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Step 1
INCORPORATE EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE.
While at home, you can stand and do lunges or squats while watching television, making dinner, or doing laundry. During commercials, do some leg lifts, jumping jacks or crunches.
Take breaks from the computer or TV and get up and walk around the house or do some stretches.
When you go shopping, park far away from the store entrance. Always take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Both of these things require little extra time but can reap benefits.
At work, go for a walk on breaks or lunch and take a friend to socialize to give yourself a healthy mental break. Get up from your desk and take short, brisk walks throughout the day. Stand up and stretch after long periods sitting at the desk. -
Step 2
SQUEEZE IN SOME EXERCISE.
If you do not have time to go to the gym for an hour every day, there are other options to squeeze some exercise into your day. Just 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week can be beneficial!
- Go for a 30 minute high intensity walk.
- Take the dog for a quick jog or walk - then you both get exercise.
- Buy some exercise DVD’s to work out at home.
- Do some pushups, squats, or abdominal exercises in your house.
- Participate in circuit training in order to combine cardio and strength training. Check out the 300 workout.
** Remember: Some exercise is better that none. Do what is convenient for you and fits into your lifestyle. -
Step 3
REPLACE SODA AND COFFEE WITH WATER.
Water is essential to life. Not only does it keep you hydrated, drinking water helps with the digestive and circulatory system, contributes to weight loss, prevents cramps during exercise, and keeps your body systems in balance. The simple task of drinking more water contributes to a healthier lifestyle.
Caffeinated beverages are okay in moderation, but too much can lead to dehydration and energy-depletion once the caffeine wears off. If you want to drink beverages besides water, try herbal tea or flavor your water. For ideas on making water taste more interesting, reference the link in Resources.
To help you drink more water throughout your busy day, fill up a large water bottle and keep it with you wherever you go. Having it with you will help remind you to drink! -
Step 4
PACK HEALTHY SNACKS.
Refined sugar and high fat products add more calories into your diet which can lead to weight gain. It is healthy to have a few snacks throughout the day to prevent hunger pangs and overeating. In order to avoid sugary and high-calorie snacks, pack readily available snacks for snacking.
Examples of healthy snacks include baby carrots or other raw vegetables, low-fat cheese, nuts, fruit, whole grain crackers, natural peanut butter, light yogurt, and rice cakes.
Having these snacks readily available may prevent you from going for a quick snack from the vending machine when those afternoon munchies kick in. -
Step 5
PLAN AHEAD FOR THE WEEK.
Instead of trying to come up with ideas for meals every night of the week and avoid last minute grocery shopping, plan ahead. When you are creating a shopping list, think of quick easy and healthy recipes and add all those ingredients to your list. By having the ingredients in the house to make healthy meals, you can avoid those fast food stops and go home for a healthy meal instead.
When you cook the meals, make extra to provide leftovers throughout the week. You can store the leftovers in the freeze and have ready-made meals available for lunch or dinner.
If you work away from home, pack your lunch the night before to have a healthy lunch available. You will also save money in the process instead of going out to a restaurant for lunch or grabbing something from a local fast food place.
Comments
betterbody said
on 6/28/2009 Excellent tips for living healthy.