New Year, New You! Challenge 2!

Last week was a fun challenge, now it’s time to turn the excitement and hope generated from the vision board into action and results! Sometimes it’s hard to get back on track after you spent December eating cookies and sipping cocktails, but this week we’re going to get our diets back on track! Diet is the most important aspect of weight loss and optimal health and beauty! This year we’re looking for a lifestyle makeover!

1. Beware of any diet that offers a quick fix.

There are many diets that offer quick and drastic weight loss: the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet,completely cutting out all carbs and many more. Any diet that drastically cuts back on calories and promises quick and easy weight loss is a gimmick. You may initially lose 10 pounds in a week, but the weight will return, plus more. The goal of today’s challenge is to find a nutrition plan that you can stick with and will leave you feeling healthy, satisfied and full of energy for the rest of your life!

2. Find a diet that fits into your lifestyle.

There are currently two popular theories in weight loss: listen to your body and eat only when you are hungry (as opposed to when you’re bored or when everyone else is) or eat 5 small meals every 2 1/2 to 3 hours that consists of lean protein and an abundance of veggies, fruits and whole grains. I’ve listened to people discuss both theories of weight loss and both have validity in my mind (I personally find the most success when eating only when you’re hungry). No matter which diet you feel is correct, focus on eating real, nutritious foods (lots of veggies, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds and lean protein) rather than consuming preservative filled diet foods or sugary snacks. A diet full of natural real foods will always give you the positive results.

3. You should feel better on your new diet.

How do you know when you’ve found your perfect diet? The right diet will allow you to maintain your perfect weight with ease, increase energy, and improve digestion, mood, skin, hair and health.

4. Research!

There is no one size fits all diet plan. There are so many valid theories of nutrition that it can be overwhelming! Below are some of my favorite diet and nutrition books:

-The Beauty Detox (which I just started today) :-): I highly recommend reading this book, it allows you to look at food, nutrition and beauty in a new way. I will report back in two months to let you know the changes that I notice in my body, hair, skin and nails!

-Skinny Bitch

-You Are What You Eat

-The Eat Clean series

Good luck with this week’s challenge! Check back next week for a new challenge!