The more colourful your plate, the more nutrients you're getting
Making healthy changes to our lifestyle may not be as hard as we are led to believe.
We started the New Year with the hope of a diet that would change the way we look and feel, but the chances are that these resolutions have quickly gone out of the window, with little chance of being invited back in through the door.
So, what is it we are exactly doing wrong? Well, setting our goals to high and out of our reach sets us up to fail instantly.
Here we have realistic changes that we can start making to our lifestyle right now and see and feel the benefits to ourselves.
Ditch the salt: Salt helps us to retain water so we end up with that bloated feeling. Try cutting down first and don't put it on the table when serving a meal and then reduce the amount that you add to food when cooking.
Chew your food: Yes, it simple and we've heard it plenty of times before but it works. If you take the time to chew your food you actually taste the food and you'll be able to listen to your stomach telling you when you're actually full.
Drink water, water, water: We all know that we need to drinking at least 1.5 litres of water a day, but remember that you're getting some through drinking tea and eating certain fruits and vegetables, like celery and cucumber.
Don't cut out all of the bad stuff: Treating ourselves once in a while will stop us from going insane and raiding the shop's aisles for the bad stuff. Steve Miller recommends the 80:20 where we eat good 80 per cent of the time and treat ourselves 20 per cent. But remember if it's a chocolate bar or crisp that you're craving why not reach for the lighter versions like Malteasers or Fench Fries crisp - they're less calories so you won't feel as bad.
Get you 5 a day: Yes, this does get mentioned at every opportunity. But filling up on these will stop you from eating the 'bad stuff' and you'll be getting essential vitamins and minerals which will make a big difference to your hair, skin and insides. Cut up a piece of fruit to have with your breakfast and you're starting the day in a good way and always carry around something that you can snack on. If you're hungry it'll stop you from going to the newsagent for a chocolate bar.
If you have any more simple changes that you can recommend, then please comment below. Let's make these small changes now and see the big differences soon enough.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Health Lifestyle Diet Healthy eating Diet tips