Little Changes

I am no fitness expert or health guru, but I know what has worked for me in the past. It really is the little things. Leaving one bite on my plate. Drinking a glass of water before I get a snack. Eating fruits or vegetables before I reach for chips or candy. Cut your serving size by one-fourth, one-third, or even one-half. Skip dessert or eat a smaller portion. Decrease your soda intake. Notice serving sizes and consider what size you really need according to your caloric needs (personally, I don’t need 2000 calories a day, so if that is what the serving size is based on, I need a smaller portion).

Think about it. If you started on the first day of the month to eat one less cookie or one less chip and each day decrease again (on the first of the month, one less, on the second day of the month, two less, on the third day of the month, three less, etc). Imagine the difference that could make by the end of the month.

Try adding a fruit or vegetable each week. By the end of the month you could add four fruits or vegetables to your menu. Then try eating the fruit before you reach for the cookies or the candy or the vegetable before the chips.

You can use this same strategy for physical activity (jumping jacks, running, jump rope, walking, hiking, swimming, dancing, bicycling, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc.). Choose an activity and do one on the first day of the month, two on the second day, three on the third day, etc. You could be doing thirty jumping jacks or sit-ups or whatever by the end of just one month!

All of these little changes will add up over time. What if you had one less chip, added one fruit or vegetable, AND added one activity over the course of the month? Why don’t you give it a try and see what happens? Can’t hurt, right? What’s the worst that could happen?