so you wanna live healthier?

a couple of weeks ago, i shared my thoughts on my #30daysofsalads challenge and what i learned from it. 

today i wanted to do a follow up to that post and share some tips in case you have found yourself struggling in staying dedicated to a healthy way of living or a new eating plan. 

i've been there. two weeks in and telling myself over and over that it's too hard. that i just can't. it's too much.

all lies. you can. it's hard but not impossible. and you will reap the rewards.

shut out those lies and remind yourself every five minutes if need be that you are worth it, that you've wanted this and you will achieve it. you've had it in you darling, it's time to bring out that courage. 

each time i started back up on my diet, i never told anyone from fear of failing. sure my family was acquainted with my ever present one liner of 'i'm on a diet' yet never did i seriously sit down and tell them about my challenge. much less write it out for others (you all) out of my comfortable circle (family) know about my intentions, again from fear of failure. 

if you're serious about your challenge, whatever it may be, tell friends that you can trust to keep you accountable and use social media to your advantage. i became instagram's best friend and posted my salads each day. after about two weeks i forgot to post them daily, oops, but still tweeted some and made sure my sisters or husband knew about the salad i had. your friends will ask you how you are doing and offer words of motivation when you're feeling discouraged.

don't go into it without a plan of action. the worst thing i would do was tell myself i would buy something healthy for breakfast and lunch. one lovely day a few months ago, i had every intention to purchase a healthy tuna sandwich on whole grain bread and came back with a slice of pizza and macaroni. big fail.  

purchase prepackaged greens. baby spinach and baby kale were my faves. 

this makes it so much easier when packing your lunch for the next day. no need to triple wash, chop and clean up. plus in having your lunch packed, there's no need to walk into temptation. 

if you go out to eat, which our family did like three or four times during my challenge, the obvious choice for me was a salad. except when it was a steak place and their forte was not in the salad department. 

you could pay $10 for a few pieces of iceberg lettuce and some chopped tomatoes, or order a grilled chicken breast with veggies on the side. still healthy and then you can replace dinner with a salad at home.

most menus will have the healthy options available at your request. and some will even be as cool as letting you do a custom plate. 

whether your outlet is blogging or keeping a journal, write out your progress. 

make it a point to make a daily entry on what you had to eat, how you felt about it and why. 

it helps to go back and read what is not working for you or if there were other factors affecting your attitude a certain day that can be tweaked for you to stay positive on this challenge. 

post its are great little reminders that you can have everywhere too. 

find motivational verses or quotes and post them on your mirror, in your car, at work. all to keep you positive and remind you of your goal. 

and remember. take things one day at a time. don't grow frustrated if you can't see big results as soon as you want them. make it a goal for that day to be healthy and do better. looking at thirty days of cutting out fried foods, sugary treats, high carbs and fast food seemed too much at first. but after one day of being able to do it, i made it my goal to do it again the next, and so forth. don't get overwhelmed, one day at a time, one step at a time and before you know it, you will be there! 

hope some of these tips helped in some way. whatever your challenge is, you can do it. you have more strength in you than you give yourself credit for beautiful!