We have put together effortless tips on how to eat healthier and motivate yourself through this upcoming year. There are 10 to choose from and even the smallest of steps could make positive changes.
An example would be setting yourself a goal of eating 5 servings of fruit or veg a day. Why not try to include one healthy add-on into meals such as a small serving of veg on the side.
Eating right isn’t the only way you can stay healthy, short workouts will help to keep you moving for free. The first one is squats. Why not squat whilst you are brushing your teeth? Another is yoga. Start your day off right with a few quick poses helping your body and mind stay fit – there’s loads of free videos on YouTube to help you get started. The beginner sessions can be 20 minutes long and are made to be an easy gateway into similar activities.
We all know that processed foods aren’t particularly good for you. When planning a meal, aim to make something that is fresh and requires you to cook from scratch – you’ll be a master Chef in no time and feel so much better for it!
Eating the same boring meals can get old and repetitive, try mixing your meals up by looking for healthy recipes online (Pinterest is great for this stuff!), in cook books or magazines. Most cookbook recipes are online now anyway. Save them to your bookmarks and get excited about trying something different.
When starting something new it is always good to let your friends and family know what you are doing, this way they can encourage and help you continue your journey. It also helps them not to offer you a sneaky chocolate bar (unless you really want it)
Getting the help and partnership from a friend when you team up and conquer the healthy lifestyle means that you will have someone to go through it with you. They can motivate you. They can moan about it with you. They can enjoy the odd cheat with you!
Preparing your meals is the key to eating healthy. Having fresh vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, healthy fats and good carbs in your cupboards and fridge each week make the journey seem less steep. You can look and plan, visually reminding yourself of all the goodness you can put in your meals.
If the tempting foods are are already in the house then it is more than likely that you are going to eat them, an idea to stop this is to make it harder for yourself to obtain these treats. Putting them in hard to get to places, such as a high cabinet, is easier to resist. Like the saying goes: Out of sight, out of mind.
Make sure you do treat yourself because deprivation tends to result badly and backfire, so if you want a treat then eat it and enjoy it. Don’t be too hard on yourself and make sure you are doing this for the right reasons. Being fit and healthy doesn’t have to come at the expense of everything you enjoy.
Don’t bring yourself down if you do slip-up – it’s not the end of the world if you eat some chocolate or treat yourself. Just do what makes you happy and remember everyone has an off day (or two or three)
Check out these 3 quick and easy smoothie recipes