It may seem like just yesterday that you were counting down on New Year’s Eve and vowing to make better choices for your lifestyle and your health. It’s no wonder that the most common New Year’s Resolution is to ‘lose weight’. However, now the hot weather is creeping in and ‘getting healthy’ could seem like a distant memory. Setting out and sticking to making healthier changes can seem scary and insurmountable. Where to even start? Overhauling weeks and sometimes years of unhealthy choices can take more than a quickly written list on a piece of paper. When it comes to adopting your new upgraded lifestyle and more importantly sticking to them it can sometimes be more achievable to pick small, actionable and simple goals to ease you in gently.
Get Your Greens
The human body likes to use energy that it can easily access and burn. Which means it’s human nature to want to stock up on rice, potatoes and moreish bread. So instead of piling the carbs on your plate and helping yourself to a tiny teaspoon of veggies or salad, try and work backwards and serve yourself your veggies first. Then add your protein and then your carbs. Ideally, half your plate should be filled with vegetables and the other quarters with wholesome foods such as lean chicken and healthy complex carbohydrates such as quinoa or sweet potato.
Stock Up On Healthy Foods
Labelling food as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ can create a whole host of problems when it comes to food. Feeling guilting when eating something that is not nutritionally dense can create feelings of guilt and shame which should be avoided. No food is ‘bad’ or ‘good’ just some are healthier for you than others. However, if you feel that you are struggling to step away from the junk food and make healthier food choices it might be time to take the decision out of your hands, with a meal basket or food delivery service. Companies such as Sun Basket provide organic, nutritious meal kits for a variety of dietary requirements such as paleo, vegetarian and even vegan. Read more about Sun Basket meal kits here.
Hydrate Yourself
It is recommended that you drink several litres of water a day. Water is necessary to keep all of your bodily functions working their best. It is also known that we sometimes confuse thirst with hunger- so before you reach for the fridge have a glass of water, wait ten minutes and see how you feel. Drinking water before meals also allows you to feel fuller and therefore naturally you’ll be consuming less.
Get Moving (doing something that you love)
Exercise doesn’t have to mean slogging away on the treadmill for hours. Of course it is important to get in cardio exercise but there are a variety of ways to do it. Love dancing? Take a Zumba or Barre class. Love challenging yourself and getting out into nature? Join a rock climbing or bouldering club for the best of both worlds. It’s much easier to stick to something when you truly enjoy it.
Speak Your Mind