After you get the basics (sleep, stress, and time) down, take a good look at your eating and exercise habits to make sure that healthy choices are the norm. Food and activity logs are a great way to do this. So many times we eat without thinking about what we are eating. We don’t realize what we actually put into our mouths. And we have the best intentions for exercising 3 days a week, but do we actually get 3 workouts in? Writing it down for a few days makes you very aware of the reality of your eating and exercising habits.
Here’s a quick list of basic eating and exercise habits that help to support a healthy weight after weight loss surgery. It is always good to periodically review these and make sure that old habits don’t start to creep back in and sabotage your efforts.
Be active:
A great way to insure that you are getting enough exercise is to wear a pedometer, track your steps and be sure that you are getting at least 10,000 steps in DAILY.
Make healthy food choices:
- Meet your protein goal by eating six small meals that are high in protein.
- Slow down and chew well–take 20 minutes or longer to eat a meal.
- Avoid added sugars–2 grams or more.
- Limit foods with a high fat content.
- Do not drink with your food.
- Keep portions to ¾ cup of food at a time.
- Watch calories from “sugar-free” foods.
- Beverages should be calorie-free with the exception of up to 24 oz of low-fat milk a day and/or 6 oz of juice.
And while you’re spring cleaning, take a peek in your kitchen and get rid of any foods that shouldn’t be there. Then, go and stock up on some fresh, unprocessed foods to celebrate spring and your new resolve.
