Photo courtesy of www.balanceofgoodhealth.com.

By Alexa Powell, Forever Wellness Intern

I was sitting down to have lunch with some friends a week ago and something in our conversation stuck in mind. The question that kept whirling around the table was “How do I lose weight the fastest before leaving for vacation”? With spring break right around the corner that question seems to come up a lot in conversations. I really just had to sit back at one point and listen to all these crazy ideas of what people are willing to do to try and shed pounds fast. Of course I stuck to my guns when they asked me what I thought though, and I said that they should all just eat healthy. What happened to just eating healthy and sensibly, so that you maintain a healthy weight and actually keep unwanted pounds off?

I think in this passage then it is important to recognize and talk a little bit about eating healthier and making wise choices when it comes to one’s own diet, since spring break is coming up and since March is known to be “National Nutrition Month.” I believe one of the most crucial things to remember about eating healthy is that it is not something that should just be done for a month or even two months, but that it should become a way to live. It needs to be a lifestyle, not a fad. One of the things I have heard many become guilty of is skipping meals and instead, doing something like taking a couple diet shakes a day. This is not a good way to start making healthier choices. The only thing this is going to do is make you feel starved, slow down your metabolic rate, which could cause numerous health issues, and most likely make you want to eat more when you finally do sit down to eat. Don’t starve yourself. Your body will thank you for the good, regular nutritious foods you put into it. You need that fuel to keep you going in your daily activities, especially if you are doing moderate to vigorous workouts most days. The body needs food to burn off calories. There are many other things you can do to stay healthy:

A big thing to remember that people often can forget is to drink enough water daily, meaning at least eight cups of water. Water is your friend. It may be good to purchase a water bottle that you can keep refilling throughout the day, because it should be your new accessory. One constantly needs water to keep hydrated and to help digest food properly, so plan on carrying water around with you everywhere.

Vegetables should be prominent in your diet. They fill you up and you can never go wrong with greens, like romaine lettuce, green peppers, celery, broccoli, etc. Vegetables are very versatile, because they are great cut up as a snack between meals, and are great served with a meal. It is also a good idea to include colorful vegetables in your diet, like orange, red and yellow peppers. All vegetable types are a wonderful asset to the diet, because not only are they low in calories, but they provide you with numerous healthy nutrients.

I think that when trying to shed pounds or eat a bit healthier it is important to not immediately cut all foods from your diet. One thing many do is cut out carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and rice. But you really don’t need to do that. One can still have these types of foods, it is just important to make good choices. Instead of having white bread, choose whole grain wheat bread, and eat it in moderation, meaning a serving or a slice of the bread.

Really, you can still eat, lose weight, and be healthier! No one needs to go to extreme dieting fads or quit eating to lose weight. It is about balance and moderation, and changing to make a healthy life-style. Losing a few pounds the right way will take time, but when done in a healthy way the weight lost is more likely to stay off in the long run.