Let’s face it, we all want to look and feel good, without much effort. Diet and exercise are important, but can be complicated, time consuming, expensive and FRUSTRATING!! 🙁

I’m not a runner, I don’t enjoy working out, and I have 3 small kids and 2 full time jobs, so I don’t have a lot of time for fitness. Occasionally I’ll do yoga and ZUMBA, but outside of that my exercise is limited.

Diet is a little easier for me to control. I know what works for me, I love to cook, and I know how to cook easy, delicious and healthy meals that me and my whole family loves to eat.

WHAT ELSE can we do?

Well, a BIG part of diet/meal planning is about timing. Not just having enough time to shop for food and prepare meals, but also a plan for timing of eating.

Lots of health coaches tell clients to “eat less and move more”, then you will lose weight and feel good. NOPE, WRONG. Eating less can actually have the opposite affect. If you starve your body, you put yourself in shock, and your body shuts down to store fat for your survival. SO then the next time you eat, your body processes it slowly and continues to store the fat, because it doesn’t know when you’re going to eat again! AND – when you work out, and you’re not fueling your body, you will end up sick and tired and your body will not have the energy to process fatty foods.

Another big thing to consider is happiness. Yes, it’s true. We have more serotonin receptors in our GUT than we do in our BRAIN. Chew on that fact. So if we are HAPPY, it will help with our gut health… and vice versa… if we eat cleanly we will be happier.

Over the last few years I’ve helped many people lose weight, get pregnant, heal illness and live happier lives. Here are my the TOP Tips that WORK for my peeps:

• EAT Breakfast – actually eat 2 breakfasts. Get your metabolism going by 9am with a smoothie, omelet, or something low in carbs and high in protein.
• DON’T snack all day. Your 1st or second breakfast can be a healthy snack. Then have a snack around 3/4pm to tide you over dinner.
• PROTEIN for lunch. Save your organic quinoa and veggies for dinner. Animal protein is harder to digest, so keep your metabolism going, then eat a light (easy to digest) meal for dinner. EAT Dinner 4 hours before you go to sleep. While you are asleep your body does not process food.
• LIMIT wheat/gluten, dairy and alcohol. I know, buzz kill. But wheat/gluten is usually treated with pesticides before they are harvested. Those pesticides are harmful, but also can slow your digestion, and mess with your hormones. Dairy is hard to process and causes bloating and gas. Alcohol turns into pure sugar and fat. So put down the bottle after 1 glass of wine…

• MOVE MORE – if you’re like me and you don’t like exercise, find something you do like. If you have a dog, go for a nice long walk with Fido. If you like to dance, try Zumba or Jazzercise. Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Walk to the train station. Take your kids to the park and chase them around.
• LAST – AND MOST IMPORTANT – do what you can to be happy. If eating healthy all day, every day, and working out 5 days a week is stressing you out, don’t do it. Find a happy balance that works for you and stick to it. Motivation + Dedication + Happiness = Perfection

As always, I’d love to be helpful on your journey. Sign up for a FREE 15 minute consultation with me HERE.

Love & yum,

Lindsay (Mama) O’Neill