Are you tired of lifting all those adjustable dumbbells and depriving yourself of food?

Worry no more, read on to find out the solution!

 

Introduction

Have you finally decided to lose weight like you have for the past years? Are you tired of going to the gym and facing all those gym equipment? Are you food deprived?

If your answer to all three questions is yes, well you have come to the right place! This article will talk about healthy food; not the average fatty food, but some guilt-free food. Why do I want to talk about this?

My reason for writing this is primarily my own and my close friends’ experience in weight loss failure. It is a tough road to head to, and there are a lot of people going through it. I learned the things that I know now the hard way.

Enrolling yourself to the gym is one thing, but keeping a strict diet is another. And, it is highly dependent on how you define ‘strict.’ If you or your trainer is putting up so much pressure on the food that you eat, think about it. If it comes to the extent of you experiencing depression because of food deprivation, then know that something is wrong.

I have tried almost all kinds of workout programs. I did yoga, pilates, aerobics, even weight lifting! I kid you not I even bought adjustable dumbbells for when I weight lift at home. I have adapted different diet plans too—all-veggie diet, completely-no-carbs diet, etc.

I did lose tons of weight, but it has come to a point where I got too thin and did not look healthy anymore. Then I realized I deprived myself too much.

How do we avoid this and still continue our ‘’journey’ towards a healthy body? The answer is simple. Do tons of research. And by this I mean maximize what you have on the internet. Download an app if necessary!

What to do? Go through a thousand of different healthy recipes and find ones that you can try out for yourself. With this, you will be able to choose recipes that suit your taste. You can even pick your favorites. This way, you can eat what you want without having to sacrifice the “health factor.”

Now if you are not much of a cook at home, you can always entrust the task to another person. However, it is highly recommended that you do it yourself so you can have the food the way you want it. This will need more effort, yes, but rest assured it will feel rewarding.

I have tried this myself, and I have never felt so good. It has enhanced my kitchen skills and my creativity too. Now I could not get enough of looking for more and more recipes.

Let me share with you some of the recipes I adapted from delish.com. First up is the Santa Fe Chicken Salad. Let me tell you a few things about it. I love chicken a lot! When I haven’t started cooking, I remember I would always go to the nearest restaurant to get chicken wings.

I eat all parts of the chicken and am guilty of grubbing on those skins. But since I started eating healthy, I researched on chicken with veggies. I am a salad lover too, and so I found this yummy. Here is the recipe (Source: http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50635/santa-fe-chicken-salad-recipe/):

What you will need:

  • ¼ cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
  • pepper flakes (crushed; up to you how much you’d like to put in)
  • ¼ cup lime or lemon juice
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp. cumin (ground)
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • Ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • 2 small corn tortillas (or your regular tortillas)
  • 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
  • 4 cups romaine lettuce (chopped)
  • 1 cup black beans (drained)
  • 1 avocado (chopped)
  • 2/3 cup corn kernels
  • 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded; you can also use regular cheese)
  • ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

  1. Make the dressing/marinade. In a large food bowl, whisk the red pepper flakes, olive oil, lime or lemon juice, cumin powder and add cumin together until emulsified.
  2. In a resealable plastic bag (or Ziplock), place the chicken breasts. Pour half of the dressing or marinade, seal the bag and toss to coat the chicken.
  3. Let it marinate for 15-20 minutes. In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil on medium heat. Divide the tortillas in two and then slice them further into strips of ½ inch each. Put the strips into the oil and fry until crispy. Drain them on paper towels after frying and season with salt.
  4. In another skillet, heat the remaining vegetable oil and add the marinated chicken. Cook it for 6-8 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing to bite-size pieces.
  5. Assemble the salad by putting in the remaining ingredients. Top it with the chicken and crispy tortillas strips and pour in the dressing.
  6. There you have it: a super easy and healthy chicken salad. You can do this in under an hour. Indeed it is perfect even for those who are on the go.

This is just one example. There are a lot more available online and on cookbooks (if that’s your thing). Patience and extra effort are all it takes to get that healthier body you’ve always wanted. Happy cooking!

Author Bio:

Hi all, I’m Jake Tyler. From the age of 16, I have been a kickboxer, and I’ve built up an incredible passion for fitness & self-improvement. I’ve created Strongdaily.net for YOU to guide with the best tips in achieving your health & fitness goals.