It really is that simple. I don't buy popcorn, chips, cookies, ice cream, champagne (as often as I want to,) McDonalds, lunch out - just don't buy it. For one, you'll be saving money for more veggies, and fruits, and delicious things and if you're poor like me that's actually important. For two, if you don't have it you won't eat it.
2. Cook your own food.
Also that simple. You cook it, you know what goes in to it. You cook it, you keep it healthy.
3. Portion control.
Roasted veggies aren't going to benefit you if you're eating five pans of them and slathering them in salt. Same goes for sweet potatoes, or salads loaded with flavored nuts, and fatty dressings and sugary add-ins. Know what a serving is for all of your favorite foods. Know what a cup looks like. Educate yo damn self.
4. Plan your meals.
I don't care how many times you've seen it on Instagram, if you aren't planning your breakfast/lunch/dinner, you're going to go for what is easy. Often the easiest thing is the least healthy. Use a planner, a calendar, a fun new set of tupperware, but plan what you'll eat - and commit to the plan.
5. Eat what you like.
If you don't like brussel sprouts, it doesn't matter if you cook them, measure them, and plan for them - you won't eat them. I'm all about embracing new foods, and expanding one's palate. With the exception of mushrooms because literally never. But you're easing yourself off of Pringles and on to a full veggie stir fry, be smart about it. Buy the whole, healthy, leafy, brightly colored foods - but buy the ones you're going to eat.
6. Chill out.
Whether you're training for a pageant, working on a new year's resolution, or just trying drop a few - you will not stick to you plan if you act like you've always got a gun to your head. Guys, I eat stuff that is not good for me. If my mom makes cookies, yeah, I'm eating one. If the kitchen happens to have extra bacon, yeah I'm having a piece.
More importantly though, when I do have something "other," something that isn't in my plan, that doesn't mean I quit for the day. That doesn't mean I can have whatever because I "ruined it." No, it means I ate something outside of the plan. It means I'll still have my salad for lunch. It means I might push myself to do one more set today. I might not, but hey, I might.
If you are too ridiculously conscious of every morsel that passes through your lips you will not achieve anything. You will not enjoy food. You will not even enjoy the progress you are making. Frankly, it's a really quick way to work yourself into an eating disorder. And 19 year-old Rylee would kindly like to remind you that is the least fun.
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