Sylvia Melendez-Klinger, MS, RD
When it comes to building healthy habits, there always seems to be one challenge or another. Whether it’s hunger, lack of will power, or simply not having enough time, making the right choices can be difficult.
The good news is a “healthy balance” approach can help you achieve measurable results through small, gradual changes in your eating and exercise routines. Following up on the first article in our series, here are five additional no-sweat steps to keep you going!
- Color-code your favorite foods.
Make food decisions easier by color-coding your refrigerator and pantry. Place green stickers on foods with high nutrition content and red stickers on less nutritious foods. - Snack on high fiber foods.
Fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods (such as whole wheat breads and cereals) are all packed with fiber, which helps fill you up and keep you satisfied for longer. - Laugh. A lot. According to researchers at Vanderbilt University, laughing boosts energy expenditure and increases heart rate. As little as 10 to 15 minutes of laughing could burn 10 to 40 calories per day. Time to start laughing more!
- Get some sleep. It’s a sad truth that most adults sleep less than eight hours a night. If we don’t rest, how do we expect to have any energy? Rest is extremely important for the body to repair and recover for the next day. When we rest the body for an average of seven to eight hours a night, we give our body the downtime it needs to stay healthy.
- Build on your own success. Now that you have the tools for building healthy habits, take the time to plan out your eating and exercise routines. By approaching these tasks with a good attitude, you’ll set yourself up for even more success!