To Be Successful You Must Adopt the Habits of Success

1. Stick to the same menu.  Successful people stick to the same menu.  They choose 3-4 different menu items that they like and eat them everyday.  It allows careful eaters to predict their daily calorie allotment without much effort.  Especially when you are beginning your fitness journey you are inundated with so much information about what to eat and when.  If you can figure out a few meals and snacks and their calories then you at least know you have a meal plan that is secure.  Then as you learn more about calories in foods you can add them in and switch things up!
2. Eat Breakfast.  Eating breakfast reduces hunger and decreases the likelihood of overeating and making poor choices throughout the rest of the day.  Eating breakfast also jump starts your metabolism and fuels your body for the days work.  If you are the type of person who works out first thing in the morning then wait until after your workout to eat.  If you must eat as soon as you wake up then have a banana and get busy!   But after your workout make sure to fuel your body accordingly!  Complex carb and protein, so egg whites and 1/2 cup oatmeal!  If you are super busy and don't have time for breakfast than whip up your shakeology and take it on the go!  It's equivalent to eating 6 salads in one meal and will fuel your body with the proper nutrition to get you going each and everyday!  Oh and it helps you lose weight too!  BONUS!!!
3. Drink your water people!!  Not SODA, JUICE, ICED TEA OR COFFEE.  Just plain good ole water!  You should aim for 6-8 12 oz glasses per day.  To give it some punch you can add some sliced strawberries, lemon, cucumbers or oranges!  No need to ever get bored.  But remember that anything other than water has added empty calories with no nutritional value!  Also water increases your metabolism and stave's off hunger throughout the day!
4. Eat Small and Often.  You should aim for 5-6 small meals per day combining your complex carbs from fresh fruits and veggies and protein from lean white meats and nuts.  When you go longer than 3 hours between meals your level of the stress hormone cortisol rises which results in the body being signaled to store fat in the abdominal region!  Plus when you go to long between meals your blood sugar crashes and you get tired and shaky.  When you fuel your body throughout the day with healthy portion sizes and the right food you have lasting energy and lose weight more quickly!
5. Eat whole foods first.  Successful fitness experts eat unprocessed low density foods such as brown rice, apples, steel cut oats, broccoli and salad for example.  These foods are high in fiber and take up more space in your body and take longer to digest than low density foods such as butter, oils, candy and ice cream. 
6. Eat your favorite foods carefully.  So despite knowing everything about their food successful people rarely eliminate foods.  If it's something they crave then they enjoy a little taste.  They know that simply eliminating a food will set them up to fail when the temptation is too great.  But successful people also know that you can't have  a taste everyday twice a day.  They know that it has to be in moderation and on the rare occasion in order to meet their goal!
7. Close the kitchen after dinner.  Successfully fit people eat their final meal a reasonable hour, as opposed to eating dinner followed by a lavish 20:00 pm snack and another dessert!  Most often they go to sleep not hungry but on an empty stomach.  This allows them to wake up feeling thin, rested and hungry for breakfast.  Going to sleep without food awaiting digestion in your stomach keeps your body's metabolism in a fat-burning state!  Instead of digesting which causes restless sleep, your body can focus on other things, like repairing cells!!!
8. Picky at restaurants.  Find healthy alternatives to selections on any menu.  Don't be afraid to speak up and ask for food to be prepared a healthy way.  Instead of fried meat, poultry or fish they order their protein broiled, steamed, stir-fried, or poached.  They ask for their dish to be prepared with no butter or sauces and always put the dressing on the side.  You would be surprised at how often they can make your protein in chicken broth instead of butter and oil!
9. Don't keep red zone foods in the house.  There are foods that everyone absolutely cannot stay away from and for me it is chips!  I seriously do not even buy them anymore because I cannot stay away!  That way when the temptation is the greatest I have nothing to cheat with!  I grab my green tea which stave's off hunger and my Greek yogurt and I'm happy as can be!  Oh and I feel good about myself because I didn't just self sabotage my diet!

Labels: Success, Success in your diet and fitness