Day 73

Short and sweet is the theme of tonight’s post but continuing on with the theme of ‘health’ from last night, what I’m posting tonight are five simple steps which will make you healthier so here goes…

1. Breakfast

Always eat breakfast. Always. Never skip it. It’s the most important meal of the day. Make sure you eat it even if you never feed hungry in the morning. You need to kicks-tart your metabolism and waken up your body.

2. Meals

Eat five smaller meals per day instead of three large ones. Do not starve yourself as that actually encourages your body to store fat. If your body knows that it’s getting food on a regular basis, it is less likely to hang on to ‘everything’ you eat. Five smaller meals will help keep your energy levels up and, if you must snack, go for foods such as fruit (apples, bananas etc.) and nuts (hazelnuts, cashews, brazils). Trail mix is a good alternative too.

3. Water

Drink 1-2 litres of water per day. Water will not only hydrate your body but will help prevent headaches and making you feel so tired. If you don’t like water on its own, put in some cordial (not the sugar-free ones that are full of sweeteners so avoid anything with aspartame and saccharin).

4. Fizzy drinks

Stop drinking fizzy drinks – especially Diet Coke. Fizzy drinks bloat you, are full of calories and rot your teeth. If you get used to drinking water, you’ll not miss drinking fizzy drinks.

5. Walk

Walk to the shop. Take the long way home. Park the car a bit further away from your destination. Get off the bus/train one stop earlier. Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator. Walking will help boost your circulation and help your cardiorespiratory fitness. Aim for 30 minutes every day which can be done all in one go or in shorter sessions. Being physically active will release endorphins which are the chemicals that make you feel happy.

Now, not one of the above steps will be too taxing so starting from the moment you read them, promise yourself that you're going to start doing them NOW - not tomorrow and you'll already be on the road to a healthier you!