3 TIPS TO EAT & STILL LOSE WEIGHT!

You might think that I’m crazy when I say that I lost weight without working out right? Well I guess I’m crazy because it really happened! Let me tell you how!

So I was in my freshman year of college, and there is this saying of “the freshman 15” which means you’ll gain at LEAST 15 pounds and by golly I sure did! haha! It’s bad enough that I love to eat on top of this phenomenon of gaining weight as a freshman. Anyways, we had 2 cafeteria facilities on campus. So I would alternate eating at both and since I loved food, I would always pile my plate super high or would get like the deluxed size deli sandwich ! I had a meal plan for each semester so I didn’t have to pay out of pocket for each meal, I would just swipe my card and that’s it! I’m ready to chow down! NOM NOM! I noticed that my cheeks were becoming chubbier and my stomach had a few more roles than normal, and my skin was breaking out like crazy! I told myself, “I need to get it together before it’s too late and I’m more than 15 pounds overweight”.

Being in college, you tend to get lazy, well lazier than normal LOL. I wasn’t really motivated to go to the gym we had on campus, even though it was like a 5 min walk from my dorm (laziness to the extreme!) and on top of the fact that it was snow everywhere at the time so I wasn’t going anywhere. I had the idea of trying to eat better and then start going to the gym when I muster up the motivation ha! And lo and behold, I began to see results, my cheeks weren’t as chubby, my belly was getting flatter, and I had more energy. This is what I did:

1. SMALLER PORTIONS!

I started to see a big change once I started making my portions smaller. I still ate the things that I wanted to: pasta, burgers, pizza, fries,etc… but I would eat half of those portions instead of the whole thing.

2.  EATING GREENS!

Once I started shrinking my portions, I was realizing that I liked how this felt. You know taking care of my body and what not! My plate looked so bland so I decided to start eating salads to add some color!

Salads are not for everybody, I know! But the trick is that you have to add all the good stuff to it! Experiment with grilled chicken, nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts), fruits (mandarin oranges, apples, raisins, cranberries), cheese, other vegetables (corn, tomatoes, carrots), different types of salad dressings or whatever you feel like adding! Make it your own and make it fun and enjoyable to eat!

3. H2O!

Water can be your best friend if you learn to love it! I started drinking more water and cutting out juices and sodas. I would make rules for myself. If I wanted to drink juice or soda, I would  tell myself that I can drink juice/soda but I would need to drink at least x amounts of water that day. By doing this, I was still able to enjoy myself and still do the right thing by drinking water too!

Now yes I know water can be very boring but you have to spice that up too! Add different fruits to your drinks, citruses are always a go to for me! I usually add lemon or lime to my water which helps add a more pleasant flavor. Plus lemon water is good to aid in digestion, boosts energy, and has a lot of other benefits as well.

 

Once you start improving the way you eat, you will be motivated to want to eat better, so that means cutting back on the greasy foods, eating more fruits and vegetables and actually enjoy it, and eating leaner meats. Another suggestion if you can’t make it to the gym is to try and walk more: park further from the entrance, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc. I hope this helps! Leave a comment below of what type of salad recipes you tried or if you have any other suggestions on how to lose weight!

*Remember everyone has to start somewhere so keep your head up and keep pushing forward, you got this! =)