healthy living

5 Ways to Get Healthy Today

get healthyA lot of people make the New Year’s resolution to get healthy, be more active and lose weight.  Now half of the year is over and if that was your goal back in January how’s it going?  Summer is also a time when people want to get healthy because it’s swimsuit season.

Getting healthy and losing weight isn’t easy, it’s definitely a lifestyle change and it takes a lot of determination.  People often say “You want to lose weight, so lose weight.”  Those people are usually skinny.  If you’ve ever tried to go on a diet, stick to an exercise schedule or drink shakes for two meals a day then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve learned a thing or two about living a healthier lifestyle over the years.  I’ve learned that it will only happen if you really want it to, you need to be committed to the cause and it won’t happen overnight.

Here are 5 ways to change your habits and get healthy:

Less sugar and sweets

I once asked a dietician if I had to choose between sugar and carbohydrates which is the lesser of the two evils.  She told me that eating sugar is absolutely the worst thing you can do for your body.  Avoid eating processed sugar like cakes, cookies, chocolate and cupcakes at all times.  It’s better to eat a bagel than it is a cupcake, can you believe that?

Processed foods are the devil.  Even if they’re not full of obvious sugar groceries such as ketchup and white bread still have sugar in them.  Kraft cheese slices are also not good for you, even though they taste really good.  Eat natural foods whenever you can and try to avoid anything in a bag or box.

Add water into your diet

This is healthy living 101.  Water helps replenish the body and avoid dehydration.  If I feel a headache coming on and drink a glass of water I feel better.  Why is that?  Water is a better alternative to drinking fruit juices which are full of sugar and Diet Coke, which is also apparently not good for the body.  I love Diet Coke but I’ve cut it down to one to two a week as oppose to one every day.  It was a change, but I don’t regret it.

Everything in moderation

If I could eat French fries every day I would.  But that’s not a good look and it’s definitely not good for my weight loss.  Instead of cutting certain foods out of my diet I’ve learned to eat them in moderation.  I eat off smaller plates and never go back for a second serving.  That way I can still eat a little bit of the foods I love without binge eating.

After dinner I’ll have one Oreo cookie for dessert with a cup of blueberries or a few slices of watermelon – I love watermelon.  That way I still get to have dessert, eventually the sugar rush from the fruit kicks in and I still get to eat (at least) one cookie.

Get active

According to WebMD getting physical (yes like Olivia Newton John) can help kick weight loss into high gear, combined with healthy eating habits of course.

“Assess your activity. How much physical activity do you get in a typical week? How intense is that activity? How much variety do you get in your activity, and how much do you enjoy it? The CDC recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or one hour and 15 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening activities at least two days per week.”

Be conscious of what you eat

Instead of just limiting what you eat, it’s important to be conscious of what foods you put into your body.  Ask yourself what’s the purpose?  Will it give you energy?  Will you be full or hungry in an hour?  The answers to all of these questions will help you make better food decisions.

I purchased a food journal from Blogilates to keep track of physical activity, water intake and everything I eat.  It helped me learn to think twice before I put anything into my mouth.  It’s just like double guessing your impulse purchases, only it benefits your body not your wallet.

 

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