by Healthy Latina in the City
Making small changes in food choices, exercise and how we think about health can lead to big changes over time. To help think about some changes that you may want to make I have created a reasonable list of healthy tips that you can incorporate into your life to make big overall changes.
Before we make health changes in our lives we have to remember that it takes small steps to achieve big goals. My recommendation is taking 2 or 3 changes and do them for 21 days and then incorporate a new change (while hopefully still sticking with the others) for another 21 days (they say it takes 21 days to make a habit stick). Good luck!
Tips for a healthy life:
- Incorporate 20 minutes of exercise 4 days a week (walking, swimming, dancing,)
- Walk 10,000 steps each day (you can find a pedometer for under $5. Some smart phones have this feature)
- Eat a healthy breakfast (oatmeal with strawberries, egg white omelet)
- Don’t drink alcohol during the week
- When drinking alcohol choose low calorie drinks (wine, light beer, vodka with soda)
- Stop having fast food during the week
- Drink 8 cups of water per day
- Stop drinking soda
- Stop drinking juice
- Replace white flour with whole grain (brown rice, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta)
- Think positive (getting healthy isn’t always easy. Have good thoughts and look at it as a lifestyle change that will take time)
- Compliment your body (Stop calling yourself fat. Compliment what you like about your body. Tell yourself while you look in the mirror)
- Don’t wait until you are starving to eat
- Leave 10% of your meal behind (We do not always need to clean our plate)
- Drink tea
- Plan your weekly meals (knowing what you are going to eat each day will make you less likely to stray from your healthy plans)
- Have one day off to treat yourself
- When grocery shopping always have a list and stick to it
- Have a glass of water before your eat. Sometimes we feel hungry when in fact we are thirsty.
Healthy Latina in the City is a contributing writer with a personal passion for nutrition and healthy living. While she is not a nutritionist, doctor, or personal trainer she wants to take you on her journey to live a healthy lifestyle and share tips that have worked for her to incorporate good health and nutrition into your life.