Making improvements to your current lifestyle involves a multipronged approach: For instance, selecting the right fats and carbs over trans fats and highly processed carbs; choosing beverages without added sugar and other unhealthy fillers; and getting enough physical activities.
Ahh..,even the water you drink to quench your thirst plays a bog role in affecting your health. Here are some tips:
- Water
- 1 percent low-fat or fat-free milk or buttermilk
- Low-fat (4 grams of fat or less) plain soy milk or sucralose-containing flavored soy milk
- Coffee and tea (limit caffeine-containing beverages to 1-2 servings per day)
- Decaffeinated coffee and tea
- Herbal tea without added sugars (Avoid any teas that promise to help you lose weight or boast any other unrealistic health claim.)
- Sugar-free flavored waters (check labels carefully, as flavored waters often contain hidden sugars), soda, iced teas, powdered drinks, etc.
- Club soda or seltzer
- Tomato or vegetable juice cocktail (eyuk!)
You should avoid the following: - Fruit juices
- Sodas with added sugar
- Whole or 2 percent reduced-fat milk
- Alcohol (On the occasions that you do drink, you may have up to two glasses of wine. If you prefer another alcoholic beverage, you can choose from vodka, gin, whiskey, scotch, bourbon, tequila, or rum instead.)
- Flavored waters with added sugar
Often, it seems easier to grab a bagel or donut on the way to the office or skip breakfast altogether. But neither of these practices will help you reach your goals of losing weight and becoming healthier. Eating refined carbs may cause cravings to return, and skipping breakfast may encourage you to overeat throughout the day, which leads to unhealthy weight gain.(Yikes, that's a no-no).
Worry not..here are some breakfast options that are perfect for eating on the go:
- Pre-cooked deviled or hard-boiled eggs
- Celery sticks with natural, no-added-sugar peanut butter
- Single-serve nonfat or 1-percent cottage cheese cups
- Pre-cooked turkey bacon
- Individual low-fat cheese slices or low-fat cheese sticks
- Sliced turkey or other low-fat meats
- Tomato or vegetable juice cocktail in single-serving cans
- Low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt
- Low-fat or nonfat artificially sweetened, flavored yogurt (Limit to 6 ounces daily and make sure to avoid yogurts with added sugars.)
- Whole-wheat sliced bread or whole-wheat English muffin topped with low-fat cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese.
- Fresh berries or other seasonal fruit
- Steel-cut or slow-cooking oatmeal (Season with cinnamon and artificial sweetener to perk up the taste)
However, preparation is always a hassle. Prepare it at night then, that's why it is called "pre"pare.
