So the summer is fast approaching and you need to drop the holiday pounds. Maybe you have been planning to slim down now for a while without much success. Don’t despair. When in need of a jump start to the slim down process there are a few quick things you can implement that will give you just what you need: a head start.
The breakfast of champions
Stop snoozing that alarm and get yourself up just a little earlier in the morning for the most important meal of the day to help your body slim down. Let your body rev up with the necessary energy. It will pay you back for the time and effort with the full on metabolism and you will be less likely to go for high calorie grab-and-go breakfast or a binge-fest at lunch.
Timing is everything
It’s well known that most Europeans consider lunch their biggest meal of the day and some believe this contributes to the fact that obesity is not as severe a problem there. Now that you’ve treated yourself to a nice breakfast, indulge. It’s better for the larger portion of your daily caloric intake to take place earlier in the day, giving your body the chance to process and utilize the energy from it. But at dinnertime, make adjustments. And on that note,
Don’t listen to your mother
I know. Mom always said: “clean your plate”. Well, this is the one time we can say she was wrong. Don’t feel the need to finish it all. Throw out your notion of a portion size based on today’s restaurant standards. They have become anywhere from double to triple the size they used to be in the 1950s. Supersizing everything is really not helping anyone slim down, especially at dinner time. Be ready to pack a doggy bag for 1/2 your meal when dining out. Better yet, remove the temptation and ask for a box ahead of time to pack away 1/2 at the beginning of dinner.
Fill up on the good stuff first
Start your meals with a great salad. A Salad with plenty of greens, vegetables such as peppers, topped with slivers of crunchy nuts and a light dressing is definitely a winning combination. Forego the usual selection of salads offered by fast food joints as they as very deceiving in that they often times end up close to 1,000 calories. One of these salads alone can make up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the necessary daily caloric intake. You can also opt to start your meals with a soup. Here, the obviously better choice would be a broth-based soup rather than a creamy soup. Either the salad or the soup at the beginning of the meal can help you slim down also by making it easier for you to pack that doggy bag instead of finishing your plate.
Drink up
Drink water or caffeine and sugar free drinks liberally throughout the day. You will become less likely to confuse the “I’m thirsty” messages from the “I’m hungry” ones from your body curbing extra calories. Of course, here it is also important that you make a conscientious choice. Skip the sugar-laden drinks. These are empty calories that you can’t draw any benefits from. They are not going to help you reveal the slimmer you.
Brush your teeth
No, really. If you brush your teeth between your meals, it is less likely that you will snack on unnecessary things. You might skip the couple of potato chips you wanted to indulge on because they just don’t feel like worth another trip to brush your teeth. You can actually derive another benefit from this: heart health. Some studies suggest that people who have gum disease may be at a greater risk of developing atherosclerosis and heart disease. So in helping yourself slim down, why not help your heart out too?
The gym is not the answer
An opportunity for your body to slim down is around every corner. Don’t let yourself believe that you can only “exercise” at the gym. You may take the stairs instead of the elevator from your office to the conference room. You might choose to walk for 15 minutes out of your lunch break. Get up from your chair at least once every hour and shake it up. This will not only help you burn a few extra calories to slim down but also help improve posture.
You’re not perfect
Well, last time I checked, we as humans are pretty riddled with faults and frailties. But, luckily, we also possess a bit of grace. Know that you will sometimes fail. This is not a might or a maybe but you will. It’s really a given. But don’t let it keep you down. Be okay with yourself. Bounce right back up. Understand that by doing right thing most of the time, you are making a difference in your waistline. Just because you didn’t do so well with lunch, don’t give yourself permission to just go for it with abandon. Compartmentalize. A failure at lunch is just that, a failure at lunch. It does not need to bleed into dinner nor the next day.
Happy slim down!
So go forth and, uh, subtract from your excess poundage. Enjoy yourself. Visualize the new and improved you and tackle every task as efficiently as you can. Much like we think before we speak, think before you eat and take the stairs. Celebrate the smaller milestones along the way with that blouse you really wanted or the suit you thought you’d really cool in when you’re slimmer. Even better, for somewhat significant goals met, schedule a vacation to somewhere you always wanted to go. Keep the carrots coming literally as well as figuratively. It will help you slim down that much faster with conviction.
