1. Build your house with bricks, not straw!
No matter if you’re new to dieting, "eating clean", or you're a seasoned vet at this thing! One thing remains the same - it’s important that you build a rock-solid foundation.
Without a solid foundation, it’s much easier for you to crumble and fall. What does it take to build a brick 'Primal' house? Clean out all the processed, grainy, sugary, crap from your kitchen! Stock it with high fat, primal-friendly foods that you LIKE (that bit is important). Yes - even the whole grain crackers you love so much. Get rid of all that crap! Your health will benefit as a result.
Make sure you have a nice array of quick and easy fixes on hand—frozen broccoli or frozen riced cauliflower and some chopped chicken. throw that in a skillet and topped with some olive oil and pesto, simple and delicious, and 10 minutes of work. Freeze up some blueberries for an antioxidant-rich boost and top with a little heavy cream, or coconut cream - a sure fire way to keep you satiated and on track when the sugar demons come knocking at your door! Because the truth is, when you have those treats still sitting in the pantry, you will find an excuse to eat them. "Just a little bit never hurt", "everything in moderation, Right!?" - WRONG. These foods aren't designed to have you eat them in moderation. Companies pay food-scientists a lot of money to make sure of that. If you keep them around, and you keep that moderation mentality, you will never break your junk-food dependency.
Don't be like this little guy, below. A strong foundation, is key to success. You remember what happened when the Wolf came to the brick house right? You can do it - make your foundation from bricks. Purge that pantry and reap the rewards.
2. Set Aside Some Prep Time For Your Week
As the old adage goes; "Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail."
Find time in your week, Sunday night, for example, where you can chef it up for an hour. This simple act of setting aside just an hour or so a week to dedicate to cooking and prepping, can be the difference between good food choices, and great food choices. You have to ask yourself how important this endeavor is to you. It SHOULD be at the top of your priorities list! Sadly, it most often is not. That is why we must find time to be mindful of prep work and planning, so that we vastly increase our chances of success, when life and stress takes over.
Use this time to plan recipes (and leftovers), grocery shop, chop and prep, season and marinate etc. That way, when you come home from work exhausted and drained after a long day, throwing the ingredients together takes no time at all, and will result in you making a delicious and nutritious meal, instead of saying "I'm too tired to cook, let's order in!", cause we all know how that one goes.
Pro Tip - Make double, or even TRIPLE of your favorite meals and enjoy leftovers for daysssss!
3. Prioritize YOURSELF!
As life gets hectic and work gets busy, we tend to forget about ourselves and start worrying bout taking care of everybody else. We are all guilty of this and we will do this, even if it means sacrificing our own health, personal time and happiness. Truth is, you NEED that time to yourself. Without it, you won't be as happy, productive or healthy, and that will result in you not serving those around you, as you so desperately wish.
So be mindful of putting yourself first. If things are getting too crazy, and you cannot rely on self-accountability to set aside that you time, then set calendar appointments daily, or weekly. Whatever you need, so that you can clear a little time to COMMIT to YOU.
Use this time to move your body, meditate, meal prep, go get a cup of coffee at your fave spot with a great book (I wrote this blog post at MY fave coffee shop, listening to MY fave music and enjoying MY time)! Stop making excuses and do that. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones. If you "can't find" time for yourself, then you have bigger problems going on, that need to be addressed. Don't shy away from that, do something about it. Only YOU have the power to change your situation, no matter how "busy, crazy, unfortunate, unlucky" you think you are - Take control of your ship and stop making excuses. Excuses don't get you anywhere, and feeling sorry for yourself will get you nowhere.
Are you ready to start living your healthiest self, and find something that works for you, FOR GOOD?
Schedule a free 30 minute discovery call with me and lets talk about how we can do just that!
Yours in health,
Ste Lane