Proper diet and regular exercise is a two-pronged approach to a healthy lifestyle, weight control and a reduced risk for many illnesses and diseases. While it can seem overwhelming to make major changes in both areas at once, improvements in one naturally lead to improvements in the other, especially when you begin to see physical results. Foregoing processed food for nutrient-dense, whole food can give you an overall sense of well-being, providing you with the drive to exercise. Likewise, regular workouts often lead to better eating habits as your energy increases.
Diet
Step 1
Outline your diet goals. Shrinking your waistline and feeling better may be two of your over-arching goals, but taking time to consider component aspects of your goals can help you achieve them on a daily basis. For example, you may want to learn how to cook one new dish a month, or you might want to push yourself to try a new vegetable, fruit or other healthy food each time you grocery shop.
Step 2
Replace as many processed foods as you can with whole foods. Aim to have staples rather than snacks in your pantry, such as olive oil, whole-grain pasta, rice and dried herbs. Buy a higher percentage of fresh foods, such as salmon, eggs, fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products like yogurt.
Step 3
Eat breakfast. According to the authors of "You on a Diet," those who eat breakfast every day tend to be thinner than those who don't eat breakfast. In addition, starting your day with healthy food, such as oatmeal or hard-boiled eggs, tends to lead to better food choices throughout the day.
Step 4
Eat five smaller meals instead of three large meals. This can prevent you from becoming too hungry in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon hours, which can lead to unhealthy snacking or overeating at meal time.
Step 5
Stay on track. MayoClinic.com suggests that setbacks are a natural occurrence when you're trying to change a behavior. Understanding ahead of time that you will encounter setbacks can help you get back on track more quickly. Write down what you eat, and your mental or emotional state, daily in a food journal --- you'll be in a better position to identify personal pitfalls in order to avoid them in the future.
Exercise
Step 1
Get a physical exam so you have a baseline against which to measure your progress. Your doctor can tell you your height, weight, measurements, body mass index score, blood pressure and cholesterol and blood-sugar levels.
Step 2
Set reasonable weight-loss goals. Losing more than 2 lbs. of weight per week increases the chances that you're losing water weight and muscle along with fat, so it's best to aim for a slow, steady weight loss rather than a fast, unsustainable one.
Step 3
Set fitness goals. Fitness goals are distinct from weight-loss goals because there's no "shame" factor. Fitness goals are about what you'd like to be able to do, rather than what you think your weight "should" be. For example, you may want to be able to run a 5K race for the first time. You may even have a goal like wanting to wake up one day to find that exercise has become an integral part of your life. Your fitness goals should speak to you on a personal level.
Step 4
Find a cardiovascular exercise that you enjoy and can perform four to five days per week. Examples include walking, running, cycling, swimming or aerobics classes. Choose a secondary cardiovascular activity to perform one or two days per week. This will get you in the habit of cross-training from the start, which helps prevent injury and boredom.
Step 5
Strength-train at least two days per week. Lift weights, perform calisthenics, try Pilates or go to a challenging yoga class. Working with resistance helps you develop muscle, which helps your body burn more calories. Muscle requires more calories to maintain itself, so even during periods of inactivity, your metabolism is active.
Step 6
Keep an exercise journal or write a line or two about your daily activity in your food journal. Sometimes just the act of writing it down every day is enough to motivate you when you lack the desire to workout. In addition, if you stop progressing, you can take a look at exactly what you've been doing and intelligently adjust your workouts.
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