I hear it all the time.

Whether it’s a friend who is struggling to lose weight or someone I overhear talking in line for coffee, there’s always a hint of desperation in his or her voice:

“I know what to do to lose weight, I just need to do it. I need to get more motivated.”

There is a grain of truth to this statement. If you can find the right source of motivation, you’d shock yourself with the things you could accomplish.

But if you’re even thinking this way in the first place, you probably already know how important it is to eat well and stay active. You are motivated.

In fact, you might even be motivated enough to sign up with a personal trainer, or pay a nutritionist to overhaul your diet.

So why is it still so hard to follow through on these commitments?

Often the problem is not your level of motivation, but a counterproductive mindset that undermines it.

When you think of building motivation, you probably think about rewards and punishments. Carrots and sticks. And when it comes to health, you might think that too many carrots (or carrot cake?) is exactly your problem.

The logical conclusion then, is that you need more discipline. This is why you’re inclined to pay someone to torture you in bootcamp. If you can’t force your own butt to go out in the cold and run stadiums at 6 a.m., maybe Meathead Mike can make you.

Ironically though, no one is as hard on you for your shortcomings as you are on yourself. When you hit snooze one too many times and miss your training appointment or come home late from work and heat up a frozen burrito for dinner, you’re the harshest judge. Mike will still get paid, after all.

As motivated as you are, events like these can be crushing. You blame yourself for the slip up. You question your motivation. You wonder if you have what it takes to be a healthy person, or if you’re doomed to kill yourself with your own bad habits. Maybe it’s in your genes to be lazy, and being healthy is impossible for you. Ugh.

What could be more demotivating?

A common misconception is that people who are able to create healthy habits have a tremendous amount of discipline. They are able to wake up early and go to the gym no matter how dark and cold it is outside. They are capable of torturing themselves indefinitely, and that trait somehow makes them better people.

This is a myth.

Psychology research has shown that people who are able to create healthy habits don’t have more discipline, they have more self-compassion.

Instead of beating themselves up for not being perfect every time, they instead ask how things could have gone differently. This takes them out of “I’m a lazy loser” mode and into problem-solving mode.

Instead of thinking, “I should have just dragged my tired butt out of bed and forced myself to go to the gym,” they think, “I was really tired today and it caused me to oversleep. I should try to get to bed earlier next time. Is that realistic?”

They don’t see the situation as a problem with themselves, they see it as a puzzle to be figured out. I call this a problem solving mindset.

The problem solving mindset is powerful because it takes emotions out of the equation and forces you to address the reality of the situation. Rather than judging yourself for being “lazy”––a very judgmental assessment––problem solving acknowledges that you were tired and asks, “Why?”

Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep or have too many demands on you at work. What can you do so that you can feel well-rested when you wake up in the morning?

You have self-compassion by acknowledging that oversleeping is a consequence of being tired, and that being tired is normal when you don’t get enough restful sleep. Oversleeping doesn’t make you lazy, it means you need to figure out how to give yourself the fuel and rest you need to function your best.

Instead of being harsh on yourself and performing worse under the pressure, you must take care of yourself so that you can perform better.

There’s no value in beating yourself up. If your best friend or child were struggling with a similar situation, would you just assume they’re hopeless and give up on them? Of course not. You would be kind, listen to their concerns, do your best to point out the positives and steer them toward the answer.

You must treat yourself with the same dignity. Not only do you deserve it, but it’s also actually the only way to solve your problem.

The healthiest people practice self-compassion when something they wanted to accomplish doesn’t go the way they hope. This gives them the mental clarity and emotional distance to adopt the problem solving mindset and have the best shot at getting it right the next time.

Author: Darya Rose, Ph.D, is the author of Foodist, and creator of Summer Tomato, one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites. 

The transition to a college lifestyle is liberating, but it can also be very stressful, with new responsibilities, new friends and peer pressures, challenging courses, and living with roommates in a new setting. With all the freedom and stress that comes with college, it’s easy to develop destructive behaviors that result in weight gain due to poor eating habits, decreased activity, increased amount of time spent sitting, sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. This can ultimately result in the “Freshman 15”—a term used to describe the weight gain attributed to a student’s first year of college. To help you avoid using unhealthy behaviors as a way to cope with the stresses of college, here are some great tips on how to resist temptation, improve self-efficacy and proactively lead a healthy lifestyle.

1. Prepare

For most freshmen, college is the first experience with living away from home. This can be overwhelming and lead to stress, anxiety and depression, which are all associated with over-eating, alcohol consumption and poor decision making. To prepare yourself for these internal conflicts, create strategies and build support systems with your family and friends back home so you can resolve these feelings in a healthy manner. If you’re feeling stressed or homesick, you can:

• Take a brisk walk.
• Turn on some music that stirs up happy memories.
• Chat with family or friends on the phone.

This may also be the first time you will completely schedule your entire life, including classes, social time and meals. By planning your days strategically, you can balance your lifestyle and predetermine the healthy decisions that you will make on a daily and weekly basis. Scheduling your classes, study time, meal times, physical activity and social events allows you to efficiently manage time and avoid unexpected and problematic opportunities to snack or skip out on physical activity.

2. Control Your Environment

Individuals are often a product of their environments, so if you surround yourself with an unhealthy atmosphere you are more likely to become an unhealthy person. By choosing to surround yourself with people and places that promote a healthy lifestyle, however, you will be provided with motivation and accountability because these individuals will accept and applaud your healthy decisions. Finding healthy restaurants, stores and social events on or near campus, while avoiding fast food and social events that are based on binge drinking and unhealthy food consumption, will also allow you to make positive lifestyle behavior choices.

3. Use Technology

With smartphones and other technologies, a wealth of health and fitness information and resources is now available at your fingertips. Mobile apps for managing weight, exercise and nutrition are great tools to use on the go and take just moments out of your schedule to use. Activity tracking apps such as the iPhone Health app, Fitbit or Map My Run can tell you the distance, number of steps and calories burned from your daily and recreational activities. If you aren’t burning enough calories to maintain a healthy weight, you can increase your activity by taking different routes to your classes or alternative means of active transportation such as skateboarding and bicycling. Using nutritional analysis apps can help you easily monitor your caloric intake, nutritional data and eating patterns. If you’re unsure about how many calories a certain food from your favorite restaurant or convenience store may have, simply scan the food or search the database on apps such as “Myfitnesspal” and “Lose It.”

4. Meal Time 101

The first year of college usually marks the first time many have had to either shop and prepare their own food or choose from the campus “meal plan” or cafeteria. Many times students either do not know how to cook, have limited time, or don’t have the ability to store or prepare food in their dorms. If this is the case, you will need to employ smart shopping of healthy and easy-to-make food, pre-made meals and snacks.

Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Evol, Amy’s: Light and Lean, Trader Joes, and Weight Watchers Smart Ones offer lower-calorie frozen meal options that can easily be stored in any dorm room freezer and prepared in a microwave. Although all of these options are a much better choice than fast food chains and high-calorie convenience foods, many contain high amounts of sodium.

Storing quick and easy health foods to prepare meals is another route you can employ. For example, tortillas, low-sodium deli-turkey, reduced-fat cheese and salad mix can be combined to make a quick and easy wrap, and whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and reduced-sugar jelly can make a healthy PB&J.

If you have a weakness for chips, cookies and other junk food, don’t keep a giant bag under your bed. Try stocking up on snacks that combine healthy fats, carbohydrates and protein. Some great snack options are carrots and hummus, edamame, Greek yogurt and fruit, peanut butter and celery, or whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk.

Your college cafeteria or dining hall can be the main culprit of your struggle with weight management. If you are on a school meal plan or only have access to the cafeteria, try to choose the healthiest options available. The salad bar can be a great source for your fruits and veggies, but keep in mind that cheese, bacon bits, croutons and creamy salad dressings will significantly boost calories. Refrain from foods that are fried, covered in sauces or smothered in butter. The best options available to you in the cafe are items that are grilled, steamed, baked or broiled. And be wary of mixed dishes as many will have extra oil, sugar and sauces added to them. Try following the MyPlate guidelines and focus on portion control.

5. Join In

Use the resources that you have available on campus to you to engage in extracurricular physical activity. Your college campus should have a fitness center available to you. Many college fitness centers are state-of-the-art and feature weight-training equipment, cardio machines, pools, rock climbing walls, and group exercise classes. You don’t need to become a gym rat, but use the fitness center as a resource to find a physical activity that you enjoy on a regular basis.  

If you’re not a big gym person and would prefer team activities or sports, your college should have extracurricular as well as for-credit classes revolved around recreational sports that are available to you for a low cost. Try joining an intermural sports team, club or class to stay active and make new (health-conscious) friends along the way.

If knowledge about health, fitness and nutrition is what you seek, try taking an introductory fitness, nutrition or health course as a lower division elective to educate yourself about leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

Freshman year of college is filled with many exciting new opportunities and responsibilities that can shape the lifestyle habits you have for the rest of your life. Implementing these strategies and using the various tools and resources available can help you form the positive habits you need to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

Author : Justin Smith is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Health Coach, Fitness Nutrition Specialist and Orthopedic Exercise Specialist with a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in kinesiology with an emphasis in physical therapy.

Enjoy a hot mug of homemade mac n cheese...ready in minutes. Pair this recipe with your campus dietitians Mac N Cheese Makeover. You will never go back to the stuff in the box again!!

How to Say Goodbye to Self-Destructive Thoughts

The reasons to stop drinking soda are abundant. Whether you want to cut down on empty calories and added sugars, consume less artificial sweeteners, wean off of caffeine, or even save money, ditching soda is a great place to start.

I actually used to be a big soda drinker–the diet type in particular. Something about it being calorie-free gave me permission to drink it with reckless abandon–so I did. At one point, I consumed more soda than water throughout the course of the day.

Back in 2006 I decided I wanted to rid myself of a dependence on artificial sweeteners, so naturally I started with soda. Over the course of about a year I went from drinking 2-3 sodas per day to 2 to 3per month. I still very much enjoy a cola with my cheeseburger and french fries, but now that I drink it so much less frequently, I have no problem treating myself to the real deal.

Taken directly from HelloHealthy

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If there is one fact that everyone knows in theory but not in practice, it’s this: You’re not perfect.

You’re going to struggle. You’re going to have bad days. You’re going to eat more than you planned on eating, and you’re going to feel like doing nothing sometimes. It’s not a matter of “if.” It’s “when.” And, after helping more than 1,000 people lose weight, I can tell you more than likely that “when” is Friday.

Friday is the most common day I see people get a case of the “screw its.” When perfect is no longer an option, they just throw the playbook completely out the window. But these swings in consistency are death to long-term weight loss because they rob us of momentum.

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Written By: Coach Stevo nutrition and change behavior consultant

HOW I LOST 70 POUNDS IN 30 DAYS…

If you’ve seen my photos with that headline, it was because I was robbed.

Seriously. A shady diet company lifted my photos off of my website and stuck them on their own with that unrealistic claim. I DID lose 70 pounds but it was over the course of one year. And I’ve kept it off for 10 years now!

I worked really hard to completely change my lifestyle and I’m extremely proud of that. There was no magic pill or potion involved. No special diet. Not even a crazy workout routine. Honestly, the hardest part for me was accepting and loving myself regardless of how much fat my body was carrying. Once I realized that, the eating less and moving more thing didn’t seem as hard as it once did.

So, how do you know when weight-loss claims and photos are real or part of a scam? If there were a safe, effective, simple, fast solution out there, it would be front-page news. We’d all know about it and the inventor would be the richest person on the planet.

But there isn’t.

Directly from : Roni Noone Co-author of What You Can When You: Healthy Living on YOUR Terms, Roni Noone started blogging in 2005

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Make lunches your friend with these healthy, portable ideas under 400 calories. Our collection of work-friendly lunch recipes allows you to spice up plain sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas and salads so you can proudly announce what you’re eating to your colleagues (not that you would). Check them out and get excited about packing your lunch this week!

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Taken Directly from MyFitnessPal’s Featured Recipes- June 4, 2015