​11 Small Steps To Improve Your Health

Many of us make health-related resolutions, such as to lose weight, stop smoking or join the neighborhood health club. While it's common to set goals and high expectations, experts say that setting smaller goals could do more for our health. 
 
                                                                            "Small steps are achievable and are easier to fit into your daily routine," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "They are less overwhelming than a big, sudden change." 

We have to understand that we do NOT have to be extreme to be healthy! Find a few little things that work for you and stick with them. Over time, you will naturally want to build on what is working.
 
Here are 11 to try:
 
1. Keep an eye on your weight and work on making sure you are not gaining extra lbs. Even if you gain just a pound or two every year, the extra weight adds up quickly. (Unless  of course it's muscle your gaining!)
 
2. Take more small steps. Use a pedometer to count your daily steps; then add 2,000, the equivalent of one extra mile. Keep adding steps, 1,000 to 2,000 each month or so, until you take 10,000 steps on most days.
 
3. Eat breakfast! Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less and have better diets overall. For a filling and nutrition-packed breakfast, top Whole Grain Total® with fresh fruit slices and low-fat or fat-free milk. Or for any plant-based eaters, almond yogurt alternative with granola and fresh fruit!
 
4. Switch three grain servings each day to whole grain. If you're like the average American, you eat less than one whole grain serving a day. 
 
5. Have at least one green salad every day. Eating a salad (with low-fat or fat-free dressing) is filling and may help you eat less during the meal. It also counts toward your five daily cups of vegetables and fruits.
 
6. Trim the fat! Fat has a lot of calories, and calories count. Purchase lean meats, eat poultry without the skin, switch to lower-fat cheeses, use a nonstick pan with only a dab of oil or butter.
 
7. Consider calcium by including two or three daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt. Dairy calcium is good for bones and may also help you lose weight.

8. Decrease your processed food consumption! (Well, a little over time!) Fill your diet with fruits veggies and other whole foods 
 
9. Downsize. The smaller the bag, bottle or bowl, the less you will eat. 
 
10. Lose just 5 to 10 percent of your current weight. The health benefits are huge-lower blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides.
 
11. Keep track of your eating. Write down what you eat over the next couple days and see how it changes with activity and mood.

These are just a few ways to begin to adapt a healthier lifestyle. There is no magic to a healthy body.
​Consistency with good diet and exercise is key!

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