Resolutions. We’ve all made them and we’ve all broken them. Sometimes before they even begin. Hello my “No Chocolate in 2011” idea. Through my work with Never Liked It Anyway I have a lot of people ask me how to get healthy after a breakup – and this question gets asked even more around this time of year. To make sure I don’t have a #resolutionfail straight off the bat, I sat down with celebrity food chef Meg Hall, of Made By Meg to got her take on a realistic way to be healthy in the New Year.
Her first piece of advice was to accept that resolutions don’t work. Rather than talk about big sweeping ‘resolutions’, she believes success actually comes when you find small ways to be a little healthier each day. This is really about changing your mindset and finding a plan to support your long-term goal. Sounds easy enough, right? So are these are 15 hot tips, for a healthy 2015.
1. Give It A Week
In a week, you’ll start to see progress. And we all know progress begets progress. So whatever you embark on, do it for seven whole days. In a row.
2. A Salad A Day
Simple. Swap the sandwich or pasta for a salad. And do it once a day.
3. One ‘No-No’ At A Time.
Rather than cut out sugar, alcohol, carbs and dairy all at the same time, just pick one to avoid and stick to it.
4. Pimp Your Water
Eight glasses a day is pretty boring, so get creative with it! Add some mint, fruit or herbs to your daily guzzling.
5. Flashy Fashion
Buy one piece of gym gear that makes you melt. Maybe it’s trainers, maybe it’s a gym bag – whatever it is, buy something you LOVE that’ll help kick you into gear.
6. Identify Your“Muffin Top Snack”
Chips, cookies, ice-cream, candy… Whatever your weakness is, name it your “Muffin Top Snack” and don’t keep it at home! When you have to go to a gas station to get it, you suddenly realize you can live without it.
7. Upgrade Your Carbs
You don’t have to banish them, just better them. Pick sweet potato or cauliflower instead of potato, brown rice instead of white rice and quinoa not pasta.
8. Cut Off O’Clock
The earlier you eat, the better. When you eat past 8.30, your body has only had time to break down the sugar so you wake up starving and the whole day is off.
9. Forgive Yourself
If you screw up, don’t be hard on yourself and downward spiral into a twinkies oblivion. Just get over it. Pick yourself up and try again.
10. Trust Your Pants
Chuck the scales, it’s all about how your pants feel.
11. Get Moving!
We often blame aches and pains on ‘working too hard, but often, we’re just not moving enough. Moving improves blood flow and flushes out impurities. Take the stairs, meet friends at bars you can walk to and take a every now and then, meet friends for a stroll instead of a meal.
12. Tone Down The Workout
You don’t always have to crush it at the gym. If you’re not in the mood, just move lightly (you’ll thank us next time you’re at the gym and see a hot guy and you’re not a sweaty mess)!
13. Press Pause
If you really want something sweet after dinner, clean up all your dishes first and then decide if you really want it. Often, it’s habit not hunger that gets us. And if you do still want something sweet, make it dark chocolate!
14. Order Smart
As soon as the waiter leaves, you wont even remember the fries you so badly craved – and it’s often these ‘small’ things that throw us off. If you really want something else, order it once you’ve eaten your meal.
15. Break Free Of Your Desk
Sitting for hours on end is one way to bully your body. Try subbing the boardroom for a ‘walking meeting’, leaving our desk to eat lunch and taking a quick stroll around the block in the afternoon.
