Tips For A Healthy Home, Healthy You

Staying Healthy with USANA: Tips for All Types

April 18 2011 written by Teresa Elias, USANA Health Sciences

Most people want to be healthy. And for some people, that means losing weight. But sometimes losing weight can be a mind game. In fact, I don’t even like the term “losing weight.” You don’t lose it. You work it off. Keep that in mind, and you’ll be mentally prepared to put up a fight rather than passively thinking the pounds will fall off and get lost in the cookie aisle at the grocery store.

That being said, here are a few tips I use to keep my mind in the game of fitness, weight loss, and health.

Learn how to balance (figuratively). Things always come up — birthday parties, mini vacations throughout the year, special nights out, dinner with friends. These don’t have to throw you off track. Just compensate when you can. If you know you’re going to be eating cake and ice cream in the evening, have smaller portions of your usual breakfast and lunch meals. Or, when you’re working out, add 15 minutes on to your usual routine for a few days before and after your day of indulgence. You may also try upping, ever so slightly, the resistance on the cardio machines you’re using. Then, enjoy the party!

Do yourself a favor. Don’t weigh yourself after a cruise or other vacation away from the gym. It’ll only bum you out. Get yourself back into your normal eating and exercise routine for a week or so before stepping on the scale and continuing your fitness goals.
But besides that vacation “free” pass…

Weigh yourself weekly. Choose one day a week at a certain time (right after waking up in the morning works well) to step on the scale. [Tip: I prefer not to do this on Monday, because if the news isn’t good, it just makes a hard day worse.] Also, realize there will always be some natural fluctuations, and try not to let the “weighty” news affect you too much either way.

Remember: slow and steady wins the race. Keep at it, and don’t lose focus on your goals. This is a lifestyle change, not a temporary one.

Try the “half rule.” Okay, so it’s not a “rule” — I just made it up. But I think it’s a good way to get a handle on all those special treats we all seem to come in contact with. Think about all the food and goodies you get offered day in and day out at the office or hanging out with friends. You don’t like offending people, right? And some of that stuff looks delicious. But imagine if you could say yes only half the time, and you said no the rest of the time. You could save yourself a lot of calories over a whole year. So practice saying no with me. Really. Say it right now. It’s a powerful word. A no, thank you also works.

Know your triggers. Mine are stress and staying up past my regular bedtime. Both of these send me running for sweets of any kind, and put my will power and resolve on the back burner until I get a fix. Now, I stop myself and notice what I’m feeling or what I’m doing. Usually I can relax my shoulders and do some deep breathing to relieve stress, and if I am trying to stay up late unnecessarily, I brush my teeth, wash my face, and I’m instantly ready for bed instead of another meal. Be mindful of what triggers you to throw caution to the wind and eat things you’re trying to avoid. Then, do your best to avoid those triggers in the future.


Adjust to your mood. If you’re feeling strong during one of your workouts, up the resistance on your cardio machine, add a few pounds to the weights you’re using, or consider working out a little longer. At the same time, if you’re not feeling up to your workout, don’t skip it. Challenge yourself to put in at least half your usual time and at a lower resistance level. Once you get through that, you might find you can stay and complete your whole workout. Or, go home feeling proud that you stuck it out as long as you did. Do this a couple times, and your body and mind will get used to these (mentally) tougher workouts, and you’ll gain confidence in yourself that you can at least complete a toned-down workout when you’re feeling drained.

Your Turn

What tips do you have that have helped you meet or move toward your fitness, health, or weight-loss goals? Please let me and your fellow readers know in the comments.