Five swaps to improve the way you feel
It’s time to check in on January’s resolution to live healthier. Whether you’re meeting your goal or you need help getting started again, we’ve picked the brains of busy people like yourself for their favorite ways of working healthy substitutions into their lives without sending their schedules to crazy town.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Drink enough water to stay hydrated. Even mild dehydration can zap your energy. So, as soon as you get up in the morning, drink an entire glass of water. You body’s gone eight hours or more without it. Then keep it going. If you’re often near water fountains, challenge yourself to take a good gulp every time you pass one. If you need more than that, pick up a few reusable water bottles (or fish some out of that collection you’ve gotten from work, social and community events), and fill as many as you need for a day. You’ll know if you’re on track by how much you have left at dinner time.
Snack swap
None of us is perfect. We all have our vices, especially when it’s about 2:00 in the afternoon and thoughts of vending machine goodies come creeping. Know your weaknesses, and plan ahead for the inevitable willpower fall. Instead of buying an entire bag of chips down the hall, bring half that serving with you with your water. If your cravings fall more to the machine’s candy bar row, pack a few pieces of individually wrapped dark chocolates. They’re generally half the calories and sugar. But because they’re so rich, they silence your taste buds’ screams for sweets.
Ingredient switch-a-roo
When you’re cooking, look for healthy substitutions, especially for ingredients like butter, flour, oil and sugar. You can cut more than 600 calories from a batch of cookies just by switching out a cup of sugar for a cup of unsweetened applesauce. (Just remember to reduce the amount of liquid ingredients by a quarter if you do that.) Or, to reduce the amount of fat in those cookies instead, use half the oil or butter in the recipe for the same amount of unsweetened applesauce. Not only will they be better for you, they’ll also be soft and cake-like—and who doesn’t love cake? Your favorite search engine has hundreds of ideas for other substitutions.
Relax every day
After dinner, find a way to relax. Trade backrubs or foot massages with someone in the house. If it’s just you, treat yourself to a back massager or foot bath, and work them into your evening routines.
Dreams not screens
When you have the quality of sleep you need, you improve your problem-solving skills as well as your emotional and physical wellbeing. So, as the night progresses, turn off your cellphones, tablets and TVs an hour before you head to bed. Yes, it sounds impossible, but give it a week’s try to see if you’re sleeping better. (Countless researchers say you will.)