10 tips to keep you on track with living a healthy lifestyle.

1. Learn how to motivate and encourage yourself. Motivation and encouragement from others is always great, but what happens when they can’t do that or you can’t reach someone.  You have to find a way to motivate and encourage yourself.  Find motivational saying, bible verses, pictures or anything that will keep you focused and when you feel like you don’t want to exercise or eat healthy you remember the motivation words or pictures to keep you going.
2. Stop saying you’re on a diet. When you make a commitment to start living healthy lifestyle, it is one that is permanent.  The word diet, to me, means you start at a certain weight, lose weight to reach a goal, but people then have not plan after that.  What usually happens is they go back to eating the way they did before the journey and now all the hard work, sweat and tears that was put into the “diet” has been wasted.  People slowly start to gain weight back and usually end up weighing more weight than when they started.  So, make this a lifestyle change not a temporary change.
3. Find a workout that works for you. Not everyone likes to lift weights, if you don’t, do what you like.  If you enjoy running, run, if you enjoy going to a class, then you should do that.
4. Have a great support team. This is so important.  There are going to be times on this journey where your thoughts are going to try to sabotage what you are doing.  You don’t need others in your corner doing the same thing; this can cause you not to stay on the journey.  Find people who are or who have been through what you are going through.
5. Have fun. Yes, you can have fun on a healthy lifestyle journey.
6. Take pictures of yourself. To see how I was doing on my weight loss journey and now as I am maintaining what I have, I take progress pictures and my measurements every 4 weeks.  The best part about this is that at the end of the year, I have a years’ worth of progress pictures that I am able to look at and see how I have improved.  You may not see the difference at first, but as you take them you will begin to see them.  Share then with people you know.  This is great because honest people will tell you the changes they see.  Take a front, back and side picture.  If you would like, I do this for you. 
7. Lead by example. People are going to be watching you, especially if you share with them that you are now going to start living a healthy lifestyle.  The more you stay focused and they see what you are doing, they will begin to ask you questions and change what they are doing also.
8. Get your family involved. Not everyone is going to want to eat what you eat, so start them out slow.  If you are used to fixing canned veggies, start cooking frozen then move to fresh.  Everyone loves some kind of fruit.  Start putting more fruit in the house for your family to eat as a snack. 
9. Research. If you have been diagnosed with a medical condition, research foods you should eat.  Buy some magazines for different exercises, read books on the medical condition you have.  Go online and research the condition.  On Facebook join positive, encouraging groups and ones they talk about healthy eating.  There are a number of them out there.  If you get in a group and don’t like what you see, leave the group and find another one.
10. Get some sleep (7-8 hours). This is important.  Sleep deprivation can cause weight gain on top of other issues.   Stop running from place to place, trying to do and be that person for everyone.  That isn’t your job.  You need to take the time out to have some time to yourself.  Take the time to relax, a time to relax your mind, body and spirit.  A lot of running around, getting no sleep and eating unhealthy foods has its consequences.  Your body can shut down on you, you can become ill, and this can lead to you having a heart attack (I know someone this has happened to) and other medical conditions.  You are one person, stop trying to save the world, that isn’t your job.  Let some things go.  If you are running every day all day long, learn to tell people NO and take at least one day for yourself.  Even God knew He needed to rest, which is why everything was created in 6 days, not 7.  None of us are God, so why try to do something not even he did.

Zhivi Williams has over 30 years of experience in fitness. She is the founder of Leading by Example, LLC, author of Who Needs a Gym? Using Social Media for Weight Loss, speaker and a health, wellness and fitness accountability coach.  She has remained on the cutting edge of the health, wellness and fitness industry by developing training programs and meal plans, writing magazine articles and books, developing strategic partnerships to help individuals increase their personal health and providing personal training to help people improve their lives.  For more information on her health, wellness and fitness services please go to http://www.leadingbyexample.us. 

You can also connect with Zhivi Williams through social media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zhivi.williams
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lbxfitness/
• Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/lbxfitness/ 
• YouTube: https://lbxfitness.com/youtube
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lbxfitness/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbxfitness
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhivi

Are you are a road warrior or have multiple lunch meetings?  Does this cause you to struggle with eating healthy?

Are you often on the road and have lunch or dinner meetings?  One of the things people in your position struggle with is eating healthy meals.  In today’s blog I will give you 5 tips on how to eat healthy as you go.   

Tip 1: Eat and drink before you go

One way to ensure you aren’t over eating during a business lunch or dinner is to eat healthy food and drink plenty of water prior to your the meeting.  What type of healthy foods can you eat? You can eat fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.  You want to eat just enough food so you’re slightly full.  Also, eating before a meal can possibly increase your satisfaction with your meal.  Eating the fruits, vegetables and nuts and drinking water before the meal can also cause you to fill fuller sooner. This will cause you to eat less food during the meeting. 

Tip 2: To go box

When your food is brought to the table, ask your server for a “to go” box.  Upon receiving the box, place half of your food in it. You may be wondering, why?  If we see it we will eat it.  Sometimes we will continue to eat even though we are full (because we see food on our plate).  This can also stem from how one may have been raised.  If you were raised in a household where you were told to eat all the food on your plate, nine times out of ten you are still eating all the food on your plates.  If you remove half the food, you will only eat what you see.  It can take your brain up to 30 minutes to realize you are full.  This is why people feel “stuffed” at times.  They were actually full before they felt full.  Eating half of your meal will cause you not to feel “stuffed” and allow your brain to realize when it is full. 

FYI, the food ordered in most restaurants today, in most cases, is more than one serving of food.

Tip 3: Choose healthy options, besides salad

If you are eating out often, salad can become boring or it can be just as unhealthy as other foods (depending on the type of salad).  If you love eating salads, great, but if not, you want to choose healthy options.  Here are a few examples of food you can eat:

• All vegetables
• Baked or grilled fish, chicken, beef or pork
• Lentils, beans, peas, quinoa, brown rice, (whole grains) sweet, red or white potatoes, etc.

Foods to avoid: 

• Soft drinks including diet, fruit juices, white bread, desserts, ice cream, candy and fried foods

Ask how the food is prepared.  Inform the server that your vegetables not to be cooked in butter.  You can ask for your meat not to be seasoned.  If you are able to have no seasoning on your meat, when your meal arrives, add salt and pepper to your meal.  If you want to make sure you are eating healthy, ask questions and have your food prepared the way you would like to eat it. 

Tip 4:  Road Warrior

If you travel often, especially by car, one of the best items you can invest in is a cooler.  Why a cooler?  You can pack healthy meals and snacks in a cooler.  When bringing your own food with you, you will more than likely, not eat out as much as you would normally.  Here is a list of things you can pack in a cooler, but do not limit it to just these: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, string cheese, seeds, nuts, trail mix (no candy), dehydrated fruit and vegetables, water, etc. 

If you enjoy cooking or have a significant other that will cook for you, here is a website with 32 healthy snacks that can be made and taken with you. https://draxe.com/healthy-snacks/.  Also see Tips 2 and 3.

Tip 5: Make sure you are moving

You want to make sure you are incorporating some form of exercise daily into your schedule.  When your day is filled with meeting after meeting and traveling from here to there (which can be an all day process) you want to make sure you take a few minutes out of your day to exercise.  This doesn’t mean you have to go to the gym.  If you work in a building with stairs and you are able to, take the stairs instead of the elevator.   Instead of sending someone an email, walk to their desk and talk to them.  If you don’t have stairs or you can’t take the stairs, take a walk around the building or to your car in the parking lot and back (if the building you work in has a parking lot close by). You can also walk down the block and back.  If you have a desk job, try to get up every hour from your desk to stretch and take a quick walk.  The walk may be to the bathroom, cafeteria (don’t buy any food), up and down the hallway two times, etc. 

If you are traveling by car, pull over from time to time, get out of the car and stretch.  If you pull over at a rest stop, walk to the washroom and back or walk down the sidewalk and back.  If you are in an airport or train station, walk the airport or train station for 3-5 minutes.  You will have to take your things with you, unless you are traveling with a co-worker, the items you have to carry or pull with you will give you a little resistance when walking. 

LETS MOVE ROAD WARRIORS. 

Zhivi Williams has over 30 years of experience in fitness. She is the founder of Leading by Example, LLC, author of Who Needs a Gym? Using Social Media for Weight Loss, speaker and a health, wellness and fitness accountability coach.  She has remained on the cutting edge of the health, wellness and fitness industry by developing training programs and meal plans, writing magazine articles and books, developing strategic partnerships to help individuals increase their personal health and providing personal training to help people improve their lives.  For more information on her health, wellness and fitness services please go to http://www.leadingbyexample.us. 

You can also connect with Zhivi Williams through social media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zhivi.williams
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lbxfitness/
• Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/lbxfitness/ 
• YouTube: https://lbxfitness.com/youtube
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lbxfitness/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbxfitness
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhivi

As we get older, we find it difficult to manage our weight loss because our metabolism has slowed down. The things that once worked are no longer working and have caused a great deal of frustration. If you are struggling to lose weight, here are 10 tips that can be implement today.

The best way to lose weight is to change our eating habits
We follow a number of meal plans that seem to work for a while and either we give up or they stop working. Changing our eating habits for most people is a
struggle because our eating habits are ingrained and simply being told what to eat is not enough to reverse years of the way we have been eating.

 We don’t have to be so hard on ourselves if we aren’t following a meal plan exactly as it is written. We are going to have some good days and some bad ones. Let’s aim to have more good days than bad ones.

It can take us up to three months of being consistent to change a habit. One thing we can do to help with changing our eating habits it to keep a daily eating
journal. One of the benefit of keeping a journal, besides tracking what we are eating, we are also able to track why we are eating certain foods.

You have to do more than just exercise
Working out is great. Experts say that working out 35 times a week benefits our overall health. If we are only exercising and not noticing your clothes becoming too big or we aren’t losing weight, we need to take a look at what we are eating.

Make small changes
It is best that we make changes slowly instead of trying to stop eating unhealthy food all at once. Remember, we have been eating like this for a lifetime. Slowly cutting back on sugar, caffeine and unhealthy foods, instead of stopping everything at once is best. Here are some examples of how to make small changes:

• Remove any tempting food from work and home.
• Focus on eat slower (it take 20 minutes for your brain to realize you are full), enjoy our food, and drink plenty of water
• Slowly cut back on drinking coffee. For example, I you drink 4 cups of coffee in a day, cut back to 3 cups in 2 weeks, then 2 cups in 3 weeks,
  etc.

Focus, focus, focus. When you decided to lose weight and start your healthy lifestyle journey

you have to focus on what you want to accomplish. One way to stay focused is to write realistic goals for the month. Your goals have to be realistic. Losing 20 pounds in a month isn’t a realistic goal. Can it be done, probably, but it isn’t realistic.

On average you should lose 4 pounds a month. Weight loss isn’t supposed to be quick, although some have done it fast. One of the consequences of losing weight to fast and not incorporating strength training is having extra skin.

Next month I want you to prepare to stay focused on your journey by writing down 3 realistic

goals you want to accomplish. Your three goals don’t have to deal with weight loss.

For example, one of my goals is to drink 96 ounces of water everyday. I also have business goals I want to reach each month.

Your goals should be SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, REALISTIC and TIME-BOUND.

Here is an example:

By the end of August (or the month you are starting) I want to loose 4 pounds. This goal is measurable, achievable (on average you should 1 pound a week), realistic and time-bound.

I want you to say your goals every day for 30 days out loud. Say your goals whenever you can. You are only saying three. Before you say them I want you to say Isaiah 55:11, then go into saying your goals.

Can you do it? Yes you can.