You don't need a diet, you need principles

Some of my favourite sins are pizza, cheesecake and ice cream. Everywhere I go there's always something sweet or processed that I would love to eat. So how do I resist the temptations? There's no point in pretending we don't see them or rejecting the fact that my brain is imagining biting into a delicious piece of warm pepperoni pizza. But if we want to nourish our bodies, avoid diabetes, live longer and have loads of energy we must find a healthy balance between nourishment and non-nourishing indulgence. Many people tend to practice phases of carb/sugar/alcohol abstinence to get back in shape. But once vacation or Christmas or any holiday with champagne and feast meals come around they switch to the exact opposite: not paying attention to what they eat, working out less again, telling themselves that they'll get back into a health phase after the next new moon. I would argue that dieting is one of the most popular activities in the world. People do it every year, over and over again. But if diets are so hard to stick to then what's the solution? Adopting principles. By having principles you never go through different phases again. If you create great principles and live by them day by day you can enjoy chocolate or ice cream much more often than you might think. Here are some of my principles:

• eat at least 1 portion of veggies per day, ideally leafy greens (or broccoli, of course)

• never go a week without at least 1 workout, no matter how long or short that workout is

• whenever I walk past a pull-up bar I do at least 10 pull-ups

• meditate and do breath work at least once per week, ideally on Monday mornings, even if it's only 5 minutes

• every "cheat day" or big dinner is followed by healthy day full of greens, lots of pure water, little to no meat or dairy, no gluten or sugar, and ideally no fruits

• there is no time-window too small to do a workout (Tabata, anyone?)

• always order veggies on the side when eating out and ordering indulgence food and dessert (sometimes I even bring steamed broccoli to restaurants that don't serve greens, especially when travelling in countries like Spain). Ideally, eat the veggies first. The fibers will help you feel full and slow down sugar intake (lower blood sugar response).

• Before going to a dinner or brunch where I intend to eat indulgence foods I will do a workout around 1-2 hours before the meal

What principle can you adopt that will help you live a healthier life?

In case we haven't met: nice to meet you! I'm Tommy and my mission is to help people live a healthier life through movement coaching, accountability, and health optimisation hacks. I'm also a creator and marketer: I created and launched a $200K crowdfunding product, several food products into retail, among other things. You can contact me here.