Healthy Habits for the FAST Lane

“Ready. Get Set Go Go Go!
In our hectic, “No time to say, Hello. Good bye. I’m late I’m late. I’m late” world,
if it is four o’clock and you are beginning to think about dinner that evening, you are already too late. Usually poor planning skills rather than lack of motivation is what will sabotage efforts to keep up healthy habits in our hectic work a day world. But, how can we change the results?

Usually the best advice includes thinking about what is interfering with our plans to eat in a more healthful manner. Back up and start planning before the week begins. Does that sound impossible? What? Just no time? Then plan one day at a time for your tomorrow, the evening beforehand. Take time to reflect in the quiet of the evening. Make an appointment with an iced cold glass of sparkling water, in a quiet and serene area of your home, maybe your patio. Take note of yours and your family’s tomorrow. Then think about what meals will work in terms of time. Plan time for food preparation as well. If your son has soccer practice, and your daughter has gymnastics it will have to work into that time schedule. If you, like more and more families have two breadwinners, then household duties need to also be split. It’s a wonderful change to have grilled prawns, with grilled zucchini and a crisp salad on the patio. Designate that the children are responsible for making the salad. While one of the parents grills the other will prepare the prawns and slice the vegetables.
It’s important to focus on what you want as well as what you intend to accomplish with your improving your eating habits. Then, plan what steps you will take to get there. You have the power to change your life pattern. You can change your eating habits and your body image because you will first identify what is interfering with success. Most situations will recur. Be proactive and identify the interference, then decide how to plan for the next time.

No test can be more challenging than the workplace. This, despite our best efforts is where we are apt to spend most of our time. These are the people who become our significant others, our friends, and unwittingly, our therapists. These people had better be good because for many of us, these are the people to whom we confide our most private dreams, thoughts and fears. Additionally, in the workplace, more often than not, exte
al cues may tell us that we “need to eat”. These work habits will frequently reinforce exte
al cues to eat. At work, breaks from work are frequently associated with food. The ten o’clock break may have coffee and donuts, or bagels. The clock on the wall reaches twelve and as boredom for the current task takes over, you glance up at the clock and your stomach growls. You may think of the vending machine, or the cafeteria, or the shop down the street, and decide that it is time to take a break with friends and the “comfort from the work routine”. Or perhaps the person next to you opens his or her lunch box and the aroma of a barbequed chicken sandwich, or the treat from McDonald’s waifs through the air. You have been tempted by exte
al cues.

Your next action is often automatic. When in an emotionally charged state, you may salivate, have dry mouth, and feel weakness, irritability, or nervousness. This super sensitivity to signals visually is directed by environmental cues. Boredom, frustration, and low self-esteem can increase the urge to eat or inappropriate eating. Emotions then, tip off the eating response rather than physical hunger. If then you change food availability you can build cues to control and monitor you behaviors. The good news is that habits are changeable because they are essentially learned behaviors. Pavlov’s dog salivated when the bell rang. That was a learned response. You are most probably conditioned by your environment, by the clock, by the billboard, by the commercial, and these conditioned responses can be unlea
ed. .
So, begin each day with breakfast. Include a good source of protein. This will help to stop the urge to indulge in a midmo
ing coffee break including the donuts, and bagels. Try a smoothie made with beets, apple, and cinnamon or be less adventurous and have some low fat cottage cheese, egg whites, plain yogurt, or a glass of nonfat milk. If you add a cereal, old fashioned oatmeal is a great choice. Or begin with fresh fruit and Greek yogurt. Choose a spread on toast like nonfat cream cheese, since it is higher in protein or peanut butter and top with wheat germ. When you decide on a bagel instead of the toast, know that you are choosing although low fat, a high calorie food. One bagel can easily add an additional 350 Calories to your once skinny breakfast. That’s not even counting the cream cheese!
Healthy eating habits mean understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition. Additionally, continued good health hinges upon understanding food composition and the body’s use of food that are ingested. You are succeeding and you know you are worth it.
Visit my blog at www.notimefordiets.com and just do it just for the health of it.