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By Gregory L Gomez  

You may often find yourself inspired to eat healthy and exercise starting on a Monday but as the week progresses, sticking with this plan may unfortunately get thrown out the window.

If losing weight and getting into shape are goals that are important to you, one of the most important topics you must address is your DAILY nutrition. However herein lies a problem for the majority of people who attempt to lose weight.

Changing the types of foods eaten along with altering the amount and times this occurs takes strong determination and willpower. It becomes especially difficult if you are making drastic changes to what you usually drink and eat on a daily basis. That is why time and time again most fail with the weight loss process.

If you want to increase the likelihood of success, one of the best ways is by starting a Sunday ritual. By taking the time on a Sunday afternoon/evening to actually plan out your meals and prepare your snacks for the upcoming week, you better your chances of sticking with a healthy eating agenda. Also by doing this, you help rid the need to ever go out for fast food or order a pizza which can save you both money and calories.

Here are some tips you can use to easily get started this coming Sunday so you'll have a fresh healthy start on Monday morning.

FIRST - Get Rid of Unhealthy Junk 
When it's not around you won't be able to eat it. When your priority is to lose weight, then do your body a favor a get rid of all those potato chips, cookies, crackers, soda, juices, cakes, pies, donuts, ice cream, and anything else you may have that you know is unhealthy. Make it a point to not let these items find their way into your shopping cart the next time you are at the supermarket.

Plan Out Your Weekly Menu 
This is a crucial habit to develop especially when first starting out. On a Sunday afternoon/evening, write down the meals you want to prepare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entire week. With this menu in hand, you can then create your grocery list of everything you'll need to buy in order to create these meals and snacks for the next 7 days. Try to stick with that grocery list and don't let any sneaky bags of chips, liters of soda, or gallons of ice cream make their way into your basket.

Don't Forget to Prepare Snacks 
Without having snacks pre-portioned ready to go in an instant, you open yourself up to a potential problem sticking with eating healthy for an entire day. Put a basket/plastic container in your refrigerator where you keep a variety of snacks like fruit, mozzarella string cheese sticks, granola bars, fruits, almonds with raisins, non-fat yogurt, etc.. This way they are ready to go as soon as you open the door.

The Drinks You Choose Are Important 
One of the healthiest drinks you can consume is water. It's literally the perfect drink packing a whopping 0 calories per serving. Get in the habit of drinking water with every meal especially since it helps fill you up and aides with digestion. Try and keep a bottle of water handy at all times so you always have a way to quench your thirst. You'll be surprised at how water can help prevent snacking binges too!

Plan Out Your Eating/Snacking Times 
Try to eat breakfast within an hour or so of waking up in the morning and don't eat less than two hours before going to sleep. If you wake up at 6am and go to sleep around 11 pm, then your eating/snacking times could be something like this: Breakfast 7am, Snack 10 am, Lunch 1 pm, Snack 4 pm, Dinner 7 pm.

Once you find a schedule that works for you, stick with it so that the routine becomes a habit. When you continue with this Sunday ritual of meal planning along with adhering to specific eating times, you will greatly increase the likelihood of successfully accomplishing your health and weight loss goal.

About the Author: Gregory L. Gomez, M. Ed, has been teaching 5th grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District for the past 17 years. He created 10Quickies.com to help teachers and parents provide children in 2nd-5th grades with a fun and inspirational way to review grade level math. He also wants readers to be mindful of their health and fitness especially since it's easy to overlook in the hustle and bustle of daily life. You can start focusing on your health starting today by using these 5 Healthy Eating Tips found here --> http://10quickies.com/article_5healthyeatingtips.html

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