Small changes lead to big results...

Everywhere you turn for the month of January, you'll be faced with people enthusiastically working on their New Years Resolutions... everyone is running, joining gyms, banishing junk food from their house and planning a healthier 2014... Until pay day comes around in a few weeks, and then they've forgotten the pain of the NYE hangover, and feel like treating themselves because they've been soooooo good for the past 3 weeks...

A friend of mine posted a great comment on Facebook recently... 

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”

This is 100% true! A healthy lifestyle does not mean eating clean for the first 3 weeks of the year, and going crazy the rest of the time.. It's supposed to be sustainable and should not feel like the worst & most difficult task you've ever undertaken. 

If you're starting from scratch, and your body is used to being full of sugar then you will find it pretty tough going for the first while... sugar cravings are hard to ignore, but by taking it one day at a time, you'll find it gets an awful lot easier. 

It's really hard to change your habits all at once... that's why most people give up on their New Years Resolutions so soon after making them. It's much better to take small steps towards your long term goal... 

Here's some little things that you can add in to your daily routine, before you know it, they'll be normal habits and you'll be well on your way to a healthier 2014... 

• Aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Buy a 1 litre sports bottle & keep it with you. This makes it easy to keep track, and you can keep hydrated during the day. 
• Take the stairs...always. 
• Walk or cycle where possible. 
• If you have to drive, park in the furthest corner of the car park.. 
• Replace your afternoon bar of chocolate with some nuts or a boiled egg.
• If you work in an office, get up every 90 minutes and go for a walk... walk up and down the stairs if you have to! If anyone questions where you're going.... say your IBS is troubling you!! 
• Prepare your lunch the night before.... it's very easy to stay in bed in the morning rather than getting up 5 mins earlier to make your lunch. Don't risk ending up with a chicken fillet roll for lunch!
• Don't eat for the sake of it... you don't have to have a slice of Mary/John's birthday cake! 
• Keep non perishable foods like a tin of tuna in your desk to deal with hunger pangs instead of going to the vending machine.
• If you're watching tv in the evening, stand & do the ironing at the same time... super productive AND standing increases energy expenditure! 
• Instead of struggling to carry all the shopping from the car... make two trips... 
• Go for a ten minute walk at lunch time.
• Find an activity you enjoy... running, walking the dog, dancing, strength training... whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it. That's all that matters... it's more sustainable if it makes you happy. 

I'm sure I've forgotten lots of really obvious ones... The point is, that by adding in little changes to your lifestyle one at a time, after a while they're just normal parts of your routine and you'll be far healthier...