First, a disclaimer must be said! DISCLAIMER: I am no means a health expert, fitness guru or anything remotely close. There are mother's in far better shape than myself, who eat better, work out more and have more children! I am only an OMONI to one almost 3 year old boy currently, and I work full time as a Boutique owner but have been blessed with the luxuries of having child care (thank you Grandma!) and freedom of a more flexible schedule. I am only sharing my tips and tricks as one Mom (if you are like me) who does not care to work out a ton, who likes to splurge once in a while and eat what she wants... who has a very active social calendar that includes *gasp* alcohol consumption and other very cringe worthy habits I bet. So with all that being said, here are my tips and tricks (if you so choose to read them!)
I told myself to do this every morning for ... basically the rest of my life. Hot water and a half of lemon (squeeze the juice) and put the whole half in. Now there are a bunch of benefits to this including it helps you wake up in the morning due to the sour punch (haha!), but mostly you can read them here (click on here). I am not saying don't drink coffee or do other breakfast foods that you may normally do (I mean... if you truly want to cut back than of course cut those out), but if you do this first... it just gives you a boost!
Okay, this may sound biased coming from me (since I am Korean) but I LOVE asian cuisine... and sorry, I do love it more than other types of cuisines. Probably if I were to list in order:
- Korean/Japanese
- Chinese/Vietnamese (Pho)
- Mediterranean/Indian (mainly curry dishes)
- American (barbecue, creole dishes, etc...)
- Mexican
- Italian
- Rest
Asian cuisine uses a lot of fermented, pickling elements. Kimchi is a favorite Korean side dish (it is eaten with everything!) and all it is, pickled-fermented cabbage with other items mixed in. There are many health benefits with kimchi (here), but mostly because they eat it as a side dish (not a potato... or something else that is more hard to digest). So I eat a lot of asian food that also means rice versus a harder starch. Rice digests much more easily I feel and it fills me up faster! I sometimes make my husband and son a meal, but I tend to cook myself a more asian meal.
WEAR TIGHT CLOTHES! Huh? "I am uncomfortable in tight clothes" ... "I want to be comfortable" ... okay, let's cut the excuses. I will go home and change into comfortable clothes after dinner to start getting my son ready for bed. BUT - during the day, if at work, or just before 8 PM let's say... wear tighter clothes. WHY??? Because if it is making you feel uncomfortable... that will be a constant reminder to work out that day, or eat a little less that day. If your clothes are bigger on you, than you won't feel so bad having another snack or splurging at lunch. If your clothes are a big tighter on you... than you will feel more conscientious about eating more than you know you should. When I know I have been bad and over indulging myself.. my clothes are tighter... but instead of putting on my "comfy" pair of jeans or leggings... I technically punish myself in keeping those tight fitting bottoms/shirt on... as a reminder that I need to be careful for the next week or weeks.
Okay... my last tip for this blog (I have way more... but I only want to share a few right off the bat.. I don't need to make this into a lecture)... BUT this is my hidden trick. You may think this is silly at first, but again, this is my habits and I am most of the time, happy with my size 2/4 frame. Often times, when we go out to eat, or I know I am going out to a restaurant with husband or friends, or whatever the occasion may be; I snack before. WHAT? That makes no sense? Well, here is my logic: if I eat somewhat of a healthy snack (usually I snack on pretzel chips with hummus) and than go to dinner... I won't be so tempted to over indulge versus when I have gone to restaurants STARVING! You may also think, well what if you still over indulge and now you ate twice because of snacking prior... my answer to you is this.. if you are thinking that; than you have more of a problem than what my tips/tricks can help you with. The whole idea of a healthy snack before restaurant is to cut the craving so you won't maybe order appetizer or eat the roll or have dessert. It is the same logic of not going to the grocery store when you are hungry.. you will overbuy!
Again, these are just some of my personal tips and tricks. I hope you enjoyed them and I will share more in future posts!