Five pillars of healthy eating

Think back to a time when you didn't get enough sleep or were eating REALLY badly. You likely didn't feel good physically, which has an immediate and real effect on the way you feel emotionally.

When your emotions are out of whack, it's hard to have the patience and balance that you need to be the best you can be.

Follow these five pillars of healthy eating:

1. Follow the 95/5 Rule.
Eat healthy 95% of the time and enjoy the other 5%. What does this mean? 95% of your eating will be whole, healthy foods, like veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains. The other 5% will be for luscious indulgence! You know what they say: You always want what you can't have. And this is so true when it comes to food!

2. Don't diet.
Diets are all about deprivation, starvation, and no's, can'ts, and shouldn'ts. When you deprive yourself or only eat iceberg lettuce salads, you won't sustain it. If you hate something, there's no motivation to keep it up, right? When you fill up with whole, real foods you are on your way to a sustainable, maintainable strong body.

3. Focus more on food than exercise.
Here's a mantra for your early morning meditation: You can't out-exercise a crappy diet. Take-care-of-your-body - a good sweat gives you so many more benefits than just burning calories. It keeps you young, combat stress, and can prevent heart attacks. And of course, it keeps your body strong, lean, and flexible.

4. Eat real food.
You need to eat good food. When you eat processed foods, you are consuming chemicals, cheap ingredients, and artificial sweeteners. Eating real foods like veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins can be easy and taste great too. Plus, they are filled with the nutrients your body craves to work like the machine that she is - no chemicals required. Nutrient dense and low-calorie is your other mantra! Remember: if it comes in a package, it's been processed!

5. Eat mindfully.
No more eating in the car, nibbling on junk at the kitchen counter, or grabbing a few leftover chicken nuggets off your child's plate. Make a vow right now to only eat when you're sitting down. Yes! When you commit to eating only while sitting down, you become super conscious about every calorie that you put into your body. Taking the time to plan a sit-down meal will also help you to coordinate healthier options, which will always be better than what you choose when you're scrambling out the door. Here is to a healthy life!