Secrets of Success

When You're Sidelined By Illness or Injury

When you're sidelined by illness or injury during your journey to health, don't fall back into old habits. You've come too far and worked too hard to throw it all away! You may not be able to exercise for a while but you can still eat 5+ fruits/veggies, drink 8+ cups of water, sleep 7+ hours per night, continue positive self dialogue, stay with your healthy eating plan and use Spark People as support. While it can be depressing to sit at home, it doesn't have to be a disaster for your plan!

Learn To Listen To Your Body

The most valuable skill I've been able to develop is to learn to listen to my body. This means you have to tune into those signals that tell you when you are really hungry, tired, anxious, angry, upset, in pain or in need of some exercise. It really takes practice to be able to do this on a regular basis. Especially to know when you are really hungry and when you are using food to meet a need other than hunger. The same is true of fatigue. If I am tired, I need to rest. Maybe I need sleep.

When the going gets tough

When the going gets tough, the tough band together. We're in this together and we can support one another! Don't turn to food. Turn to support instead! Light that inner spark and keep it burning!

Start Your Day With A Healthy Breakfast

Always start your day with a healthy breakfast. If you are pressed for time, set it up the night before but don't skip breakfast. Breakfast gets your body fueled for your whole day and sets your body up for success. You should have a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Don't leave the house without several bottles of water and some healthy snacks to help you to get through the day too!

Mall Walking As An Alternative to Walking Outdoors

When ever it is too hot, too cold or too sloppy outside to walk, I mall walk. Check with your local indoor mall to see when the doors open to the public. It's often about 1.5 hours before stores open. Bathrooms are open and it is temperature controlled. You'll probably see others walking too!

Making Fighting Diabetes A Team Effort

Even though my husband has diabetes and I don't,we work as a team when it comes to what and when we eat. It has made his transition to low carb/sugar eating a lot easier and both of us are much healthier because of it. Together we achieve more. What affects one, affects all at our house.

Cleaning Out the Pantry, Watching the Dates and Donating Food

Several times a year I go through our pantry and read all of the dates on everything in the pantry. I pull out everything that has a date that will expire soon. If our family really likes the item, I make plans to serve it immediately in a healthy dish, otherwise we donate it to the local food bank.

Using Salad To Help Me Be Able To Have Pizza

If I've planned my calories so that I can have one slice of pizza, I eat a large green romaine salad first to slow me down. Then I can savor every bite of that slice of pizza and enjoy it; knowing that I won't blow my calories and I won't still won't be hungry when I finish eating.

Reach Out To A Friend Instead of Eating

When you find yourself reaching in the fridge for something because you are stressed, try reaching out to a trusted loved one, friend or team member instead. I have several local team members who I can call when I'm down and tempted - they have been lifesavers for me.

Fill Your Plate 3/4 Full With Veggies/Fruits

I control what I eat by filling my plate 3/4 full with veggies/fruits and everything else has to fit into the last 1/4 space. (I'm not talking about heaping portions here) I've found that this is especially helpful when I'm eating out. I use this method for portion control.