Light Some Fireworks Under Your Diet!

If you’ve been slowly and steadily experiencing diet-creep, the dreaded process where portions are getting a little bigger, regular exercise is starting to fall by the wayside and a lot of not-so-good-for-you choices have found their way back into your meals, it may be time to light some fireworks under your diet.  Not just a little sparkler, but a BIG FAT cherry bomb or bottle rocket.*

Don’t wait until Monday.  Today is the day to take control of your diet again. Go 4th and DIET. Healthy Dining's Sara Lucero has these suggestions:

Get back to the basics – Are you tracking diet and exercise?  Do you have a support system?  Is there a plan for healthy food and regular exercise?  These are the building blocks, so start here.  Get advice from Healthy Dining’s dietitians and sites like eDiets.com.

Now for the fireworks…

If you like to learn – Sign up for a nutrition, healthy cooking or new fitness class.  Not “soon,” sign up right now to avoid procrastination.

If you like to meet people – Join a new group in your area dedicated to health, diet and/or exercise.  Find them through friends and family, local magazines, newspapers and websites or larger sites like MeetUp.com.

If you like to cook – Find 5 or more new healthy recipes, add the dishes to your weekly meal plan and ingredients to your shopping list as you find those healthy recipes to make sure they get used.

If you’re competitive – Make a friendly wager with a creative and motivating end, a good one for the winner and not so good one for the loser.  Try popular sites like DietBetter.com that offer a pool of money to the winner.

If you’re a people pleaser – Join a group-based weight-loss challenge (online or at a local gym).  The last thing you’ll want to do is let your team down!

How are you planning to light some fireworks under your diet?  We’d love to hear from you about your success, your challenges and your renewed motivation here and through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!  You could be featured in upcoming posts.

As part of your healthy diet, enjoy the great-tasting and dietitian-recommended picks at restaurants near you.  Here are just a few to tempt you:

California Fruit Salad with Chicken at Elephant Bar
Located in AZ, CA, CO, FL, KS, MO, NM, NV, OH

Little Lounge Turkey Burger & Half Vegetable Salad at Burger Lounge
Located in CA

Arroz Con Pollo at Casa de Bandini
Located in San Diego, CA

*This is a figure of speech, Healthy Diners.  We’re not ACTUALLY recommending fireworks as part of your healthy diet, and we DON’T want to see any news stories about you and fireworks.  Abide by all your local rules and regulations when it comes to fireworks, and PLEASE have a safe and happy Fourth of July!