10/08/2019
11 Simple Health Habits Worth Adopting Into Your Life
Diet, nutrition and fitness ideas for busy people
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Middle-Aged Woman With Arms Outstretched to Sun
When it comes to building healthy habits, small decisions add up over time. We talked to exercise physiologist Christopher Travers, MS, and dietitian Laura Jeffers, MEd, RD, LD for diet, nutrition and fitness ideas that you can incorporate into your life. Below, find their ideas for ways to be healthier every day:
1. Don’t just take the stairs — use them
If you have stairs at your home or office, take them every chance you get.
2. Drink 1 extra glass of water
There are health benefits to drinking more water. It helps keep your temperature normal, lubricates and cushions joints, protects your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, and gets rid of wastes through urination, sweat, and bowel movements.
3. Take a 10-minute walk
Walk during your lunch hour or to a store that is a block away to buy a gallon of milk — it’s all good for you.
5. Go to bed ½ hour earlier
Do you sleep a solid seven or eight hours most nights? Many of us don’t but experts say this is a marker of good heart health.
6. Replace 1 can of diet soda with carbonated water
If you drink diet soda each day, use carbonated mineral water to help wean yourself off of it.
7. Balance on one leg for 10 seconds at a time, then switch to the other leg
8. Weigh yourself every week
9. Eat a healthy breakfast every day
Eat something high in fiber that includes protein to keep you full and energized.
10. Include greens and lettuce in your meals
Incorporate lettuce into your meals to add nutrients and water to your diet. The fiber in lettuce helps to fill you up, and it does so at just 20 calories per serving
11. Find creative substitutions for unhealthy foods
Work to eliminate foods and snacks that you buy regularly that are high in calories but low on their health benefit. Eat them less often, as an occasional treat.
