Eating Healthy: Diet Planning

It's always been a resolution of mine (and a lot of other people) to stop the fast-food binge and start eating healthier. Unfortunately, these are one of the things that are easier said than done; way easier said than done. I've been pretty good tackling other goals, but this one was just a complete misfit for me. So I decided to take actions into my own hands (instead of my cravings' hands) and create a fixed and strict meal plan for my particular diet.

My Diet:
I don't exercise much; in fact, it's rare that I ever do (my good excuse is that I'm still a student, and a complete busybee these days) so I obviously need less calories than a lot of more active people. I've made an amendment to myself that I would eat more vegetables, and choose fresh fruit and yogurt with granola over candy and cake. I would drink more water, and make it a habit to go to the gym 3 times a week (at least for starters).

The Plan:
For the first month, I'm going to focus on cutting sweets. On a post-it note, I jot down a quick tally mark every time I choose fruit (a sweet-but-healthy alternative). Once I reach 35 tally marks, I'll treat myself to a spa night at home. Hopefully, by the end of the first month I'll be able to cut down most of my candies and fats.

For the second month, I'll focus on vegetables. This is a though one for me, because I hate most green foods. To make it a tad bit easier, I jot down a tally mark every time I eat something green (and healthy) and once I reach the grand total of 40 marks, I'll treat myself to a trip to Ulta to pick up something pretty.

For the third month, I'm going to make it a benchmark to focus on water and sleep. These are two main ingredients to how you feel and how you look. (And nobody wants to talk to an ugly, grumpy monster!) I'll drink 5 average sized cups total through the day; one in the morning right when I wake up, three between school, work, and shifts, and one in the night, right before I go to bed. My curfew this month is going to be 10:30pm, and and bedtime will be around 11:30.

After three months have gone by, I'll focus on one of the toughest aspects of my diet that involves getting fit and staying fit - working out! I'll make it a plan to go to the gym or do some sort of exercise for an hour (like yoga, swimming, ect.) at least three times a week. Each time I do an hour of working out, I'll put a little tally mark on my post-it note. After I reach 20 marks, I'll treat myself to a pair of new sweatpants from Victoria's Secret (my favorite!). And maybe, if I continue this throughout the whole year, I'll treat myself to a brand new pair of track shoes...(;

Hope this helped some of you get inspired to start diet planning for the summer! It's never too early to start becoming a healthier YOU. Leave a link to your blog in the comments section below and tell me three aspects you plan on improving on!