What are your New Year’s resolutions?

For many of us, our resolutions revolve around better bodies and better health. It’s no wonder after the overindulgence of the holidays.  I totally reached for the extra piece of pizza, because there pizza and potato chips are my kryptonite (so salty and delicious!)  Well my expanding waistline and a desire to get more energy during the week has prompted me to get back on track.  I wanted to set resolutions for myself that are attainable, but also sustainable.  They are small things I already do, but want to do more consistently.  They are also activities and guidelines I want to incorporate in my lifestyle.  I wanted to set out a few ways to become healthier and came up with a list of 5 easy ways to have a healthier lifestyle. So here’s to a healthier body for 2016!

5 easy ways to become healthier:

1. Walk as much as possible

Walking is one of the activities I miss the most since I moved to SE Asia.  It’s pretty humid almost all the time so walking becomes an uncomfortable and sweaty activity.  But I loved walking EVERYWHERE when I lived in NYC and London.  It’s an easy way to exercise and explore the neighborhood.  I happily walked through Southern London just to get to a grocery store or all across the East Village just to get to a little hole in the wall sushi joint.  Since I’m not walking as much, I at least try to take the stairs as often as possible now, especially when I’m commuting.  It’s time to get a new pair of walking shoes!

2. Drink lots of water, especially lemon water

I’ve written about the benefits of lemon water here.  I really love starting and ending my day with a glass of room temperature lemon water.  Ok, is it new age-ish and for the trendy, GOOP-loving ladies and gentlemen? Maybe.  But it’s a really simple way to start my day and I feel clean and refreshed.  It also allows me a few hours to get to breakfast in the morning without starving.

3. Begin the day with light exercise

There shouldn’t be any excuse not to do light exercise – you can do squats while you brush your teeth or a few crunches while listening to music.  I used to chuckle at my mom who would do a very slow jog in our backyard.  But you know what, it’s still something that burns calories and gets her heart rate up so I’m glad she does it (and walks around the neighborhood).  I try to do pushups and a plank in the morning just to get my blood flowing and maintain some muscle tone.  It’s something I want to do every day because it’s easy and fast.

4. Indulge in vegetables and fruits

I love, love LOVE fried chicken.  I won’t say no to a good pork chop or a beautifully cooked steak either.  But do I really need all that protein, especially if it means I eat fewer vegetables which have more of the mix of vitamins my body actually needs?  I’ve been trying to institute more meals where we eat completely vegetarian.  We just had black bean burgers, sweet potato fries, and cucumber salad for dinner last night.  It was filling and tasty and I’d love to have this more often.  I also stock my fridge and kitchen counter with a variety of fruits from blueberries and strawberries (full of antioxidants!) to bananas and mandarin oranges chock full of potassium and vitamin C, respectively.  I have a weakness for fried savory snacks and still have one or two in the cabinets (luckily dried seaweed isn’t too bad!) but am glad to have a mandarin as a snack too.

5. Measure and set goals for your active time

I unwillingly use an Apple watch.  I love Apple products, but just didn’t think I needed a watch.  But I love that devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit allow me to look at my activity for the day.  I really do want to get to 10,000 steps or 30 active minutes if I see my progress towards these goals.  I’m going to keep on looking at my daily activity metrics and try to meet or beat them every day!

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