We are still in the phase of the new year as some people are just getting back from the long Christmas and New Year break and just about settling into work and life in general for 2016.

It is common for people to set goals and try as much as possible to meet up with them but we are all human and the element of procrastination do set in.

Having a discussion with a friend on the issue of health and healthy living did gear this up. We do need to realize that the older we get, the more our body function differently. What we indulged in during our 20’s should be different from what we do in our 30’s. It is very easy to get drag into an unhealthy lifestyle while it is more harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We drink soft drinks which contains lots of sugar and an addictive component, especially for coca cola. Anyone ever noticed that people that drink coke are a bit addictive to it and subconsciously they drink at least a bottle daily.

For our own good we need to be health conscious and here are a few tips of what I have been doing with my own health journey.

Eat in moderate proportions

Yes we all want to pack our plates filled with those lovely meal and to make it more worse we now eat with this very wide flat plate that can be packed to the brim with food. The body only made use of little portions of what we eat and the remaining one are stored as fat which tends to form the stomach rolls and get stored in our hips.
You can effectively do this by using a small plate to eat (this has helped me), this helps you to consciously be aware of the portions that is allowed on your plate.  You can eat little portions four times a day.

Keep Moving

We are in the information and internet age and as such work is been done by sitting down at one’s desk. This is not good, one need to move about. If your work schedule do not permit you time to do morning exercise, then try as much as possible to move about during the day.

Instead of taking the elevator take the stairs, use the main office printer that is about four desks away instead of connecting a printer to your desk, stand up to take water from the general area water dispenser, take a walk while answering your phone call, and you can have a walking meeting instead of sitting at a round table.
Walking is a recommended way of keeping fit.

Stop intake of carbonated and fizzy drinks

Yes, you heard me, cut the coke away. It can be quite tough to do as I am guilty of this as well. I cannot eat rice outside without feeling nauseated and I always tell myself that a bottle of Coke or Pepsi do help and as such I fell into a pattern which turns out to be so bad for me.

I finally did realize that it is a lie and now I have limited my coke to one or twice a week and finally i will be able to do without it. What I do now is to always look for a bottle of chilled water and I can spice it up by putting lime and lemon in it, so far it is very chilled I am game to drink it all.

A drastic cut at once might have an effect, so take the first step by cutting down on the number of intake per week until you can do without it. Make sure you have an healthy option (water or smoothie) to replace it with. Try out  some of these smoothie recipes.

Cut down on intake of coffee,milk and sugar

I am an ardent coffee drinker, I just do not drink my coffee hot, i make coffee beverage with chilled cold water. Since January 1st I have only made coffee twice and I feel better. I love coffee for its aroma, i seek out different brand of coffee and i do brew my own coffee sometimes.  Try replacing coffee, milk and sugar with the new brand of flavored lipton that just require hot water and in some case honey. They are a wonderful blend and give a fulfilling feel.

Exercise

You can try brisk walking and there are different exercises that you can do without going to the gym that will yield good results if you follow some if not all of the above stated tips.
I recently discovered freeletics and I did a three minute exercise that got me sweating more than i do with 30 minutes of  brisk walking. For those who need a group or community to help them with the health journey, you can join truppr.

Do note that in all this CONSISTENCY is key. It is tough but it is doable to achieve that healthy goal.

Do remember the words of Jim Rohn which says: “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

Here is a work out challenge that you can do by yourself courtesy of the Body Alchemist. Each key pad has a set of exercise, do all of them back to back with a 60 secs break before the next round.