Chanel T.'s Guide to a Better Life

Something I have come to realize while going about my life is that I need to pay attention to everything I do.  When I say everything, I mean everything!

I’ve had moments where I’ll eat something and then once I’m done eating it I think to myself “why on earth did I just eat that right now?”

I call this “mindless eating” and I have had so many moments where I’ve been guilty of this.  The reason why “mindless eating” is such a horrible thing is because you don’t realize it is even happening.  It might sound ridiculous that a person can eat without knowing, but trust me, it does happen to people!

Another reason why you need to pay close attention to what you consume is because what you might be eating could be something that is unhealthy. 100% of the time when I mindless eat, it is something unhealthy—this means my body is craving unhealthy food and I am succumbing to it! SAY IT AIN’T SO!

Okay, so this “mindless eating” is something that needs to be X’d out of my life and your life if you experience this! I find this happens to me the most when I’m busy multi-tasking and then the next thing I know, I’m eating a candy bar.

The solution? Next time you find yourself reaching for something, make sure it’s healthy and will benefit you in some way.  Once you start trading the junk for the healthy foods, you’ll notice a difference on the scale. Another thing I started doing is the whole “is it worth it?” deal.  Before I mindlessly eat/grab something to eat I ask myself “is it worth it?” is it worth the calories, the hours I’ll have to spend in the gym,, my clothes not fitting right? When you go through those series of questions before you eat, you, in a way, force yourself into eating healthy.

-Chanel T.

I know I stated that this blog is dedicated to creating a better you and even though the last few posts have been helping you become a better you in the physical sense, I felt the need to incorporate stuff that would help create a better you in a mental sense as well.  After all, there’s no rules in blogging so let’s roll with it.

I was at the drive-thru giving the person my order and anytime I gave an answer I’d respond with “Yes Ma’am” (like I always do when ordering) and the voice of the woman taking my order got super cheery as soon as she caught onto it.

It came time to pay her and my talkative-Communication-major-self struck up a conversation with her, asking how her day was going.  We joked about working and how it sometimes seems never-ending.  Right before I had to pull-up to the next window she told me “Thanks.”

Of course I’m confused, why is she thanking me? I didn’t do anything. I guess she noticed the confused look on my apparently blatantly obvious face and followed her statement with:

“That’s the most I’ve talked to someone and I’ve been here at the window for almost 5 hours now.”

Baffled, I told her it was nothing and that I always chat people up because I clearly love to talk && then we ended the conversation with cheery goodbyes to one another.

But I mean, wow. No one bothered to ask the person who was serving them how their day was going, or even bother saying something more than their order to her?  && judging by how she reacted when I replied with “Yes Ma”am” when ordering, it seems like nobody really showed her any obvious respect like that. Call me crazy, but is that not strange to anyone else??

So next time you’re ordering at a drive-thru, at the cash register somewhere, or see someone doing custodial work—tell them hi, use “sir” or “ma’am” or, even better, ask them how their day is going. You could easily make someone’s day, someone’s shift, && even put a smile to their face.  && if they are happy, they’ll most likely do their job better and the list goes on and on with how far this chain reaction can go.

They might be confused as to why the hell you’re doing that, but trust me, it’s a little thing that will go a long way.  So go on your way and make someone’s day!

-Chanel T.

The first healthy tip I want to share with you is one I feel is quick to eliminate some weight. It’s very simple: all you have to do is stop drinking sodas. That’s right, eliminate sodas from your diet.

If you’re the kind of person who drinks sodas daily, or even every other day, this might come off as a very challenging idea, and I won’t lie to you it will be…at first!

Ordering a soda with your lunch or dinner is something that probably comes natural to you if you’re a soda-drinker.  Almost even to the point that you don’t even have to think twice before you order. Whether it’s for the sugar, caffeine, or even the bubbles (or all of the above), you just have to remind yourself, ordering that soda isn’t worth it.

Ridding sodas will not only lead to you shedding some pounds, but it’ll also, help your body become more healthy because it’s not consuming loads of sugar.  A study posted in the “Diabetes Care” journal stated that even if someone is drinking one soda per day, they are increasing their risk for diabetes by 25%.

Like I’ve previously stated in my first blog post, this blog isn’t dedicated to making a person become as skinny as a stick, but instead, how to live a healthier life! Eliminating sodas from your diet will do nothing but benefit you in ways more than one. After all, don’t we all want to live a long and healthy life?

If you are like me, and don’t even drink sodas to begin with, then I challenge you to drop sugary drinks in general—these can come in the form of various juices. You wouldn’t think that a glass of orange juice would do any harm to you, but those juices can be very sneaky. Go out for happy hour often? Try ditching that idea. Alcohol packs loads of calories, and by eliminating that from your diet, you’re guaranteed to shed some unwanted pounds.

If you’re the kind of person who can’t go “cold turkey” aka eliminate something from your diet completely right away, then work towards it! Tell yourself you can only have a soda 2 times a week at most. This way, you are training your body to get used to a smaller intake of sugar, and it also won’t seem as intimidating of a goal!

The worst thing you can do is cheat. Sure, I won’t be able to tell if you had an extra soda this week, but you’re only cheating yourself and your body of achieving pure “healthy-ness” and ulimately, a better you. Do yourself a favor, and stay on track!

Good luck with this new challenge and be sure to be on the look-out for my next post!

-Chanel T.