Tips and Tricks for Staying On Track
Day 15 of the 100 Reps Challenge
20 dumbbell step-ups
20 dumbbell presses (if you don’t have access to a stability ball, just use any bench or even the floor for this exercise)
Do this set 5 times all at once or spread it out during the day for a total of 100 dumbbell step-ups and 100 dumbbell presses!
Fitness Tip: When you lower your arms to the starting position for the dumbbell presses, keep them at a 90 degree angle and make sure that your elbows don’t go past your shoulders.
Tips and Tricks to Stay Healthy
It is really cold outside. The cupboard is also packed full of nuts and bolts. And now that I’m on holidays and only working part time, every Tuesday and Thursday I am at home all day by myself. This is dangerous! A kitchen full of food and no obligation for me to get outside for some exercise? We’re looking at a disaster just waiting to happen right there.
So that’s why I’ve been taking measures to ensure I don’t fall off track, which have manifested themselves into a nice little list of useful tips and tricks. Figured I might share them with you just in case there’s something new here for you, and if you have anything to add, please leave a comment! We can all benefit.
– turn the kitchen light off. Don’t even go in there!
– clean: dust, vacuum, tidy the living room, get rid of the recycling, make your bed, wash the bathroom mirror, do the dishes or laundry; just do anything to keep your hands occupied and mind comfortably busy. You get to be productive, get in some exercise, and distract yourself from mindless munching all at the same time!
– brush your teeth. Food tastes a lot worse when you’re all minty.
– put on some bouncy music to make you move and dance.
– write. MizFit mentioned the “Manuscript Many” (the equivalent of the Freshman 15), but I find that writing actually distracts me from food. I lose track of time when I write.
– sew/knit/insert other hobby here
– drink water or tea
– read blogs (I’m serious. Maybe avoid the food blogs though;)).
– primp. Applying makeup, shaving legs, and putting on jewelry can take up a surprisingly long amount of time. And when you look really good, it’s not much incentive to then go and stuff your body with unhealthy food. If months have gone by since your last hair cut (crap when did I become a brunette?), then go get that done!
– take a photo of everything you eat when no one else is around
– do an exercise dvd or complete your 100 reps challenge!
– remember that list of things that you were so happy you’d be able to do once you had some time? Cross some of those things off your list (by which I mean, actually do them- don’t just erase them for the fun of it).
– cook something. Maybe a healthy food so you won’t overload on sugar or something. Or you can just burn the entire batch of cookies like I did yesterday. That’s also a great way to prevent you from gobbling them all up (there goes my contribution to the potluck…)
Ideas? Suggestions? Leave them in the comments!
Good list! I’d add chewing gum to it pretty much for the same reason you give for gum.
Good tips! Staying busy is always the best way to avoid mindless eating. Read a book, knit on your mom’s Christmas present (maybe that’s just me) clean something.
I remember hearing in several places that if you can distract yourself for 15 minutes, food cravings will go away. Plus, you can probably accomplish a good amount of cleaning in 15 minutes!
Those are great ways to stay out of the kitchen!! I hope it works! 🙂
Charlotte- ooh that’s a good one. Food just gets less appetizing when you’re all minty or your mouth is preoccupied with chewing.
Gena- wanna teach me how to knit? 🙂 It’s surprising how much can be accomplished in 15 minutes! And sometimes it takes a hell of a lot of willpower to control those cravings for even 15 minutes.
Juliet- they are all tried and true! So they mostly work. Key word being mostly;)
Great suggestions! ‘primp’ has got to be my fav! oh and taking a pic of everything you eat!! What a great way to deter you from eating that junk in the future! I add, do something crafty, make a birthday card for someone you love, or start a scrapbook, or just organize your photos!
Great tips! I do the kitchen light one too, I’ve no idea why it works but it really does. I think it just tells my brain “OK, we’re all done here for the night!”
Other than going to the gym, my best distraction is shopping which I love and inevitably takes up loads of time. Useful at this time of year too because I’m shopping for other people!
I’m still not very good at staying in the house alone when there’s food around though. I could do with making myself get used to it!!
TA x
Brushing my teeth is one of my staples. I especially use this when I am trying to “shut ‘er down” after getting into a bit of a slide (eating stuff I shouldn’t and not being able to stop…). 🙂
Wait a minute…
Another one that I find works really well is to wait a while before giving in to an impulse to eat. To go even further, you can keep a timer handy and hit the start button when you want to eat something. The intervening time allows you to reflect on what you are about to do, and usually helps you curb the urge…
Cheers,
Adam
l.comGreat tips Sagan! I will try the kitchen light trick.
R- ooh I like that one about organizing photos. I’ve got a whole swack I need to print off the computer…
TA- shopping is a good one. Anything that gets me out of the house and away from the cupboard is going on that list:)
Adam- waiting is a good idea. Even if you just say, “5 minutes from now” or “as soon as I’m done doing ___”. Managing to put it off for a little bit longer can make you stronger when you get to that point and then you won’t have to get a snack after all.
Love2befit- let us know if it works for you!
Excellent tips and I’d add take a picture of yourself, right now and put it in the kitchen so that it can scare you away. Most of us see ourselves much different than what we really look like, (wow the back of my head is really getting thin) than what we actually are.
Fantastic list! I like to keep the water consumption going…full feeling ya know! Hope your weekend was awesome! 🙂
These are all very good, practical and doable – love that! Also love the humor about burning the cookies 🙂
1)Move to a better climate, sorry 🙂
2) Read this website!!
Tom- hehe that’s a good one. Pictures can really show us what we fail to see in the mirror.
Mark- Water is a biggie! I walk around all day with a mug of tea glued to my hand.
Jolene- I think it’s all a big sign that the universe is telling me to step away from the kitchen and engage in a less expensive/detrimental hobby!
Dr. J- ha! My friend is leaving for Jamaica for the holidays. I’m thinking now would be a great time to hide in the suitcase.
Loved all the great ideas.
My favorite funny new one…When your craving something take a big drink of water and put on a whitening strip. Some of us are smart (but not smart) enough to know we can just brush are teeth again. When you put one of those whitening strips on, you have anywhere from 10-30min where you can’t eat =)
I love these!! Some I already do, but I really really like the one about keeping the light off in the kitchen. I never thought of that.
Hehe – read blogs. You’re right about staying away from food blogs though. It’s like when I watch Food Network for distraction and end up craving Paula Deen cookies.
Love your list! Such great ideas!
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
The thing that helps me quit snacking the most is brushing my teeth. its like it turns the cravings right off.
So many great tips already!!
Fitness Surfer- I love that one! Not a bad idea… I’m sure I’ve brushed my teeth lots and then said screw it and gone and eaten cookies anyways:)
Magpie- exactly! Makes the cravings stir even if you just ate.
Kelly- that one works best for me in the evenings. It’s the signal that I’m done eating for the night- during the day its a hit and miss signal though!
(Im still giggling that you say you can be so optimistic that you scare people 🙂 can you teach my mother a smidge of that?) for me when Im reading Im FINALLY not eating and it’s a way to keep me from mindlessly snacking.
it has taken me a few years to train my brain NOT to associate mindtrash (ahhhh womens fiction) with wanting mouthtrash (alll popcorn).
MizFit- it’s freaky.UNNATURAL. 🙂
When it comes to reading, I can be bad for snacking. It’s the writing that I don’t snack much because my hands are busy. It’s all about keeping the hands busy for me!
Great tips.
My coworkers and I committed to “NO SUGAR” until Christmas eve to avoid all the crap that we get sent. So when I crave sugar, I make nice cup of tea. It’s working so far.
POM- that is impressive! I really admire that you are doing that. And would love to try a similar experiment. I think I’ll wait until after the holidays though:D