I found this article last night on Lucy's Blog on self.com. I think that it's really interesting & motivating, I'm going to give it a shot! Here is the article:
Lose Weight Without Even Trying
The idea is so simple and yet it's helped me lose 25 pounds and get in the best shape of my life after decades of dieting: I finally took the broad strokes approach of thinking healthy. Just like SELF tells us all to do.
Here is how it works: You earn a star for every "good" behavior that day, and your goal is to earn five stars. It all starts with sleeping, since if you're tired, you much more apt to reach for the cookies and doughnuts in the afternoon for energy. Heck, if I'm tired I'm more apt to start my day with a sugary treat of pastry or starchy breakfast like a bagel, and that means sending my body onto a sugar roller coaster of highs and lows for the rest of the day.
So ...
Star 1: Sleep well. This can be defined however you like. Some people only need six hours to feel rested, others need nine. I find that it changes from day to day for me and I can be OK one night on less than seven and then whooomph! I crash and my body needs a good eight. So it's changeable, but be honest. Are you really rested? Did you struggle to get out of bed or bounce up and do a sun salutation? For me, that is my first sign that I got rest—I want to get out of bed and greet the day.
Star 2: Exercise. For me the morning is the easiest time to just get it done. Put on the sweats and the sneaks before I even think about it. I even lay out my gear the night before so I don't spend precious minutes searching for that other left sock, or my tunes, or my perfect top combo for the weather (I wear like four layers when it's cold out, from thermal to wind stopper) and the reason for laying it all out is to get out quickly, to suit up without waking the dog, the hubby or the daughter. Then I'm out the door to meet my running partner or teammates for an early bike ride.
Star 3: Eat healthy. Once you've slept and worked out, this is easier. Just reach for protein. For me that's a yogurt and fruit and granola...Then I am on my way to a five-star day. Halfway there, in fact, since as long as I eat healthy snacks (nuts, fruit, dried fruit and trail mix) and a healthy salad and fish and veggies for dinner, I don't want to "blow" it and dig into the ice cream late at night. Sometimes I do and then it's OK because you can't have a five-star day every day, but once I start building it I think, don't wreck it like some sand castle kicked over by a petulant child. Just keep building this five-star day.
Star 4: Stretch. This is very important for those of us who are either overtraining or injured or just sore from sitting at a desk and working. I am all of the above. So I need to stretch and also have a bath sometimes with Epsom salts or do anything to relieve the achy soreness. It can also be a massage (but I don't treat myself to those often) or a hot tub/Jacuzzi at the gym. I define stretching as anything I do that is nice to my muscles.
Star 5: Talk yourself up. This is very important for those of us who, sadly, get a little down on ourselves despite our best efforts to be positive. OK, that would be me. If I am slow on a bike ride or a little off in any way, like I got snappy at someone at work (sorry all you amazing people at SELF, I do sometimes show impatience when I don't mean to, usually when we are moving fast through a meeting-packed day and the deadlines are looming and the pages to ship are piling up and I am trying to accomplish it all in a very tight amount of time), then I feel I should take a breath and slow down and be present and instead I sometimes feel ungracious. I forget to say thank you for a great job well done. Consider this my mea culpa. Then I ruminate on what a bad person I am and the stress of that makes me want to eat...ice cream! Yes, nutty but true: I get down on myself and then reach for soothing carb treats. I have to not be down on myself and not be self-destructive, both. So when I manage to be nice to everyone in my world: my kids, my hubby, my mom, my brother, my dad, my coworkers, my friends, my teammates, the people I see as I go through my day, etc., then I feel like a good person and then I find I am more positive about...me!
These are all common sense steps for having a great day/living a healthy life yet the idea of achieving a gold star makes it sound more appealing! :)
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