How to Stay on Track with that Healthy Eating Resolution!

Olive Sweater, White Distressed Denim, Grey Violet Ray Bag, Grey Steve Madden Pumps

Happy Saturday Lovelies! So, I meant to have this up for you all yesterday, but I was having so much fun editing some photos for a soon-coming Valentine's Day post, that I didn't quite get it finished! So we're now exactly four weeks into the new year, and some are excelling with their resolutions, some are still working at them, and some have fallen quite off track...

Now, you might remember that I don't really like to call them 'resolutions', but rather goals. Goals are things you work towards and often have more grace with yourself when you fall short, whereas resolutions sound so much more daunting, big changes that you have to make all at once, and when you slip up, throwing in the towel can often seem so much more appealing. Anywho, I set out with some big goals for the year, and getting back on track with eating healthy and working out were one big ones, as I'm sure they were for many! I feel fairly happy with how I've been doing the last few weeks, so I wanted to share with you some tricks I've found to make it easier!

1) Meal Prep

Meal prepping more often was actually another goal I had, which I'm so happy I've followed through on! I can't tell you how much easier it makes life, let alone eating healthy! Those of you who already do this can back me up, I'm sure. I tend to be an on-the-go and last minute type of person (working on this ;) ), so having healthy food prepared, portioned, and sitting in the fridge makes it so easy to take something healthy to work and especially helps when you come home from work or the gym starving!

2) Don't Buy Junk

This might be a bit obvious, but don't buy anything that you don't want to be eating! It may be hard to pass by those chocolate bars, but if they're something you're going to regret eating, then keep on moving. Also, clearing out your pantry/freezer/fridge of anything you don't want to be eating helps tremendously! If you don't have it, you can't eat it!

3) Buy Healthy Alternatives

This has been such a helpful trick! While my sweet tooth has diminished drastically over the past year or two (it's scary to think of how much sugar I could, and often did, consume...), it's still there and likely won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I'm also much more of a snacker than a meal person. I'd rather snack here and there all day than have two or three big meals. So, I stocked up on some healthy alternatives that will satisfy my sweet or snack cravings! When I'm craving something sweet, I'll often reach for a glass of a Bolthouse or Naked fruit smoothie. They're plenty sweet and totally satisfy my craving, but have no added sugar and are packed with vitamins and minerals! When I'm feeling snacky, I'll have some almonds or an english muffin with avocado. Much better alternatives to chocolate or chips!

4) Keep Healthy Foods Front and Center

Whoever came up with the saying 'out of sight out of mind' was a very wise person. While I did clear out a good bit of the candy and junk foods we accumulated over the holidays (don't worry, it found very happy homes in my piano student's tummys!) I was given some lovely chocolate and treats for Christmas that I definitely don't want to give or throw away, but also don't want to be indulging in on the regular. I've stored it away in a box in our pantry so it's something I don't see when I open the door. Instead, I keep my healthy foods front and center! It works great, because unless I'm really wanting a particular treat, I completely forget about them and eat something much healthier!

5) Be Gracious to Yourself

You are a human, and that means you're going to mess up. Beating yourself up when you eat too much or have a something really unhealthy is not going to undo it, it's just going to make it that much harder for you to find motivation to get back to eating healthy. It will probably even make you more likely to keep reaching for unhealthy 'comfort foods'. Chalk it up to a 'yolo' moment and get back on track! Which leads me to...

6) Live a Little!

As much as I have goals and am all about healthy eating and living, I'm also a big proponent of balance. Sure, achieving goals does take discipline and learning to say no to things that will deter you from achieving them, but when it comes to healthy living, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Plus, while heath is important, so is living fully. I definitely don't want to look back and regret having missed out on things! I love going out with R or friends every week or two and enjoying fried foods or dessert. As long as you're eating healthy most of the time, indulging every week or two is not going to throw you off track. In fact, it will probably help you stay on track, because you won't feel like you're depriving yourself!

I hope you found these helpful, and I'd love to hear if you're going to try any of them, already do them, or have and great tricks of your own!

Laurelle