5 Healthy Habits for the New Year and beyond…

  1. Drink lots of water

Yawn. I know, you’ve read it a million times before but it really does help! Thirst can often come disguised as hunger, as the symptoms are similar and the brain gives out similar signals for both needs.

  1. Think positive thoughts, not guilty ones!

Forget how badly you may have done up until now at sticking to a healthy lifestyle, today is a new day and there’s absolutely no reason why this time shouldn’t be different. Willpower is like a muscle, it gets stronger the more you use it so don’t be disheartened if you slip up along the way, encourage yourself the way you encourage others and keep exercising that willpower and you WILL get the results you’re looking for.

  1. Fill half your plate with vegetables!

Seems obvious right? But still so many people don’t reach their fruit and veg RDA and often feel unsatisfied after a ‘healthy’ dinner. If you fill half your plate with veg you’ll have less room for any unhealthy foods and you’ll feel full afterwards! A high fibre diet has been proven to assist weight loss but even if that’s not your goal, vegetables obviously have a huge range of vitamins and minerals in which are so necessary in your diet!

  1. Get moving.

In any way you enjoy. Whether that be a long walk, a jog, a bike ride, dancing in the kitchen, using the stairs instead of the lift, whatever you want! Really try to take the more active option whenever possible and MAKE time to get some sort of movement into your day, once you’ve done it for a week the endorphins and mental benefits will get you hooked, honest!

  1. Keep a Food Diary

This really does help with accountability, it makes you realise where you might be going wrong. Often we eat things unconsciously but having to write it down shows you what your diet is really like, warts and all! You don’t have to do it forever but it’s a really handy tool to get you started and later on down the road, if you find your progress plateauing, go back to it and see if you’re actually eating more than you thought!