52 Simple Ways to Be Healthier in 2010
I would know it's January even without a calendar as my phone rings and rings with people who are determined to do whatever it takes to regain their good health this year-for sure! "I'll do whatever you say," is the mantra. They are willing to empty their kitchen cupboards, replace with all new healthier choices, completely change their way of eating, join the gym moving from a sedentary life to spin classes all in one fell swoop. A week later they are so sore they can't walk, hungry from eating nothing but broccoli and if they have a family, said family is ready to jump ship. It's best to think small and sustainable. You will stick with it and feel good about that fact.
Big changes that you cannot maintain leave you feeling disappointed with your self, paving the way to the Ben and Jerry's. Promise yourself to make one small change a week and by year's end those small changes will be well used habits and you will feel healthier and quite pleased with yourself (as you should!) that this year you ended the year healthier than you began it!1. Drink 8 glasses of pure water a day.
2. Get rid of any junk food in your house. If it's not there, don't go get it.
3. Limit your caffeine intake: 1-2 cups of coffee a day.
4. Plan your weekly meals on your day off.
5. Spend 30 minutes twice a week cutting up fresh veggies to have them ready at all times.
6. Keep seasonal fruit at home and eat it when you're hungry or when a sweet tooth strikes.
7. Substitute raw nuts and seeds for processed granola bars.
8. Don't drink alcohol on an empty stomach; it's hard on your stomach and burns up B vitamins.
9. Eat raw vegetables every day. Raw veggies contain important enzymes that can be lost when they're cooked.
10. Purchase as much of your food organic as you can. Your body will appreciate it as will our planet.
11. Next time you make cookies or cake, substitute half of the butter with applesauce, pumpkin or prune puree. Less fat; more nutrients.
12. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
13. Vary your food; if you eat it today, don't eat it for 4 days.
14. Different colored food has different nutrients, so eat from the rainbow. Red peppers, orange carrots, green kale, etc.
15. Thicken soups with pureed beans. Delicious and added nutrition.
16. Don't drink water from plastic bottles. Polycarbonate water bottles (labeled #7) contain bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches from the plastic and has been linked to chromosome damage and hormone disruption.
17. Start your day with a glass of fresh lemon water. 1/2 to 1 juiced lemon in water. Your liver loves it.
18. De-stress. Find out what works for you. Warm baths? Exercise? Reading? Yoga? Walks in the woods? Find out what calms and soothes you and practice daily.
19. Move daily. Find the movement that moves your body and eases your mind and make it a part of who you are. If you enjoy it, you will do it.
20. Eat at a table, cloth napkin on your lap and chew well. Be thankful.
21. Next time you want scrambled eggs (or tofu), sauté some veggies first, then add eggs. Try eating your veggies all day!
22. Dry brush your skin before you shower in the morning. It's good for your lymphatic system and your skin will be so much softer and healthier.
23. Have at least one day a week without meat. Meatless Monday perhaps.
24. Eat more beans! They're high in protein, dietary fiber, and taste so good.
25. Use whole grain flour in your baking instead of white flour. Whole-wheat pastry flour is a fine grind and much healthier than the white stuff.
26. Remove white sugar from your diet or at least limit it. Use maple syrup, honey, agave or stevia instead.
27. Don't eat fake food! No artificial anything!
28. Don't eat out as much. Cook more.
29. Exercise your mind! Learn a new dance, read a good book. Learn a new language. Keep your mind moving as well as your body.
30. Learn to communicate better. Speak your mind, kindly, and be done with it. Don't hold grudges. Forgive yourself and others.
31. Make your own vinaigrette for your salads. Olive and/or flax oil, lemon juice or vinegar, a little Dijon mustard, a minced garlic clove and a little salt and pepper.
32. Use sea salt instead of the highly processed salt you find in many grocery stores.
33. Reduce salt intake. Use fresh herbs and lemon juice to boost flavor.
34. Try to stay off computers and away from anything electronic two hours before bed for a better night's sleep.
35. Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream.
36. Switch to whole wheat, corn or quinoa pasta (there are many selections) instead of pasta that uses refined flour.
37. Don't eat or drink any food with trans-fat. Watch those non-dairy creamers!
38. Add more leafy greens to your life-kale, chard, spinach, radicchio, etc. They are wonder foods! Steam the greens for a couple minutes, drain and set aside. In a pan sauté some onions, garlic and shitake mushrooms in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the kale back in, stir and serve. Yum.
39. Use less cheese in casseroles that call for cheese. Instead sprinkle grated cheese on top.
40. Begin each day with a good stretch and some deep breaths.
41. Try new ingredients. Buy a kohlrabi or something you've never tried before and go from there. Keep yourself inspired.
42. Don't reward yourself or your family with food.
43. Try to eat whatever food is in season; it's more nutritious and tastes better.
44. Don't go hungry. Eat healthy snacks so you don't overeat later.
45. Watch what you put on your skin. Many products are loaded with chemicals that you shouldn't rub into your skin.
46. Bake instead of frying your meats and fish.
47. Increase Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet. Sources include walnuts, flax seeds and oil and cold water fish such as salmon. Healthy fats are important to good health.
48. Increase your intake of legumes: lentil, beans and peas. They are good sources of protein, dietary fiber and blood sugar regulators. Try split pea or lentil soup for breakfast! Think outside the box.
49. Take supplements. Begin with a good multivitamin and speak with your health practitioner about others that may be needed for your optimum health.
50. Watch your portion sizes as well as your plate and utensil sizes. Some forks and spoons look like garden utensils. Try chopsticks and eat slowly.
51. Shop in the outside aisles of the grocery store. Most of the more processed foods are located in the middle isles.
52. Play! Everyone needs to have fun!
Enjoy in good health!
Patty
http://www.pattyjames.com/
http://www.shinethelightonkids.org/
http://www.youtube.com/user/OrganicCooking
Patty James, M.S., C.N.C
posted by Patty James at
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Reflection of the year's events while looking forward to the future is what we do this time of year. How was your year? When you think back years from now, what do you think you'll remember? On a very personal note, here is my life-version 2009-what I learned, what I am most thankful for and what I wish for myself, and for you.
For all intents and purposes, it ended the April before, but legally it was January 2nd, 2009. The end of any relationship is difficult, but detangling one's life when it has been entwined with someone else for fifteen years is sad and disconcerting. Life begins anew. I chose to learn from my experiences. I chose to trust. I chose to breathe deeply, pull myself up by my bootstraps and move on. I chose to dig deep and learn about the parts of myself that I forgot were there. During times of self-reflection many of us have reinforced what we already knew, and that is that family, friends and community are, basically, everything. 
I have chosen (it is a choice!) to move past fear and to believe in myself. Do you believe in yourself? If you believe in yourself and your gifts-and we all have them-others will believe in you too. If you have lost someone in your life under any circumstances, I wish you peace, happiness and love. Choose to be openhearted. The best is yet to come. Believe it...I do!
I am working on two more books; collaborations with colleagues, and they should both be complete sometime in 2011. The big news for me this year is starting a non-profit. The name of it is, 'Shine The Light On America's Kids.' In 2010, I will travel to all 50 states in a 22' R.V. with my two dogs, interviewing kids about their health and at year's end, with the help of many wonderful and brilliant people, we will be developing programs, By the Kids, For the Kids! If kids are part of the solution, they will be more likely to participate in programs to improve their health. 
This project is a major risk for me personally, but I feel it is my calling. Everything that has happened in my life has brought me to this point. I am putting my money (what I have of it!) where my heart is and that is with this project helping our nation's kids. Leap and the net shall appear! I'm leaping!
Gregg Levoy's inspiring book,
Remember that your biography becomes your biology; a term coined by the author Caroline Myss. Be happy, forgive everyone, and look for the best in people and situations; practice being softhearted and kind. You'll be healthier for it, emotionally and physically.
