If you’re aiming to make 2017 your healthiest year yet, it may seem like a mountain to climb.
But just by following these few simple rules, you’ll be putting yourself on the right track to a super-healthy year.
- Cut out Sugar
This is the simplest, and yet hardest thing you can do to improve your overall health.
We all know that sugar is bad for you, and contributes to heart problems, diabetes and obesity, but did you know that it also damages your memory and can sabotage your ability to learn.
The effects of sugar on our brain and body has even been likened to a drug!
If you don’t believe the study, read what happens when you give up sugar for a month.
But cutting out sugar is easier said than done.
It means cutting out or changing A LOT of what you’re eating, particularly processed foods, which contain large amounts of sugars.
The best way to start is to cut out the obvious sugars, and then gradually phase out the rest.
Drop fizzy drinks and fruit juices that your body just doesn’t need.
The same goes for cookies, sweets, chocolates, donuts, crisps.
Take sugar in your tea of coffee?
Ditch it.
For those two or three spoon people, this could cut out 15-20g A DAY!
And that includes Lattes and other beverages from coffee-house chains as these can contain up to 25 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR EACH - before you add some yourself!
Too busy to be healthy? Click here to download our free guide: "The Healthy Way to Start Losing Weight: A Guide For Busy People"
- Cut out Processed food
To successfully cut sugar out of your diet, you have to cut out processed foods.
But there are several other reasons to do this.
The first is the amount of unhealthy salt, oils and sugars used to make them taste ‘good’.
The wide usage of, highly-processed white flours, corn syrups and soy products make many of these foods ‘empty’ calories, with little to no nutritional content.
And this despite the illusion many brands try to create that these foods are ‘healthy’.
Not only will cutting out processed foods help you to significantly reduce the amount of sugar and bad fats you’re eating, it will also help reduce other potentially harmful additives and chemicals.
And on top of that, you’re likely to rediscover food in a way you hadn’t thought possible - you’ll definitely become a better cook for it!
- Eat Your Fruit & Veg
At the risk of sounding like your mother, you have to eat your greens.
And you should be stretching that to any fruit and vegetable.
It’s well known we should have our ‘5-A-Day’ of fruit and vegetables, but this is meant as a bare minimum.
If you want to eat clean and healthy, the NHS recommends aiming for at least 7 a day.
And don’t be afraid of fruit - not all sugars are created equal.
Although it wouldn’t be wise to have 7 sugary fruits a day, the natural sugars and carbohydrates in fruits are much better, and exist in far lower quantities than in processed foods.
Combine with plenty of leafy greens and seasonal vegetables and you should be well on your way to a nutritionally balanced diet every day.
Plus, not only do fruit and veg contain many essential vitamins and minerals, snacking on them is a great way to keep yourself from feeling hungry.
- Add Some Superfoods to Your Diet
Eating 7 fruit and veg a day is not impossible, but it’s not easy either - especially if you have a busy lifestyle.
One simple way to make sure you’re getting all your nutrients is by adding superfoods to your diet.
Superfoods are foods with extraordinarily high nutritional value, such as Spirulina, Kale, Chlorella, Blueberries, Salmon, Chia Seeds and Turmeric.
Most notable of these are the increasingly popular blue-green alga, like Spirulina and Chlorella.
These are considered ‘complete’ foods, because they contain nearly everything you need.
And on top of that, they’re incredibly easy to add into your diet, and more efficient than many supplements.
You can find out more about Spirulina and Chlorella here.
- Drink more Water
Your body is roughly 60% water, and yet most of us spend much of our lives dehydrated.
This has been linked to a wide range of health issues, most notably various cancers:
Being properly hydrated will make you less cranky, make your skin healthier and help flush out toxins and bad bacteria.
On top of that, a lot of the time we feel hungry, we’re actually thirsty, so it can help you to lose weight.
Aim to drink about 2 liters of water a day, depending on your body weight.
Even if you just aim to complete just one of these this year, your body will thank you for many years to come.
Do you want to lose weight but are too buy to be healthy? Click here to download our free guide: "The Healthy Way to Start Losing Weight: A Guide For Busy People"