Small Changes

Most of us have a personal to do list, which includes a couple of points on our health and wellbeing; weight management, healthy eating, cutting down alcohol and the like.

While we may share a common desire to live a healthier, more active life, actually making the changes can be tough to implement.

Instead of changing everything all at once, there are many small things you could do today, to start making a difference. They don’t need to involve a green juice fast, or enrolling in a marathon, or swearing off white flour entirely. Remember how successful the tortoise was against the hare!

Small changes that add up:

– Drink a glass of water before every meal. It’s free and will help your body decipher the difference between thirst and hunger. Often hunger pangs at off times are actually thirst cues. Increasing your water consumption will also improve your digestion and aid a natural detoxification process.

– Start as you mean to continue – have a healthy breakfast, or add a piece of fruit that you don’t usually have. Rather than planning a whole new menu, adding an extra serving of fruit or vegetables at every meal will increase your vitamin intake and increase your fibre.

– Cut the treats in half. Instead of cutting out sugar or alcohol entirely, pour yourself half a glass, and cut your sweet treat in half – that counts as progress!

– Research has shown that 3×10 minute exercise blocks are as effective as 1×30 minute. If you aren’t fit enough (or are a bit time poor) to exercise for 30 minutes, you could break it up into three block throughout the day (that could mean parking further away from an appointment and walking briskly, or digging one part of your garden, or choosing a walk route with an extra hill).

– Work on your attitude. We can be our own worst enemies – “I don’t have the time, I don’t have the willpower, I don’t have the money” – instead, keep a track of the small changes you are making, “I did 10 minutes more exercise every day this week – that’s an hour overall, or I drank one bottle of wine over the course of the week, rather than half a bottle a night, or I decided just to have sweet treats with my cup of tea at the weekend, rather than every day.”

Slowly but surely, small changes can add up to big results, without elaborate rules and a feeling of deprivation. Start small this minute and see where you end up!