Congrats for being here, like I always say, because you are here, you are in the most elite of the elite- you are in the 1%! Congratulations for caring about yourself, following through and making your dreams come true!!!
Every decision you make shapes your life, either it continues to build on the path that you are on or they take you off to a new path. Habits are decisions you've made so many times, you don't have to chose them anymore.
Your paradigm (how you see yourself) is made up of a multitude of habits. The person you think is "you," is generally just a collection of habits.
So that's a lot, and you don't have to accept that it is your truth right now, but I want you to think back just 5 years ago and ask if there were things you were sure of then, that now you know aren't true. Things you did daily then, that you considered essential, that you don't even take part in anymore. Of course there are... we grow, we change and we embrace a new way of being, we usually don't do this consciously.
One new choice per day over time will profoundly affect the health of your body, often we minimize the impact a little change can make, that playing small makes it easy to stay stuck where we are.
I want to tell you, ONE change per day is enough, recognize that ONE decision is ENOUGH to entirely reshape your body and life.
In fact one change can affect everyone around you! I've seen it with my own eyes, many times over!!
Drinking tea at every meal will profoundly affect you over time, and so will increasing the vegetable quantity in your diet. Tea is actually made of leaves off a plant, like lettuce, so it is kind of a vegetable soup of sorts.
Vegetables hit many of our diet bull's eyes, they increase fiber, water, nutrient density and satiation factor all at the same time. Vegetables are incredibly versatile and can take on many of the flavors of our favorite foods, giving our tastes great satisfaction. Because of their high nutrient density, they are virtually impossible to overeat.
Having two "courses" at a meal makes it take longer and makes it more satisfying to eat, which is why I recommend starting with a soup or salad course. In general, studies find that doing so actually decreases the over all calories you eat.
My favorite ways to increase vegetables
Having a salad before every meal, including breakfast
Have broth based soup for snack
Cutting up veggies with dip before meals
Making veggie "fries" or "chips" with healthy veggies
Making pizza crust out of cauliflower rice
Veggie lettuce cups- stir fry with sauce and serve in lettuce
"Stuffed" mushrooms, tomatoes and avocados
Layered sliced veggies with marinara & cheese for lasagna
DON'T GET STUCK ON PERFECT. Make the change, its okay if its not perfect. I give you permission to not be perfect and do it anyways!
I will give you some recipes soon for smoothies and vegetable dishes you can use soon!
Jennifer
XOXO