Nutrition

Tips to Stay Healthy Throughout the Year

healthy foodsThe vast majority of people want to live a healthy lifestyle, but changing your current lifestyle and keeping up a better and healthier one isn't always easy. For a lot of people, it means waving goodbye to their beloved sodas, pizzas and weekend wine. However, it doesn't have to be a difficult task, and once you stop thinking about it as one, it will instantly become easier and more manageable.

1. Watch what you drink

Most people don't think much of what they drink, but with any diet or healthy living plan, you have to watch what you drink as well as what you eat. For example, if you're counting calories, it's important to count your morning orange juice, the milk you pour into your cup of coffee and that glass of wine you drank last night with your meal. If you don't like the idea of "drinking your calories" and feel like you need more food, stick to water, herbal tea and the occasional small glass of juice or milk and you'll find that you can enjoy more food with your meals.

2. Don't take the lazy option

If you have the choice between stairs and the elevator, choose the stairs. This is something which you've most likely heard before - it's the small changes which will eventually add up to make the big change. If you're not used to taking the stairs at work or in the shopping mall, it will seem like a hard task at first, but once you've been doing it regularly for a couple of weeks, you'll be able to walk up and down the stairs with ease, and you'll feel so much better about your new lifestyle!

3. Motivate your friends

Certain things, such as dieting and getting into better shape, are so much easier if you're doing it with other people instead of alone. If you're worried about offending your friends by asking if they'd like to count calories with you, have a salad club one day in the week or join the gym, casually mention your new plan and what you're doing in order to get healthier. Make it sound like you're managing it very well (even if you don't quite feel like it that day!) and tell them about the great new membership offer you found at the gym. Due to the fact that most other people will also be craving a "beach body" or just want to feel better within themselves, you'll definitely have a few people asking more questions once you start explaining it.

4. Don't keep changing the diet

They call it yo-yo dieting, and it's clear to see why. Most people are very unsuccessful with this type of dieting, and it can seem like you're constantly dieting and not seeing any results. In order to get the best results with your healthy living and eating plan, you should find one which suits you and stick to it for as long as possible. It's true that sometimes your body needs a change in order to keep losing weight or toning up, but the change shouldn't be every few days or even every few weeks. Programs like Medifast California allow people to lose weight easily and effectively as long as they keep going with the plan and don't give up. Programs like this also allow you to get the support which most people need while they are on this type of journey.

5. Allow yourself a treat

When Christmas Day, family birthdays and special occasions come around, allow yourself to have a day off and have some cake and other treats, but don't go overboard. For example, if you're counting calories, allow yourself to have double the usual amount of calories for that day. Another idea is to "save" some calories from each day for a couple of weeks (such as 100 calories per day), and you'll feel like you're eating your saved calories instead of extra ones! Giving yourself this type of flexibility every once in a while enables you to keep dieting effectively when you're not giving yourself some "time off", and it'll also lessen your cravings for sweet things and junk food.

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