Kaye's Top 10 Healthy LivingTips

Like many of you I have spent a lifetime collecting tips and hints for living a healthier life. "Take the stairs instead of the elevator" or "Park far from the entrance of the mall." We have heard them all. Well, to refresh my memory and yours, here is a list of my top ten favorite healthy lifestyle hints. I'd love to hear from you and find out what hint inspires you. Come to the Neighborhood and share your helpful hint here:

1. Talk positively to yourself. Thoughts are self-fulfilling prophecies and the more positive spin we put on our thoughts the greater potential we have for a favorable outcome. Instead of saying, "I have to workout today" say, "I am thrilled I get to move my body today to improve my strength, stamina and flexibility."

2. Use walking for entertainment. Visit a zoo, a garden, or an amusement park and walk as you enjoy and learn. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and enjoy your healthy body.

3. Join a weight conscious group, such as the LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood. The studies have proven time and again that people who attend support groups as part of a comprehensive weight loss program lose more weight than those who go it alone. In the Neighborhood we share the common bond of having undergone surgical weight loss and we understand one another very well. Don't go it alone.

4. Walk with a friend. For some reason we have better success keeping commitments to our friends than we do ourselves. If we sign on with a friend for a daily walk date we are most likely to keep that date. If your friend is long-distance make a cell-phone date and walk and talk together.

Smart Fitness: Walking

5. Remember the Four Rules: commit to them for life.
Protein First
Lots of Water
No Snacking
Daily Exercise

6. Forgive goof-ups. Remember the classic dieting allegory: If you drop an egg on the floor you don't throw the entire carton of eggs on the floor and give up. You clean up the broken egg and you move on. Forgive yourself. Be kind to yourself.

7. Keep a food diary. If you don't know why you are gaining weight or struggling with a plateau keep a food diary for one week and be totally honest. Most of us can quickly identify problem areas when we see it on paper. And more importantly, when we have to write it down we may be less likely to take those little bites, licks and tastes that get us in trouble.

8. Protein First. Never waver from this rule. Eating enough protein will help ensure that your body sheds fat, not muscle. Protein is slower to digest and helps us absorb nutrients from complex carbohydrates. Clean lean protein does not measurably increase blood sugar levels and it curbs hunger between meals.

9. Be fearless. Try new food: fruits and vegetables from all over the world are now readily available. Try new exercise and avoid the boring same 'ole same 'ole rut. Explore new places. Meet new friends. You had surgical weight loss so you could LIVE so live fearlessly. Visit the Celebration Forum to meet others living fearlessly.

LivingAfterWLS Recipes

10. Get rest. Studies clearly prove that when previously sleep deprived individuals cultivate a normal and adequate sleep routine they are healthier mentally and physically.

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