A Healthier You This Year 2014!

The start of a new year is a natural time to start afresh and evaluate your goals for the coming months. However the fact that many people break their resolutions within days of making them suggests few people put a plan in place to stick to their resolves.

Too many people approach their health with an all or nothing attitude. Good health should stem from the aim for continuous healthy lifestyle choices. By making small positive decisions every day, you will be on your way to a healthier you. Small things like drinking a glass of water instead of soft drink or choosing salad instead of chips at dinner will move you closer to your goal.

It’s important to set yourself realistic goals with an idea of what you would like to achieve in mind. If you overburden yourself with an exhaustive or unattainable list of goals, you’re likely to set yourself up for frustration and disappointment. Keep your resolution specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. 

Eliminate bad habits with good ones. Rather than restricting yourself by saying you won’t have something, make a healthy choice part of the resolution. For example, if your resolution is to eat less junk food, make packing yourself a healthy lunch each day part of your resolution. You could also incorporate a promise to always have healthy snack with you to avoid drive-throughs and vending machines!

Healthy eating does not mean boring, tasteless foods. Try these simple steps that will help you adopt a healthier you.

Eat more vegetables

There are many more vegetables to try than just lettuce and tomatoes! Bright-colored and dark green leafy vegetables are especially loaded with vitamins and antioxidant. They are also high in fiber, which makes them very filling. In addition, they are low in calories – good to help trim waistline. When you fill up your stomach with veggies, they will be less likely to feel the urge to binge on other high-fat or processed foods. Snack on fruits.

Choose Whole Grains

Not only are they high in fiber, whole grains also contain an array of antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables. The easiest way to increase whole grain intake is to replace some of your refined-grain products. For instance, use whole-grain bread instead of white bread when making lunch sandwiches. Substitute half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes. Snack on popcorn instead of chips on movie nights. You don’t need to completely wipe out all refined grains. You can always try serving half whole wheat/half refined as a starting point.  

Limit consumption of processed meat

Instead of always packing sodium-loaded processed ham, sausages sandwiches, try using high-quality protein from Fish, Eggs, Lean Meat. These protein alternatives are usually nitrate-free and more heart health friendly.

Integrate physical activity

If you know you’re going to find it difficult to fit exercise into your schedule, utilise as many opportunities as you can to naturally incorporate it into your day. Some suggestions are;
Make a promise to yourself to always take the stairs rather than the lift, Implement an email-free day at work where you walk to your colleagues’ offices to talk,Walk to the shops on a Sunday morning for the milk rather than driving.
This incidental exercise really adds up over a day to increase your daily physical activity.

On a concluding note, realistically you’re going to slip up at some point. However the people who are most successful at achieving goals are the ones who get straight back on track. Don’t beat yourself up over a slip, it isn’t failure give yourself another chance. Keeping goals is all about your long term commitment. Look at the rest of the day, week or month and decide what adjustments are necessary to make continued healthier choices. 

Diet365global wishes you a Healthy 2014!!!