How do you curb your appetite when you’re craving for that chocolate – covered chocolate chip cookie? You turn your back on the cookie aisle, head toward the fruit stand and reach for a bag of apples.
Apples are now my fruit of choice and I am going to eat more of them. I’ve been reading up on health and fitness tips from my favorite health site and I found a lot of cool facts about this red fruit:
- They’re high in fiber so they make you feel full longer. Eat apples as an appetizer and weight loss booster. You’ll surely feel full so you’ll tend to eat less during your main meal.
- Apples have epicatechin and procyanidin that help reduce the risk of heart disease; triterpenoids that have anti-cancer properties; and quercetin that decreases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers. All these hard – to – pronounce flavonoids are in the apple peel so make sure you wash the apple thoroughly and eat all of it.
- Boost apple power with water — a tummy filling combo that can help you control your appetite.
Fitness lessons from fasting
I successfully completed my fasting last week and it was a real challenge to overcome my food cravings. I was eating one meal a day and drinking lots of water to appease my hunger. But I managed to survive one week without junk food and I was fine. That’s when I realized I can eat healthy if I really put my willpower into it.
Getting a fit and toned body has always been my goal and I’m resolving to achieve it this year. Knowing how my system doesn’t work well with routines, I’m just setting myself a few simple guidelines to follow:
- Drink more water. This advice is like age-old but somehow I never got to follow it right. During fasting, water did help to beat “untimely” hunger pangs. So now, I always carry a pink water bottle with me wherever I go, so it’s a visible reminder that I need to hydrate regularly.
- Eat breakfast every morning. Scrambled eggs are always my favorite. Breakfast is also when I eat rice so I will eat less of it for lunch or dinner.
- Eat more fruits.
- Engage in a physical activity other than taking care of the kids. I really want to enroll in a regular Bikram Yoga class. But in the meantime, I will use my workout DVDs to do some yoga and Hip Hop Abs in the morning.
- Love my body. Body issues begone. Every time fat thoughts come, I will focus on feeling grateful for my body and the things it enables me to do. I will thank God for giving me my best body ever and for giving me the discipline to get fit. I mean, who else knows my body better than my Maker?
Support counts
Kernan has been successfully going on his no-rice diet for more than two weeks now and I’m really proud of his self-discipline. He either jogs or goes to the gym every day and I could see his efforts are really paying off. We encourage and compliment each other because that really helps you to focus on the right track.
He’s still using his fat burner pills every now and then, a habit I’d wish he’d kick to the curb. But he promised he’d quit it completely after he finishes this last bottle. I’m pretty confident he’s strong enough to achieve his fitness goals without them. But he knows his body best. So if it works for him at this time and as long as he takes the necessary precautions, I let the pills slide.
I have to be honest, I did use herbal pills that helped suppress my appetite before and they made me stick thin. But I won’t take them again any time soon. I do understand how it feels to be desperate to lose weight and to want the quickest fix you can find. But in the end, it just didn’t work for me.
The natural way is still the best way but if you do find yourself deciding to use a quick fix, just do your due diligence and research on those pills first. I’m pretty sure you’ll find something for every pill out in the market. Type in “adipex reviews” on Google for example and you’ll see 441,000 pages of results. Just be sure to separate the real feedback from promotional reviews.
Take it easy
Do you have a fitness goal this year? Have fun with the process and take it easy. I’ve proven many times that the more I fret and pressure myself about something, the harder it becomes to get my desired results. So I’m keeping it simple and enjoyable.
We do not need to be slaves or victims to our appetite. Appetite and cravings are controllable. Oftentimes, we give in to cravings because of the feeling of satisfaction or enjoyment we think we will get from it. So the moment you feel it attacking, focus on doing something else you enjoy that doesn’t involve calories like listening to music, blogging or walking.
I always say goals are only as good as the action you put into it. So even if you do slip a little bit, just keep trying. The important thing is you continue to take action toward your goal. Before you know it, you’ll be looking at the mirror and seeing a brand new and best version of you.
Let me know if you’ve got fitness tips. I’d love to hear what has worked for you. 
