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Welcome to Healthy Promotions Organization
Want to get healthy, but don’t know how to start? Start with
list of small steps below and find some that work for you. Then let
us help you separate healthy fact from fiction with our great selection
of resources. Finish with a healthier you!
Step 1: Get the Facts
We are bombarded every day with conflicting information about our
health. Is it better to eat a low-carb diet or a balanced diet? Should
we be physically active three times a week or five times a week? And
how can we be expected to follow any of these recommendations when we're
always so busy?
It's no wonder that many of us throw up our hands and give up. But
if we want to live long and fulfilling lives, it's essential that we
learn the real facts about health, nutrition, and physical activity.
Luckily, the real facts are pretty straightforward. All you really
need to know about a healthy lifestyle is:
- Eat a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and whole
grain products -- and also it is very important to control portion
sizes.
- Get physically active at least five times a week, for 30-minutes
or more.
- Avoid tobacco and illegal drugs altogether.
Sounds simple, right? Well, if it were that easy, we'd all be effortlessly
fit and healthy.
Today's lifestyle doesn't allow much room for health. And that's where
Small Steps comes in. We know that it's impossible for many people to
make dramatic lifestyle changes. Instead, we want to help you learn
ways that you can change small things about your life and see big results.
Step 2: Eat Better
In
1999, almost 108 million adult Americans were overweight or obese. If
you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight puts you at
risk for developing many diseases, especially heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, and cancer. Losing this weight helps to prevent and control
these diseases.
But many people are confused about how to lose unhealthy weight. The
good news is that this may be accomplished by eating healthy, balanced,
and well-apportioned meals
Step 3: Get Active
If
you think of getting active as one more thing on your long to-do list,
you'll never get moving. That's why we're here -- to offer tools that
make it easy to integrate activity into your daily life.
You don't need to go to the gym five times a week to be healthy. For
instance, did you know that a forty-five minute walk at a brisk pace
(3 to 4 miles an hour) can burn up to 300 calories? Or that by making
small changes in your daily routine -- like parking further away, taking
the stairs, and playing active games with your kids -- you can start
living an active, healthy life?
Great Small Steps today to getting healthy!
1. Walk to work.
2. Use fat free milk over whole milk.
3. Do sit-ups in front of the TV.
4. Walk during lunch hour.
5. Drink water before a meal.
6. Eat leaner red meat & poultry.
7. Eat half your dessert.
8. Walk instead of driving whenever you can.
9. Take family walk after dinner.
10. Skate to work instead of driving.
11. Avoid food portions larger than your fist.
12. Mow lawn with push mower.
13. Increase the fiber in your diet.
14. Walk to your place of worship instead of driving.
15. Walk kids to school.
16. Get a dog and walk it.
17. Join an exercise group.
18. Drink diet soda.
19. Replace Sunday drive with Sunday walk.
20. Do yard work.
21. Eat off smaller plates.
22. Get off a stop early & walk.
23. Don't eat late at night.
24. Skip seconds.
25. Work around the house.
26. Skip buffets.
27. Grill, steam or bake instead of frying.
28. Bicycle to the store instead of driving.
29. Take dog to the park.
30. Ask your doctor about taking a multi-vitamin.
31. Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV.
32. Use vegetable oils over solid fats.
33. More carrots, less cake.
34. Fetch the newspaper yourself.
35. Sit up straight at work.
36. Wash the car by hand.
37. Don't skip meals.
38. Eat more celery sticks.
39. Run when running errands.
40. Pace the sidelines at kids' athletic games.
41. Take wheels off luggage.
42. Choose an activity that fits into your daily life.
43. Try your burger with just lettuce, tomato, and onion.
44. Ask a friend to exercise with you.
45. Make time in your day for physical activity.
46. Exercise with a video if the weather is bad.
47. Bike to the barbershop or beauty salon instead of driving.
48. Keep to a regular eating schedule.
49. If you find it difficult to be active after work, try it before
work.
50. Take a walk or do desk exercises instead of a cigarette or coffee
break.
51. Perform gardening or home repair activities.
52. Avoid laborsaving devices.
53. Take small trips on foot to get your body moving.
54. Play with your kids 30 minutes a day.
55. Dance to music.
56. Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car
and office.
57. Make a Saturday morning walk a group habit.
58. Walk briskly in the mall.
59. Choose activities you enjoy & you'll be more likely to stick
with them.
60. Stretch before bed to give you more energy when you wake.
61. Take the long way to the water cooler.
62. Explore new physical activities.
63. Vary your activities, for interest and to broaden the range of benefits.
64. Reward and acknowledge your efforts.
65. Choose fruit for dessert.
66. Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if at all.
67. Take stairs instead of the escalator.
68. Conduct an inventory of your meal/snack and physical activity patterns.
69. Share an entree with a friend.
70. Grill fruits or vegetables.
71. Eat before grocery shopping.
72. Choose a checkout line without a candy display.
73. Make a grocery list before you shop.
74. Buy 100% fruit juices over soda and sugary drinks.
75. Stay active in winter. Play with your kids.
76. Flavor foods with herbs, spices, and other low fat seasonings.
77. Remove skin from poultry before cooking to lower fat content.
78. Eat before you get too hungry.
79. Don't skip breakfast.
80. Stop eating when you are full.
81. Snack on fruits and vegetables.
82. Top your favorite cereal with apples or bananas.
83. Try brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.
84. Include several servings of whole grain food daily.
85. When eating out, choose a small or medium portion.
86. If main dishes are too big, choose an appetizer or a side dish instead.
87. Ask for salad dressing "on the side".
88. Don't take seconds.
89. Park farther from destination and walk.
90. Try a green salad instead of fries.
91. Bake or broil fish.
92. Walk instead of sitting around.
93. Eat sweet foods in small amounts.
94. Take your dog on longer walks.
95. Drink lots of water.
96. Cut back on added fats or oils in cooking or spreads.
97. Walk the beach instead of sunbathing.
98. Walk to a co-worker's desk instead of emailing or calling them.
99. Carry your groceries instead of pushing a cart.
100. Use a snow shovel instead of a snow blower.
101. Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces
and only eat a few pieces.
102. Use nonfat or low-fat sour cream, mayo, sauces, dressings, and
other condiments.
103. Replace sugar sweetened beverages with water and add a twist of
lemon or lime.
104. Replace high-saturated fat/high calorie seasonings with herbs grown
in a small herb garden in your kitchen window.
105. Refrigerate prepared soups before you eat them. As the soup cools,
the fat will rise to the top. Skim it off the surface for reduced fat
content.
106. When eating out, ask your server to put half your entree in a to-go
bag.
107. Substitute vegetables for other ingredients in your sandwich.
108. Every time you eat a meal, sit down, chew slowly, and pay attention
to flavors and textures.
109. Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok choy,
star fruit or papaya?)
110. Make up a batch of brownies with applesauce instead of oil or shortening.
111. Instead of eating out, bring a healthy, low calorie lunch to work.
112. Ask your sweetie to bring you fruit or flowers instead of chocolate.
113. Speak up for salad bars when coworkers are picking a restaurant
for lunch, remember to count calories and pay attention to how much
and what you eat.
114. When walking, go up the hills instead of around them.
115. Walk briskly through the mall and shop until you drop ... pounds.
116. Clean your closet and donate clothes that are too big.
117. Take your body measurements to gauge progress.
118. Buy set of hand weights and play a round of Simon Says with your
kids - you do it with weights, they do without.
119. Swim with your kids.
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