Many of us make health-related resolutions, such as to lose weight, stop smoking or join a health club. While it is common to set high goals, experts say that setting smaller goals could do more for our health.
“Small steps are achievable and are easier to fit into your daily routine,” says James
O. Hill, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. “They are less overwhelming than a big, sudden change.”
SMALL STEPS…here is a few ideas you may like to try
- Keep an eye on your weight and work on making sure you are not gaining extra kilos. Even if you gain just a kilo or two every year, the extra weight adds up quickly.
- Take more small steps. Use a pedometer to count your daily steps; then add 2,000 steps keep adding steps, 1,000 to 2,000 each month or so, until you take 10,000 steps on most days.
- Eat breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less and have better diets overall. For a filling and nutrition-packed breakfast, top up with fresh fruit slices and low-fat or fat-free milk. (if on Keto – full Fat)
- Switch three grain servings each day to whole grain. If you’re like the average human being , you eat less than one whole grain serving a day.
- Have at least one green salad every day. Eating a salad (with low-fat or fat-free dressing) is filling and may help you eat less during the meal. It also counts toward your five daily cups of vegetables and fruits.
- Trim the fat. Fat has a lot of calories, and calories count. Purchase lean meats, eat poultry without the skin, switch to lower-fat cheeses, use a nonstick pan with only a dab of oil or butter.
- Consider calcium by including two or three daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt. Dairy calcium is good for bones and may also help you lose weight.
- Downsize. The smaller the bag, bottle or bowl, the less you will eat.
- Lose just 5 to 10 percent of your current weight. The health benefits are huge. What will you gain: lower blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides.
- Keep track of your eating. Write down what you eat over the next couple of days and look for problem spots. Often, just writing things down can help you eat less.
Furthermore it’s no secret that antioxidants are incredibly beneficial to good health. It’s believed the antioxidants in food can help prevent cancer, reverse or slow aging, enhance your immune system, increase your energy and improve heart and other organ health.
Given all we know about antioxidants and their beneficial properties, it’s amazing more people don’t get enough fruits and vegetables, the primary sources of antioxidants. Experts recommend a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, but say getting 7-10 servings is best.
There are 10 steps to getting more antioxidants into your diet
1.Breakfast
Breakfast doesn’t have to be a on the way out the door. Throw some strawberries, 100% juice and yogurt into a blender; pour your delicious mixture into a cup and head out the door. You’ve just added one to three servings of fruits to your daily intake. Or throw some berries onto your cold or hot cereal.
2.Snacks
Here’s an easy way to get more antioxidants in your diet. How about a handful of raisins for a snack, or some fresh red grapes? Dip some strawberries in yogurt. You’ll feel decadent, but the berries provide the color you’re looking for. Need crunch? How about some baby carrots dipped in hummus? Consider a handful of pecans for crunch and a nice antioxidant boost.
3.Lunch and dinner
Adding a salad to each of your main daily meals can add loads to your overall health and well-being. They don’t have to be boring, and they don’t have to be just salad greens. If you’re going classic, add some red pepper slices to your green salad, some tomatoes to the Greek salad, or cranberries to your greens. Whip up a broccoli salad for lunch, or be adventurous and mix
up a rice salad with fresh vegetables like string beans, tomatoes, peppers and red onions.
4.Dessert
Berries, with or without whipped cream or chocolate are a wonderful way to end
your day of healthy, antioxidant-rich eating.
5.Beverages
Replace your soda with tea or coffee, both of which boast antioxidant compounds.
Have a glass of wine with dinner, or for a real change of pace, pour a glass of chai tea.
6.Think outside the box
We know we can get our antioxidant FIx from berries, salads and the like, but researchers say powerful antioxidants can also be found in a variety of unexpected foods, like russet potatoes, artichokes, and small red beans. The beans, in fact, may have more antioxidant power than blueberries, experts say. So to your rice salad full of vegetables, add some beans for even more antioxidants.
7. Cook lightly
You think you’re being good, preparing vegetables each night for your family’s dinner. But if you’re overcooking the vegetables, you’re cooking out a lot of the beneficial properties of the antioxidants. Steam (don’t boil) vegetables, and stop cooking them when they will have all of their bright color and most of their bite.
8.Plant a garden
Experts believe that people who plant and harvest vegetables from their own gardens are far more likely to eat more vegetables and fruits than people who buy their produce from the store. So plant a garden, watch it grow and eat the fruits
(literally) of your labor.
9.Take your healthy diet on vacation
Too many of us consider going on vacation an opportunity to take a vacation from everything, including healthy eating. Think of vacation as a way to be introduced to new foods. Order an interesting vegetable dish in a restaurant and then pay attention to how the chef prepared the dish.
10.Learn to cook
If you’re cooking, you’re not opening bags and boxes. Cooking involves scrubbing and peeling vegetables, preparing whole foods and paying attention to how things are cooked. If you’re ordering out every night, you’re far less likely to be eating the whole foods and natural fruits and vegetables that provide the base for our antioxidant intake.
HAPPY EATING
We wish you a wonderful day
