Healthy Habits for healthier life
Hi there! Today I would like to share some habits that make you have a healthy life. Let's go!
1. Fix up your morning drink so you can enjoy it, guilt-free, every day.
Try any of the following drinks as an everyday fix. Just make sure to order a small or medium size and ask for skim or low-fat milk.
•Regular or flavored brewed coffee (black)
•Espresso
•Americano (it's my choice)
•Misto or café au lait, with skim milk (half regular coffee, half steamed milk).
•Latte with skim milk
•Cappuccino with skim milk
•Macchiato with skim milk
•Teas (black, green, white, or herbal teas; hot and iced)
When it comes to sweetening your drink, try using just 1 teaspoon of real sugar (the amount in one packet of Sugar in the Raw)—it's only 20 calories. By moderating the amount of real sugar you use, you can reduce the calories and forget the chemicals that come with artificial sweeteners.
2. Start every day with a breakfast regimen that includes both fiber and protein.
•Instead of a bagel, order whole-wheat toast. Many bagels pack the caloric equivalent of more than four slices of bread.
•Try egg whites. One whole egg is in the neighborhood of 80 calories, while an egg white has only about 20 calories. Ask for one whole egg mixed with a couple of egg whites—egg whites are surprisingly yummy on their own, especially with some chives, tomatoes and salt and pepper.
•Add salsa and hot sauce to your egg sandwich. Salsa packs antioxidants and vitamin C with negligible calories, and hot sauce jolts the taste buds and may create a satiating effect.
•Ask for avocado on whole-wheat toast—it's surprisingly delicious.
3. Aim for a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack every day.
The night before work, plan ahead for one small snack (no more than 100 calories) and one more substantial snack (100 to 200 calories) for the next day. Your immediate reaction to the last sentence may be "I am way too busy." But let's face it—you spend plenty of mental energy thinking about your weight, obsessing about your body, and planning outfits that are slimming. Why not spend some of that time being proactive? Have your healthy, planned, pre-portioned smaller snack midmorning, around 11 a.m.
4. Eat lunch that contains high-fiber, high-water-content foods and a portion of lean protein.
Eating the right salads every day is a fabulous way to fill up on the best foods—veggies and lean protein—and to fulfill your 5-A-Day goal. And here's an added bonus: Research has indicated that women who eat two servings of vegetables per day tend to look younger than their non-veggie-eating peers.
5. If you have a sweet tooth, and most of us do, have a "sweet nothing" every day.
Dessert is such an important part of the day that we should make it a habit—but a low-calorie one. Sweet nothings are your every-single-day 0- to 150-calorie dessert "dos." Women who allow themselves a sweet indulgence every day do not have cravings that lead to outrageous binges and don’t feel deprived.
6. Drink up to one alcoholic beverage per day.
Knowing the benefits and risks of alcohol is important in making healthy choices. Here are some important strategies for keeping yourself from overdoing it:
•Alternate every alcoholic drink with water.
•Dilute your white wine by ordering a spritzer.
•Order dry white wine (e.g., Sauvignon Blanc) over a sweeter white (e.g., Riesling).
•Go for diet tonic, diet soda, or seltzer water as a mixer.
•Order a club soda with a splash of vodka.
7. Use dining out as an opportunity to eat fish.
As you know, fish is an extremely important part of your diet as it is a main source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Try to eat two or more servings of fish every week.
8. Make a resolution to cook dinner at least once a week.
Not only can eating in save you calories and money, it can be an excellent way to de-stress after a long day, especially if you like to cook. A recent study of the eating habits of young adults (18 to 23) revealed that those who purchased and prepared their own foods were more likely to meet dietary recommendations for fat, calcium, fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain intake.
9. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Adequate sleep is a pillar of weight loss. The sleep habits of more than 238,000 female nurses enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study were analyzed over the course of 16 years. The results were conclusive: Women who slept less than seven hours per night weighed more than women who slept seven or more hours.
If you aren't able to get a full night's sleep, make up missed zzz's with a catnap. A good nap length is somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes (I do when my boss isn't in office). This will give you the restorative benefits of sleep without the fatigue that comes on with a long bout of deep sleep.
10. Walk at least 30 minutes almost every day and work out four to five times a week at a higher intensity for at least 20 minutes.
Walking is great for your heart, your waistline, and helps clear your head. It counts as "weight-bearing exercise," and so is good for your bones, and it's low-impact, so it's easy on your joints. And with cell phones, BlackBerries, and iPods, a stroll does not have to be dead time.
As for the second part of Healthy Habit no. 10, working out 4 to 5 times per week more vigorously will get your heart rate up, tone your body, and sweat away the woes of the day.
11. Drink water with every meal and throughout the day.
Water keeps our cells happy by preventing them from sticking together, and it plays a role in just about every single vital function of the body. Thirst is associated with feelings of confusion and sluggishness.
Adequate hydration can be the cure-all for this brain fatigue, as the oxygen component of water gives us a natural boost of energy—without any calories or chemicals. The amount of water you need to drink for proper hydration varies depending on your activity level, size, sweat rate, and the climate in which you live. If you want a more specific goal to help you plan your water intake, make it a priority to gulp 8 to 12 glasses (8 ounces each) of delicious aqua every day.
I wish these could help you a healthy life as you want. lol
Any queries that I could help you, please feel free to reach me at stargirlyune@gmail.com, see you!
Sources: 11 Healthy Habits for healthier life by Women’s Health, msn healty&fitness, Nutrition/ all pictures, goole.com
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