Frequently, we receive information about new fantastic
diets, magical and wonderful food, stories of people who
lost weight with the least effort, devices which with only 5 minutes a day give
you the body of a model, etc.
Unfortunately, lies
disguised as acts of magic abuse our desire to live better and sometimes fail,
badly educate and confuse those who want to reach a healthy weight, have a
balanced life or just feel better.
This time I chose
the most common lies that have prevented us in our attempts to
improve our quality of life:
- The Green Lie
How many times have
we been sold the idea that if we replace one meal (lunch or
dinner) for a delicious salad, the path to thinness is granted?. We
prepare our salad and eat in hopes of looser pants in a few days and we run
into a horrible feeling: hungry a few minutes later and the torture of
waiting until dinner to eat whatever we want. As the days pass,
we realize that our weight stays the same (or higher), we have been hungry for
days and expected results never come.
The thing about the
salad is that it doesn’t have the correct ingredients to make us feel
satisfied: protein or fat, so we will be "starving" just a
few minutes after we have finished eating and "biting" snacks until
the next meal where we will eat even more.
Another mistake is
the dressing: we prepare a lettuce salad with lemon and
add several tablespoons of that delicious dressing that gives us 300
calories and we end up eating the same amount of energy of a
hamburger. Our effort was lost…
Tip: Include salads in your diet but add some protein
like tofu, chicken, fresh cheese and a little olive oil or your favorite
dressing (1 tsp).
- Activity Lies
Our generation has
grown up with the belief that the harder and longer we work out, the
healthier and thinner we will be. Time magazine recently published
that excessive exercise (more than 45 minutes a day), can
be counterproductive as it increases your hunger, so you end up eating
more calories than the ones you burned at the gym.
Tip: Find an activity you like and practice it 3-5
times a week for 30 minutes, it doesn’t have to be cardio to be effective,
there are other options such as dance, yoga, pilates or walking that will give
very good results without much effort. Nor is it necessary to join a gym, there
are many free online options that can be tailored to your schedule, abilities
and tastes.
- Tired Lies
And finally, rest.
This is an essential ingredient for achieving a good quality of
life and often we ignore it. We think that staying in bed
an extra hour on Sundays will make up for the 6 days we spent working instead
of sleeping. If we do not learn to recover, the body will eventually
charge us the bill. Rest is a habit that includes the mind and
body: It is better to sleep 30 extra minutes a day than staying in bed 3 hours
on a Sunday.
Tips: Try to go to bed 30 minutes earlier than you are
used to and read a book or just relax. Meditation is a very useful
tool for resting the mind and you don’t have to be a spiritual person to get a
benefit.
Remember that a new
habit is established after 6 months of practice; choose comfortable and easy
changes so they stay for good.
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