BFD Step-By-Step Guide

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1. Resolve To Feel Better And Live A Healthier Lifestyle.

  

  • It sounds obvious - but you have to want to do this.  Maybe your doctor told you that your cholesterol is too high or you are prehypertensive and you need to make some changes.  Maybe your kid poked your belly and said 'daddy pregnant!'  Maybe the years have taken a toll on your waistline and you just don't like the way you feel or look in your clothes.  Or, maybe you are just tired of feeling like crap and know that it is time to do something about it.  Whatever your reason, it doesn't matter because you are making a choice to start living a healthier life and kudos to you for that - it's a BFD!

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2. Go See Your Doctor To Find Out What's Up.

  

  • A big part of being proactive about your health is seeing your doctor, getting a physical and understanding your current health condition. Although you can certainly start making better food choices without doing this, it will help you understand where you are at and will also provide a baseline (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.) as you start to make changes to your diet, health and life.

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3. K.I.S.S.

  

  • We hate to be so obvious, and we did not get a PhD to offer this killer advice, but if you want to be healthier and maybe lose weight ... here it comes ... MOVE MORE, EAT LESS AND EAT BETTER QUALITY FOODS.   Genius, right?  Sorry about that, but what has always been true is still true.   We know you understand the concept of 'less' and 'more', and we think you probably know the difference between high quality and low quality foods but in case you need some help, in general, whole foods = good, processed food = bad.  Fruits, nuts and vegetables = good, meat = not so good.  If you'd like to learn more, check out this handy and informative food guide HERE.  At BFD, we are not advocates of fad diets.  AT ALL.  We believe that they are short-term fixes and not long-term, sustainable solutions to living a healthier lifestyle. 

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4. Stay Cool And Start With Baby Steps.

  

  • Eat less.  Eat Better.  Start by eating less low quality foods and more high quality foods … and frankly, just eat less in general.  Many people, and certainly many Americans, just eat too much food - and low quality food at that.  If you are someone who eats a giant plate of spaghetti ... how about you don't do that.  Be a reasonable human and have one moderate sized serving and add some friggin salad for god’s sake.  If you snack all day, don’t.  Cut the snacks in half and make better quality choices.  Eat less meat and animal based products in general (check out our 'This For That' Food Swaps page HERE).   THINK ABOUT WHAT AND HOW MUCH YOU ARE EATING.  Simply thinking about it will help you make better choices.  
  • Cut the alcohol.  If you are a drinker and you want to drop some weight, cutting alcohol is literally the easiest way to do it.  The empty calories of alcohol will sabotage your progress - so cut back.  Also, your liver will thank you.  
  • And those sugary drinks.  We all know about the sugary drinks and how bad they are for us.  Cut way back or eliminate them altogether.  There are plenty of great tasting options out there and there’s also that stuff called water.  Remember water?  
  • Write down what you eat.  Super helpful in keeping you on the path to success is journaling your food.  We realize it's a bit of a pain in the butt, but we highly recommend it,.  This is very helpful for not only seeing exactly what you are eating, but by knowing that you have to write it down, you will be less likely to fall off the wagon. Get some tips HERE on how to keep a food diary without losing your mind.  You may want to pick up this handy food journal from Amazon.

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5. Get Personal With Your Fitness Tracker And Scale.

  

  • If you do not have a fitness tracker, get one.  At least get familiar with the fitness app on your phone.  If you do not have a reliable scale, get one.  If you start making some changes, you will feel better, we promise.  And maybe that is enough for you.  BUT, it is very helpful to have a baseline to work from.   Are you moving more?  Are you seeing some changes in your weight?  There is only one way to be sure and that is to track your fitness (steps, etc.) and your weight.  If weight-loss is part of your goals, we recommend weighing yourself every morning, naked, at the same time, before you eat and after you’ve 💩 and track your progress.  Both a fitness tracker (find top fitness trackers HERE) and the scale (find top scales HERE) will help you track your progress and help with the motivation you may need to keep at it!  Believe us, once you start seeing some changes in the way you look and feel, and once others start noticing ... you will be unstoppable!

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6. The Audacity Of Nope.

  

  • Again, we realize that this information is not revelatory and that there is much more for us all to learn. We also know that everyone’s path is different.  But we really do believe that it starts with simple basics.  The more you know the more you will want to know and the more you do the more you will want to do.  But be prepared, because you'll be amazed at the many ways you can get derailed, by your own doing and by others - if you're not careful.  Just say no to your friends when they tempt you with that giant plate of cheese fries.  Just say no to yourself  when you're grabbing for that sodium-packed bag of chips.  Make the hard decisions about what to put in your mouth.  The fact is, you'll be saying no a lot.  But be brave - young soldier, because guess what, at the same time you'll be saying YES to a lot of great tasting, healthy foods.  Yes to feeling better.  Yes to losing some weight and YES to living a longer and healthier life.  Cool, right?  Know that you'll have good days and bad days, and it's perfectly OK to take one step back as long as you're taking two steps forward. 
  • So, now that you've started on your new path to health and wellness, we hope that you will visit the other sections of the site and our social media accounts for news, food advice, exercise tips and other useful information.  We also encourage you to seek information from other solid sources and we will help you find those.  Again, we are not doctors, just know-it-alls that have been at this a long time and would like to help you be the best version of you!