Small Step Sunday: Pick a Day

One of my co-workers who reads this blog is having some health issues that could be improved by weight loss. Unfortunately, this can be much harder than it sounds. When I talk to people on a weight loss journey I usually see the same pattern. Something in their life causes them to commit to losing weight. They go crazy and drastically change all their eating and health habits overnight. They keep this up for a few weeks and lose weight. The changes become unsustainable and they either stop losing or start gaining. They resign themselves to this pattern and wait a year or so to start again. Sounds familiar, right?

This week my wellness tip is to start small. Most diet plans have you pick one day each week to indulge. I'm recommending the opposite if you're just starting out. Pick one day a week to eat healthy. Don't eat out. Only eat foods that you recognize. Skip the artificially and regularly sugared beverages. Once you can sustain that for three weeks, add another day.

Another alternative is to pick one meal each week to eat healthy. Depending on your schedule, this might make more sense. Breakfast is that meal for me. I always drink a smoothie. I make them fresh on the weekends (and random days off work), and I spend an hour each weekend making a set to be frozen for the week.

This picture was from yesterday morning. I got home from the gym and whipped up this green delight. It has a frozen banana, 1/2 C frozen cherries, a handful of carrots, 1/2 a zucchini, 1 C frozen broccoli, a handful of romaine, a handful of kale, frozen collard greens, frozen spinach, Vega protein powder, spices & a cup of unsweetened almond milk. When I start  my day with that much veg and green I know that I made at least one great health decision.

In summary: don't make drastic changes. Pick one day or one meal each week to be super healthy. Once that feels normal, add more days/meals. You can do it!