Be deliberate about setting up your day to win. Whatever you feed your mind in the first 30 minutes of the day, will impact the spirit of your day.

Most people out there look at their midsection and they judge their whole weight makeup by what they see. What is the first thing you do when addressing your weight? If you're like me or just about every human out there, you look at your gut and you say, I have to lose weight, if I could just lose 10 pounds in my gut, I would look great.

Extra girth on your waist section can be a great segue to an unhealthy future. Many problems start at your midsection including asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and dementia. Personally, I think people's first impression of you improves when your appearance features a fit belly.

It all starts with what you eat. Supporting a fried, sugary, and fatty consistent unhealthy diet, will cause visceral fat. This type of fat is found around your liver, intestines, and other internal organs underneath the abdominal wall. Some visceral fat gets stored in the omentum, a flap of tissue under the muscles, which grows harder and thicker as more fat is added. This can add inches to your waistline.

Be kind to your gut and your gut will be kind to you. I greatly improved my midsection by eliminating bad foods and improving my lifestyle, slowly, in small steps, over a decade. Everybody has a different lifestyle, willpower, discipline, and different demands in life. You need to find what works in your life. My process was slow, step by step. Over the decade I slowly adjusted my lifestyle habits to include the following:

1. When I started my plant/fish diet back in July of 2021, I started to consume beans and lentils in meals, almost daily. The bacteria that reside in the large intestine depend on “microbiota-accessible carbohydrates,” also known as prebiotics, to survive; prebiotics are food for gut bacteria. Without enough prebiotics in our diet, gut bacteria begin to consume an alternative energy source: the first line of our immune defense on the surface of the intestinal lining. This intestinal lining is made up of molecules called mucins.

All plant foods contain some prebiotics, but beans are special because they are very high in resistant starch, making them especially rich in prebiotics. Not all indigestible plant carbohydrates act as prebiotics, but resistant starch from beans provides large amounts of prebiotics.

2. Although we still eat out once or twice a week, usually just when our friends are doing something, we have decreased that amount by quite a bit. Anytime you eat out, you are probably going to overeat and eat unhealthily, even when you eat off their supposedly healthy menu. There are always unhealthy additives in restaurant food. In addition, we saved a lot of money by not going to restaurants so much. We were able to put that savings to things that were more beneficial to our enjoyment.

3. When I eat, I eat slow. I used to eat fast but have concentrated eating slowly. Eating slow gives your brain time to sense that you are full. It also helps you to enjoy and savor the meal. Now that I eat slower, I tend to not eat as much which keeps me from overeating.

4. I have eliminated unhealthy foods over time, one by one. At the same time, I have added fresh vegetables and fruit to my daily diet.

5. We have eliminated sweets in the house with the exception of a couple bags dark chocolate with sea salt and nut squares. We enjoy 1 or 2 of these small delights after a meal.

6. We ride our bikes to the nearby farm market store and try to visit weekly local mobile farm markets in the area to get seasonal veggies and fruits.

7. I eat a small handful size bowl of nuts as a snack between lunch and dinner pretty much on a daily basis.

8. Back in 2003, I eliminated soda from my diet. Later, about 2015, I eliminated all sugar drinks, including sports drinks. Sometime in that period, I gave up regular milk. These drinks can help cause bloating and can promote overeating.

9. As I eliminated sugary drinks and regular milk over the years, I replaced them with water. I drink water throughout the day. Periodically, I add lemon or cucumber to my water to replenish electrolytes and decrease the boredom of plain water.

In general, have common sense with what you eat if you want to have a healthy midsection, which will lead to a healthy existence. Try to at least limit fried foods, sugary drinks, alcohol, and red meats. If you do choose to consume these types of food, eat smaller portions when you do. Adding healthy sides and eating slower will help fill you so you don't feel the need to eat more.

To complement your improved diet, get an adequate night's sleep and try to exercise regularly. A good night's sleep is essential for good gut health. Regular exercise is known to reduce stress levels and help maintain a healthy weight, which will have positive effects on your gut.

It's never too late to start a better life!

I Feel GREAT and So Should You!