5 Ways to Being in Shape Without Compromising Your Health

For many years I have told myself that being in shape meant losing weight. The voice in my head told me, "Ugh! I need to lose weight, now!" I've tried to figure out why that little voice inside me was always on my case? I mean I'd be craving a cookie or a piece of chocolate and immediately, I was feeling like those cravings would defeat me.  

Last year I was able to identify where that voice was coming from. After years of mistreating myself to ongoing cravings, and giving into eating whatever I wanted, then keeping those treats away as a form of punishment, I was in a viscous cycle of unhealthy habits. Mix that in with obsessive exercise and you've got your own reality show of "Keeping up with the Hankerings." Magazine covers and barbies didn't help either as I grew up in the Kate Moss era of eating disorders and post 80's makeup frenzy.

We all want that easy, fast, way to lose weight or feel good about ourselves. I've accepted that in order to feel good about myself I should be in shape. With that said, I had to compromise with myself and figure out what meant more to me: Losing weight vs. Feeling good about myself. Feeling good about myself hands down. Being healthy doesn't mean you sacrifice "a good thing" as Martha Stewart would say. Sometimes my good thing comes in big packages and is covered in chocolate. But making sure that I balance my cravings with a healthy dose of exercise and hearty little meals was the trick. Here are some tips to be in shape without compromising your health.

1.  DO portion your meals and allow treats. When my family and I go out to eat, the portions that you order are always too big to finish. If you're hungry, start off with a salad or small appetizer. Don't order right away. Your server can always come back and take your order. Most times I feel full after eating my appetizer and/or a salad/soup. Once you finish your starter, you'll notice you're not as hungry and maybe order something smaller. When you order all at once, you've set yourself up to the expectation of "I don't want to waste food, so I should finish my meal." Half the time, those leftovers sit in our fridges for days untouched. So you want a cookie for dessert. Or even ice cream. Eat them-I always eat treats but in moderation.

2. DO start exercising everyday. Yep, that's right. Everyday. Whether it's 15 minutes or an hour, you must get in the habit of doing something. What really pushed me to do this was the lack of energy I had after the first half of my day. So, I started getting up to run at 6:30 every morning. Yes, I had to literally force myself up out of my comfy sheets, put on my running gear and run with the wind. I started running using the Couch25K app on my iphone and it was the best thing I could have done for myself. Now I run 3 times a week and alternate that with small workouts throughout the week. As long as you are sweating and your heart is pumping, you'll not only get into he habit of exercising, but you'll have more energy too. Another thing I noticed was I started sleeping better. Score!

3. Drink lots of Water. I'm not going to say water fills you up so you should drink lots of it. Water hydrates you and gives you energy. When I drink more than two water bottles I have more energy and feel awake. That doesn't mean that I don't snack throughout the day. Which brings me to number 4.

4. Snack frequently throughout the day. I'm not a big meal eater. My body tells me I'm hungry all day. Your body may tell you that. If you don't want to eat a full meal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the least you can do is eat small meals throughout your day. When you start exercising more, your body will want to refuel constantly, thus your metabolism changes. When you stay active, the natural thing for our bodies to do is refuel and burn energy. I carry snacks with me everyday: Granola bars, nuts, water, an apple. Something that you can easily grab and eat on the go. Being a mom, being busy, or being lazy is not an excuse for not eating.

5. Lastly, DO NOT diet. Dieting is the worst thing you could do when you want to be healthy. I am guilty for trying out different diets throughout the years, and one thing I learned is they never work. Pills, powder, Process, Product. We all know of them and have confronted them at least once in our lives. A friend swears by this pill you'll lose 10 lbs in a week. A co-worker give you this new enhanced powder formula that when you drink daily will burn the fat right off your hips. Your mom mentions this new 10 step process that will carry you to skinny-dom. And my favorite, the high steppin', ankle breakin' shoes. Don't fall victim to fast, easy solutions.

Being healthy and living the lifestyle we want takes time. You want it to take time so you can continue being strong over the years and decreasing your chance of damage to your body. Changing how we think about ourselves is key to living a healthy life. We can't be stuck in the magazine covers stricken with skinny models and  drinking diet coke. We have to ask ourselves who we want to be and what we are willing to do to get there. By getting rid of bad habits and trying new ones, we are saying we want to set a better standard for ourselves and our children.