Little changes you can make

First of all let me say I am no means an expert on this stuff but I've done some research and I'm a believer in all these tips.

I've been seeing lots and lots and lots of resolution posts and many people saying they are starting their healthy eating this month. To help you all meet your goals I've put together 4 tips that are small ways to change your lifestyle and improve your health. Most of my tips were inspired by clean eating, made most famous by Tosca Reno.

Image source

1. Water is your best friend.

Drinking water to most people feels a lot like a chore and it is not hard to see why most people don't drink enough. Water has so many health benefits which is understandable as we are made of 50-60% water! To ensure we are our best selves inside and out (hello beautiful skin) we need to keep hydrated. 

It is recommended that woman drink 1.6 litres of water a day and men slightly higher at 2 litres. A lot of people might look at these numbers and think they are unattainable. Try thinking of it like this... The average office usually has a water cooler with plastic cups that are around 0.25 litres. In order to reach your target of 1.6 litres in a day, you have to drink 6 and a half glasses in those cups. If you work for eight hours a day and you try to have a cup one every hour it is pretty easy to meet!

If you don't have a water machine then how about this... Purchase a 500ml water bottle and drink 3 of these and an extra 5th of the bottle to meet the daily recommendation. If you are struggling to pick up your water bottle and drink how about setting yourself time limits. For example, I will drink 2 cups or 1 full bottle by 10am.

2. Eat good carbs.

Carbs, we love them, but we hate them. We all need carbs in our life for energy and if you were to think of carbs you'd probably think: potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and crisps. Many diets insist on cutting out carbs all together but we all know that when the diet is over and we can eat carbs again the weight goes back on instantaneously. 

I'm going to let you in on a well know secret (that you may not know about) - there are such things as good carbs. They give you energy, not sugar rushes, provide you with vitamins and minerals.

To make the change from bad to good you can start by replacing these popular items. Instead of white bread eat whole meal, instead of rice or pasta have quinoa, brown rice or wholegrain pasta. instead of normal potatoes try sweet potatoes (these can be mash, roasted or made into chips and wedges) and most importantly don't eat ready meals, cook with real ingredients and lots of veg! By making some of these small changes you will see a difference in your weight and also how you feel. Try this website for more info.

3. Limit yourself but don't cut yourself off completely!

I think this point is really important. Everyone is human, we all enjoy a treat and we don't want to be saying no to ourselves all the time. If you want something, have it but don't go overboard. Instead of making yourself sick on a large bar of chocolate, have a few pieces and save the rest for later. Be sensible!

4. Drink less caffeine.

This may be difficult for all of you coffee lovers out there but you should really consider cutting back on caffeine. Caffeine is mildly addictive, can stimulate your nervous system which increases heart rate and blood pressure, can interfere with iron absorption and can irritate your stomach causing headaches and insomnia(web MD + Caffeine informer). Not really what I want from my morning drink...

I'm not saying cut out tea, coffee and fizzy drinks altogether because let's face it I couldn't live without a cup of tea and some biscuits. There are many decaffeinated versions of our favourite drinks on the market. Nescafe, Tetleys, Yorkshire Tea, Twinings, Starbucks and Coke all offer decaffeinated versions of your favourites. Now I can't speak for coffee, as I don't drink it, but for me, caffeinated and decaffeinated tea taste the same. Try changing and see if you feel any different!

In my eyes, these 4 things are relatively easy to alter but for you, it maybe be harder. If you push yourself to achieve these I think you'll feel much better.

Any questions, or maybe conflicting arguments please feel free to comment. I am only trying to suggest some healthy lifestyle changes that I have seen so many apply.