It’s all downhill after the age of 25!
I’m kidding of course, but for me turning 25 was when I started to have to pay attention to living a healthy lifestyle instead of being able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
*sigh
Oh to be young again!
Actually, I wouldn’t trade my years of wisdom for anything! Ok, maybe for the ability to eat twelve donuts in one sitting. I jest, I jest!
My real focus on healthy living all started about six years ago when I decided to stop drinking soda.
I used to drink a can of regular soda once a day, which by most people’s standards is actually pretty minimal. But I knew it wasn’t good for me so I began to substitute my soda for a large cup of black tea…..with three teaspoons of sugar! I know that sounds disgusting, but that is six and half teaspoons fewer than what you would get in a can of pop!
Eventually I was able to completely eliminate my soda intake and to be honest with you, I don’t even miss it.
I should also mention that once I got into the habit of drinking my sugary tea, I began to slowly reduce the sugar by a half teaspoon at a time. Now I am able to drink my tea with only a splash of soy milk!
Through the years I have come up with a few tricks on how to easily incorporate healthy choices into my daily routine. Here are five of my favorite tricks for living a healthy lifestyle!
Start The Day Off Right
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I would have to agree.There are some experts who believe you should eat within thirty minutes of waking up, but I have found it takes me about three hours before I get hungry in the morning. Though to be fair, I drink a large cup of black tea as soon as I wake up, which fills me up for a while.
Unfortunately breakfast is also the meal I most want to skip. I’m simply too busy to be bothered to stop whatever it is I am doing to make a healthy refreshment.
To get around this excuse, I batch cook my breakfasts on Sunday for the entire week.
I happen to like a hearty and savory breakfast, so my batch cooking usually consists of shakshuka (eggs cooked in tomato sauce) or roasted root vegetables with a poached egg.
For those of you who prefer something lighter, you can try refrigerator oatmeal, egg muffins, or fruit with yogurt.
It doesn’t really matter what you eat for breakfast so long as it is easily accessible and fills you up until lunch.
Tea Time!
Can you tell I adore tea?I seriously drink it all day long because not only do I crave the taste, I have found having a hot beverage fills me up in ways that cold drinks do not.
I never feel full after sipping on water or soda, but give me something warm and it fills me right up!
The reason I drink tea and not coffee is because I prefer the taste, but if you enjoy coffee, I think it can be an easy substitution. My only concern is the high amount of caffeine. Tea does have caffeine, but not nearly as much as coffee.
If you find yourself hungry an hour after eating a meal, why not try hot tea (or coffee) to get you over the hunger hump? You might find, as I do, it satiates you for longer than a boring cup of water and it tastes much better for almost zero calories!
Always Have A Back Up
When it comes to lunch, I often make myself a salad with some protein, like chicken or fish and two tablespoons of dressing. Yes, I measure it out each and every time!I like using lunch as a way to incorporate more vegetables into my diet and I find eating something light keeps me going through the doldrums of the afternoon. If I eat something heavy, like a hamburger, I want to take a nap instead of working.
With that said, there are times when I don’t feel like a salad, or I haven’t had time to stock up on produce. When that happens I utilize one of my favorite healthy tricks: eating a Healthy Choice Cafe Steamer that I always have on hand in my freezer!
I am a big believer in portion control and with Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers, I don’t have to guess at what size my meal should be or how many calories is in it. All the hard work has been done for me!
I simply use the microwave to steam my meal and I’m good to go! The steam keeps the vegetables crispy and the chicken juicy, YUM!
My two favorites are Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo and Grilled Chicken Pesto & Vegetables, because each one of these meals has my ideal combination of protein and vegetables and both of them are only around 200 calories!
By keeping Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers in my freezer I know I have no excuse to run to my local fast food restaurant instead of eating a healthy lunch!
Snack Attack
I mentioned that I can get a bit lethargic in the afternoon.Living a healthy lifestyle really helps keeps this to a minimum, and I have found eating a small but filling snack can also perk me right up!
When it comes to snacking I like to try and eat as close to the source as possible so I always have fresh fruit and vegetables available as well as some roasted nuts for fat and flavor. I also am a huge hummus fiend, though I have to be careful or I will eat an entire container in one sitting!
Another snack I enjoy is baked tortillas chips and salsa, though I make sure to portion out the chips in the same way I have to portion the hummus or *poof! the whole bag will be gone!
The snack is often followed by a large cup of tea and the combination keeps me full until dinner.
Plan Your Cheats
I am going to be completely honest with you for a moment.Living a healthy lifestyle can sometimes be boring.
To keep myself from going completely psycho, I plan on one cheat meal a week. There are some health gurus who cheat for a whole day, but I found this was way too hard on my body so I keep it to once a week.
Ok, sometimes twice a week!
By knowing that I am allowed to cheat once a week, it keeps me from straying off of my healthy path.
For example, let’s say I really want to gorge myself on cookies one evening after dinner. Instead of actually stuffing them into my mouth, crumbs flying like Cookie Monster, I tell myself I can have the cookies but I simply have to wait until my cheat meal.
For some reason when I give myself permission to cheat, it takes away the allure of eating something “forbidden” and then I am able to get over the craving.
Living a healthy lifestyle is something that I enjoy doing because when I feel good I am better able to take care of my family.
By incorporating these five real life tricks I have found it easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle and I swear I have more energy now than I did when I was 25!
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