Keep Your Diet and Exercise on Track!

In this edition of the Grace of Girlfriends, we asked three Bay Area Women to share their favorite tips to help us keep New Years Resolutions on track when it comes to diet and exercise.  Here’s what they had to say!

Diet and Healthy Eating

Darya Pino is a UCSF scientist, San Francisco foodie and advocate of local, seasonal foods.  Here are her favorite ways to eat healthy and manage your diet!

Darya Pino

1.  Keep a healthy snack like almonds or trail mix in your purse or car. It’s easy to justify eating unhealthy food when you don’t have any other options. Avoid these situations by always having a small stash of nuts or other non-perishable snack to tide you over until you can find real food. The best snacks contain protein and fat, but no added sugars.

2.  Eat slowly and mindfully.  No matter how little time you have, sitting down and being fully present when you eat is worth the investment. Mindful eating helps you better appreciate and feel more satisfied with your food. As a result you will eat less and feel better!

3.  Grab quick meals at health food and grocery stores rather than the drive thru.  If you’re in a bind and need a quick meal, look for alternatives to the drive-thru. Health food and grocery stores like Whole Foods have wonderful prepared food sections where you can find fresh and healthy meals to go.

4.  Avoid “low fat” foods.  Old habits die hard, and low fat is one of the hardest to kill. Foods advertised as low fat are usually the least healthy choice, since the fat is often replaced with extra salt and sugar. Enjoy the fat and choose smaller portions instead, you will actually feel more satisfied.

For more of Darya’s healthy eating tips visit her blog Summer Tomato or see her work at The Huffington Post. You can also connect with Darya on Twitter @summertomato and Facebook.

Making Fitness Fit

Jennifer Ruiz M.S. and Jaclyn Ruiz are sisters and the Co-founders of BeFitnPretty.com.  They share their favorite ways to make fitness fit into your day!

Jaclyn and Jen Ruiz

Park and Walk: One super simple way to fit exercise into your everyday life is to park your car in the spot furthest from the entrance the mall/grocery store/your office. Those extra steps can really add up over the course of a week, month and year.  Plus, you will avoid all of the stress that comes from trying to find a parking spot close to the door.

Stairs for Your Stems: Stair climbing is a fantastic way to tone up your legs and backside, so shun elevators and escalators and instead vow to take the stairs whenever possible. You will be shocked at how many opportunities you have to fit in a quick stair workout and your legs and behind will have never looked better!

Dress for Success: If you know you want to hit the gym or go on a run the next morning, pack up your gym bag or lay your clothes out the night before.  You are less likely to skip a your workout if you see your lonely clothes sitting there and staring at you from across the room.

Rock Out while You Workout: Good music can be just the thing you need to get yourself off the couch and out the door. Pack your mp3 player with upbeat tunes that you know will get you moving. And if you are feeling particularly unmotivated, crank up the music in your house and dance around for a while, it’s an instant dance workout!

BeFitNPretty is a website dedicated to helping busy girls everywhere take the “die” out of their diet, by sharing the prettiest and most sane ways to stay fit and healthy. Jennifer and Jaclyn are both Bay Area natives.  On the weekends they can be found running in Golden Gate Park or visiting one of the many amazing farmers markets the area has to offer. You can also connect with them on Twitter @BeFitNPretty.

If you enjoyed this article and want to share it with a friend or the world:) …it’s easy. Click on the Share/Save button and you can e-mail, Tweet or Bookmark it!

More from SF Bay Area Women's Journal

• How to Keep Your New Years Resolutions! | San Francisco Bay Area Womens Journal
• Do Your Beliefs Inspire or Sabotage You? | San Francisco Bay Area Womens Journal
• SF Bay Area Wellness Coach Advises Diet and Exercise for Good Health | San Francisco Bay Area Womens Journal
• 7 Simple Steps to Better Health Now! | San Francisco Bay Area Womens Journal
• Don't Gain Weight During the Holidays! | San Francisco Bay Area Womens Journal

Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by SFWJ in Grace of Girlfriends

Tags: diet, exercise, nutrition, Wellness