Here's What You Should Be Drinking When Your Diet Sucks.

My diet has been terrible lately.  I've literally allowed myself full permission to eat everything I want.  I don't say this proudly because I'm pretty ashamed of how I've behaved lately.  Not just because I know that my indiscretions have resulted in a few unwanted pounds.  But because I think about the effects of my choices on my health and vitality.

I won't be able to continue eating like this forever.  Ideally, I'd wake up tomorrow and swear off sweets and fatty foods forever!  But I know that probably won't happen.  My taste buds and cravings are already way off track.   Instead of relying on the power of my non-existent willpower,  I'm going to take a totally different approach.
I'm going to try to readjust my palette and desire for healthy foods by taking the path of least resistance.  Right now, I have a lot of internal resistance to giving up my indulgent foods for healthier options.  There may be a chance for me to break that resistance down by taking an alternate approach.

Instead of immediately promising never to eat unhealthy again, I'll supplement my diet by incorporating various super-beverages into my routine.  Super-beverages are any type of drink that contributes to my overall health and wellness. 

My theory is that, by incorporating various wellness drinks into rotation, I'll ignite a keystone habit that will quickly lead me to eat healthy again.  A keystone habit is a term that I learned from the book, The Power of Habit.  Basically, these are the small actions/habit that start a chain reaction which will produce multiple positive outcomes.    I'm betting on the fact that once I'm back into the habit of consuming several super-beverages a day, healthy eating choices will soon follow.

The best part is that it takes practically no willpower to drink something that's good for you.  It's so much easier than trying to say no to / something yummy around the holidays.

First on the agenda is to bring green tea back into my life. Not only is green tea loaded with antioxidants, it can also help curb the appetite.  I put green tea at the top of the list because of its myriad of overall health benefits from increased metabolism to anti-aging and almost everything in between.  It's probably one of the few options that can counteract some of the negative health effects of my unhealthy choices. 

Second priority on the list is to bring apple-cider-vinegar-lemon-water into the mix.  Honestly, I think this tonic does a better job of curbing my cravings than green tea.  Both ACV and green tea are also excellent for lowering post-meal blood sugar spikes.   A while back, I drank some ACV water throughout the day between meals.  Within about a week or so, I noticed a difference in the scale and my cravings for naughty snacks pretty much disappeared.  It felt like the easiest thing I'd ever done!  But, eventually, I ran out of ACV and allowed myself to get back into this unhealthy lifestyle.  The good news is that I've restocked on ACV and I'm fully ready to get back on track.

Third on my list of healthy drinks that will get me back on course is actually not a drink at all.  But it's a perfect compliment to the healthy beverages I plan on incorporating into my life.   I'm pretty certain that a portion of my cravings are fueled by an unhealthy gut.  Eating unhealthy foods can change up your intestinal flora in a very short period of time.  One study determined that our gut microbiome could change in only 3 days after altering our diet.  I'm pretty sure that I could use the help of a good probiotic to get everything back in order.  That's the exact reason why I ordered another package of the powdered probiotics from GoLive.  The plan is to lace my ACV drinks with the powder to really amp up its health-promoting power. 

Lastly, I plan on reintroducing vegetables into my life again via liquids.  If I wanted to take the easiest approach, I could simply add a few drops of chlorophyll into the water and start there.  Although chlorophyll doesn't contain any of the beneficial enzymes or fiber that we get from eating veggies, we can at least partake in consuming the green essence of the plant (chlorophyll).   And of course, I can always to reinstate my practice of filling up my tiny juice bottles with cold pressed veggie juices from Suja.  I buy a large bottle and divide evenly among a bunch of more convenient 8oz bottles I picked up from Amazon.  Suja green juices are awesome because they're cold-pressed, organic and don't contain any unnecessary sugar.  I notice that it gives me a nice energy boost (similar to when I drink freshly juiced greens).  You can always pick up an individual size serving at the supermarket but I find that bottling them at home saves money which helps me stay consistent.

By the time I've started drinking these green juices and balanced my gut, I'll probably be craving oversized salads again.

Even if your diet doesn't suck, adding these beverages into your ritual will only add to your overall health.  I didn't add water on this list because water is a given.  If your diet sucks, and you aren't drinking any water,  you're missing out on so many potential benefits.