10 Tips To Maintain A Healthier Lifestyle In 2016

If you’re totally on board with the “new year, new you” mentality, but you’re worried about sticking to your diet in 2016, here are 10 tips to help you stay on the track to becoming a healthier you.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to feel like a chore (or even like a diet, per se) because it’s more about a change in mentality and lifestyle rather than a strict eating regiment.

Picking and choosing how you indulge yourself and shopping for healthy meals that aren’t labor intensive are just some of the ways that will help you eat better in no time.

1. Don’t Keep Tempting Unhealthy Foods On Hand

Everyone loves snacking on potato chips from time to time, but it’s easy to get carried away when munching on those types of food. Before you know it, you’ve eaten half of the bag and derailed your healthy eating for the day. The simple solution to this problem is refrain from keeping these less-healthy snack foods on hand.

2. Change The Way You Indulge In Sweets

I love dessert as much as the next girl, and dieting doesn’t have to mean that you can’t satisfy your sweet tooth. Opt for a little bit of dark chocolate instead of a bowl of ice cream to give yourself a slight indulgence that won’t leave you feeling guilty.

3. Pack Your Lunch

Having a healthy lunch that you bring from your home will help you from making a meal out of what the vending machine has to offer.

4. Add Flavor To Your Veggies

Vegetables don’t have to be flavorless. If you add spices and or sauces made from vinaigrette and other seasonings, you can make your veggies taste so good that you’ll actually want to eat them.

5. Talk With A Friend

Having someone that you can talk to about your eating habits and goals will help you stay motivated because you’ll know you’ve got someone in your corner.

6. Keep A Journal

Holding yourself accountable is a huge part of sticking with, well, anything. This definitely includes changing your eating habits. Jot down notes to motivate and remind yourself why you want to be a healthier person this year and for years to come.

7. Reward Yourself

When you meet goals of exercising, eating well for three weeks straight, etc. reward yourself. Your reward doesn’t have to revolve around food, either. You can treat yourself by pouring a glass of wine and pampering yourself with a manicure or new pair of workout clothes.

8. Make Healthy Meals & Quick

We all know that when you get home from work the last thing you want to do is take an hour to fix dinner. Picking up pre-prepared chicken, etc. from the grocery store can make dinner much faster, and it’s way better for you than picking up from your favorite fast food restaurant.

9. Indulge, But Wisely

You can still have your favorite foods from time to time, just be smart about how you choose to treat yourself. You can have the ice cream after dinner, just don’t also have a pastry for breakfast, you know?

10. Sit At A Table When You Eat

Having organized meals at a table will keep you from getting carried away with snacking. When you’re done eating, leave the table. When it’s time for the next meal, go back to the table. You get the idea. This will definitely help keep you on a schedule.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming healthier in 2016. These ten ideas will make it easy for you to reach your goals and live a healthy life. That’s the best gift you could ever give yourself, so here’s to you!

[h/t: Shape Magazine]

Photo by epSos.de