Healthier Living: Making Some Painless Changes

Healthy living is often achieved by making small manageable changes that can then more easily and naturally become part of your life style. Here are a few to get you thinking and get you started:

• Make sure you have a supply of appealing, healthy snacks in easy reach. Often times, we are just looking to immediately satisfy a need for sensation (taste or texture). Put the chocolate and potato chips on a far away shelf while leaving your favorite fruit or flavored rice cakes in your sight.

• If you spend a lot of time in one position (i.e. typing at the computer), make it a point to get up and move at least once an hour. Stretching or walking around for just a few minutes helps the brain to function with more clarity and productivity.

• Place a sticky note in your sight that reminds you to breathe. We tend to spend a lot of time holding our breath without even realizing it. This stresses the body and keeps us tense. Breathing, especially into the whole of our lungs keeps us revitalized and calm.

• Take time to chew your food, allowing yourself to really taste it. Often times we over eat because we are looking to gain that sensation of taste. As a result, we tend to quickly “wolf down” that favorite food, in an attempt to experience more of the taste. But, when you take time to allow the taste to really stay on the tongue (by chewing slowly), you may find that you are satisfied by eating less.

• Consider adding any of these superfoods into your diet: blueberries, broccoli, kale, walnuts, almonds, or quinoa (grain). Adding garlic, turmeric or cinnamon to your dishes also has great benefits. Not only do these foods help to prevent and/or fight disease, they also help our bodies to function and feel better.