It can be really hard to stay motivated to go to the gym and to eat healthily. Especially in my office there is always the temptation to eat cakes, biscuits, crisps and it is so hard to say no!

I do find it really hard staying on track. It does help knowing that I have to track everything I eat and all of my activities on my Weight Watchers app on my phone, but it is still hard. When choosing what to eat out for dinner, what to have for lunch, whether or not to have a biscuit- I need to remember Caitlin’s mantra, ‘make a healthy choice, now make another one, and another and another’.

Having scoured some other blogs to take inspiration from others, and using techniques that I know work for me, I’ve come up with some ideas to help motivate myself, and you guys, to make healthy food choices.

The most important tool for me to make healthy choices is to BE PREPARED.

This includes ensuring that I always have a bottle of water with me to keep hydrated. A lot of the time when I think I am hungry, I am actually thirsty! I have heard that by the time you’re actually thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

I also need to make sure that healthy snack options are on hand. I do this by stocking up our fridges at work with fruit and veg that I pick up at Whole Foods on my way to work. The great thing about Weight Watchers is that most fruit and vegetables have a points value of 0 meaning that if you’re hungry you can eat!

I also know that I like something chocolatey and sweet with a cup of tea so I need to make sure I have a snack option to accommodate this. I recently picked up a number of protein bars from Whole Foods to see if that filled a gap. If I like them then they could be a great afternoon treat to give me some energy before an after work gym session or class. I know that some protein bars are quite high in sugar and calories, so I have chosen bars with over 10g of protein and will only eat half a bar at a time to keep calories down.

I make sure that my fridge and cupboards are packed full of healthy, nutritious food so that when it comes to make a lunch, dinner or snack, there are plenty of options on hand.

When going out for dinner, I try to choose something that is packed with veggies, or order some more veggies on the side, and some sort of lean protein, however, I am a great believer in choosing something that I probably wouldn’t or couldn’t make at home. Often that is not a lean protein dish, but that’s OK. I don’t eat out that often so would rather really enjoy my meal out than worry too much. That said, I have been trying to ask to swap out heavy carbs for more veggies, ask for sauce and dressings on the side, and have been looking a little more closely at the vegetarian options, as these are often healthier choices without much effort on my side.

I know another thing I need to work on is watching my portion size. It’s easier to think you’re eating fewer calories than you actually are by overestimating your serving size. Especially with things like cereal, cous-cous, rice, and other things where the portion amount should be watched! Whilst it’s not always convenient to weigh out your food, it’s helpful to weigh it out once or twice so that you know what sort of size you should be aiming for next time! Then top up with unlimited fruit and veg, and some protein!

Something I have noticed recently is that I get really hungry around 10.30am. Whilst I know that its OK to eat something healthy if I’m hungry, I know that I get hungry around that time because at the moment my breakfasts aren’t nutritiously filling enough. This is something that I am going to work on in the next couple of weeks, spending a bit more time thinking about breakfast rather than grabbing a bowl of sugary cereal or piece of toast with peanut butter (although that’s ok sometimes!)

Choosing food that has a good ‘nutritional value’. This is something that I am trying to think of more and more. Whilst it is very obvious that fruit and vegetables have a high nutritional value and that will keep me fuller for longer. Mostly this means more protein! This is something I will go into more detail about in a future post!

According to Bob Harper’s ‘The Skinny Rules’, you shouldn’t drink your calories. Whilst I know this is an easy way to cut calories, I don’t want to miss out on all the fun! So for me it’s about choosing lower calorie drinks like gin and slimline tonight, champagne (hahaha) and vodka with diet coke. I also discovered that Ribena has a lot of Weight Watchers points, so I need to choose sugar free Ribena, fizzy water and tea.

I know that I need to put more effort into what I am eating if I am going to make myself healthier, more toned and to feed my body more nutritionally balanced food. As they say ‘abs were made in the kitchen’ and I want good abs!!