Health Tips

Do
* Avoid food portions larger than your fist.
* Mow lawn with push mower.
* Increase the fiber in your diet.
* Join an exercise group.
* Do yard work.
* Skip seconds.
* Work around the house.
* Skip buffets.
* Take dog to the park.
* Ask your doctor about taking a multi-vitamin.
* Use vegetable oils over solid fats.
* Fetch the newspaper yourself.
* Sit up straight at work.
* Wash the car by hand.
* Run when running errands.
* Pace the sidelines at kids’ athletic games.
* Take wheels off luggage.
* Keep to a regular eating schedule.
* Perform gardening or home repair activities.
* Avoid laborsaving devices.
* Dance to music.
* Take the long way to the water cooler.
* Reward and acknowledge your efforts.
* Choose fruit for dessert.
* Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if at all.
* Take stairs instead of the escalator.
* Conduct an inventory of your meal/snack and physical activity patterns.
* Choose a checkout line without a candy display.
* Make a grocery list before you shop.
* Buy 100% fruit juices over soda and sugary drinks.
* Flavor foods with herbs, spices, and other low fat seasonings.
* Remove skin from poultry before cooking to lower fat content.
* Eat before you get too hungry.
* Stop eating when you are full.
* Choose smaller sized snacks.
* Include several servings of whole grain food daily.
* Cut back on added fats or oils in cooking or spreads.
* Carry your groceries instead of pushing a cart.
* Use a snow shovel instead of a snow blower.
* Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces and only eat a few pieces.
* Use nonfat or low-fat sour cream, mayo, sauces, dressings, and other condiments.
* Replace sugar sweetened beverages with water and add a twist of lemon or lime.
* Replace high-saturated fat/high calorie seasonings with herbs grown in a small herb garden in your kitchen window.
* 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.
* When eating out, ask your server to put half your entrée in a to-go bag.
* Substitute vegetables for other ingredients in your sandwich.
* Instead of eating out, bring a healthy, low calorie lunch to work.
* Ask your sweetie to bring you fruit or flowers instead of chocolate.
* Speak up for the salad bar when your coworkers are picking a restaurant for lunch, and remember calories count, so pay attention to how much and what you eat.
* Walk briskly through the mall and shop ’til you drop … pounds.
* Clean your closet and donate clothes that are too big.
* Take your body measurements to gauge progress.
* Portion out your snack on a plate, not from the bag, to stay aware of how much you’re eating.
* Buy or portion out treats and snacks in small bags or packages.
* Store especially tempting foods, like cookies, chips, or ice cream, out of immediate eyesight, like on a high shelf or at the back of a freezer.
* When buying in bulk, store the excess in a place that’s not convenient to get to, such as a high cabinet or at the back of a pantry.
* When you order fast food, take it home and put it on a plate. If you’re surprised at how full the plate looks, order smaller sizes next time.
* Be realistic. Make small changes over time in what you eat and the level of physical activity you do. Small steps often work better than giant leaps.
* Be adventurous. Expand your tastes to enjoy a variety of foods and physical activities.
* Be flexible. You don’t need to worry about just one meal or one day. Find your right balance between what you eat and the physical activity you do over several days.
* Be sensible. Enjoy the foods you eat, just don’t overdo it.

Exercise
* Do sit-ups in front of the TV.
* Skate to work instead of driving.
* Bicycle to the store instead of driving.
* Choose an activity that fits into your daily life.
* Ask a friend to exercise with you.
* Make time in your day for physical activity.
* Exercise with a video if the weather is bad.
* Bike to the barbershop or beauty salon instead of driving.
* If you find it difficult to be active after work, try it before work.
* Take a walk or do desk exercises instead of a cigarette or coffee break.
* Take small trips on foot to get your body moving.
* Play with your kids 30 minutes a day.
* Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office.
* Choose activities you enjoy & you’ll be more likely to stick with them.
* Stretch before bed to give you more energy when you wake.
* Explore new physical activities.
* Vary your activities, for interest and to broaden the range of benefits.
* Stay active in winter. Play with your kids.
* Buy a set of hand weights and play a round of Simon Says with your kids – you do it with the weights, they do without.
* Swim with your kids.
* You can break up your physical activity into 10-15 minute sessions throughout the day—it’s the daily total that matters. Aim for at least 30 minutes for adults, 60 minutes for children.
* Be active–Walk the dog, don’t just watch the dog walk.
Cook
* Grill, steam or bake instead of frying.
* Grill fruits or vegetables.
* Bake or broil fish.
* Make up a batch of brownies with applesauce instead of oil or shortening.
* Use whole grains in mixed dishes such as barley in vegetable soups or stews, bulgur in casseroles, or brown rice in stir fries.
* Vary your veggies – it’s easy to go dark green. Add frozen chopped spinach, collard greens, or turnip greens into a pot of soup.
* Microwave a sweet potato for a delicious side dish.
* Get your calcium-rich foods. Use fat-free or low-fat milk instead of water when you make oatmeal, hot cereals, or condensed cream soups, such as cream of tomato.
* Trim visible fat from meat and remove skin from poultry.
* Broil, grill, roast, or poach meal, poultry or fish instead of frying.
* Know your fats. Use some vegetable oil instead of butter for cooking and baking.
* Plan some meals around a vegetable main dish, such as a stir-fry or soup. Then add other foods to complement it.
* Stock up on frozen vegetables for quick and easy cooking in the microwave.
* Grill vegetable kabobs as part of a barbecue meal. Try tomatoes, green peppers, and onions.
* Have fruit for dessert, such as baked apples, pears, or a fruit salad.
* Lower the sodium. Rinse canned foods, such as tuna and canned beans, to remove some of the sodium.
* Use spices instead of salt. Start by cutting salt in half.
* Add vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms or tomatoes to your egg or egg white omelet.
* Look for fruit without added sugar or syrups and vegetables without added salt, butter, or cream sauces.
Walk
* Walk to work.
* Walk during lunch hour.
* Walk instead of driving whenever you can.
* Take family walk after dinner.
* Walk to your place of worship instead of driving.
* Walk kids to school.
* Get a dog and walk it.
* Replace Sunday drive with Sunday walk.
* Get off a stop early & walk.
* Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV.
* Make a Saturday morning walk a group habit.
* Walk briskly in the mall.
* Park farther from destination and walk.
* Walk instead of sitting around.
* Take your dog on longer walks.
* Drink lots of water.
* Walk the beach instead of sunbathing.
* Walk to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling them.
* When walking, go up the hills instead of around them.
Try
* Try your burger with just lettuce, tomato, and onion.
* Try brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.
* Try a green salad instead of fries.
* Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok choy, starfruit or papaya?)
* Try fast food options such as smaller burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches or salads with low-calorie dressings, cups or bags of fresh fruit, low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice and bottled water.
* Try thin slices of avocado on a sandwich or sprinkle some nuts on a salad.
* Try a main dish salad for lunch. Go light on the salad dressing.
* Try eating at least 2 vegetables with dinner.
Don’t
* Don’t eat late at night.
* Don’t skip meals.
* Don’t skip breakfast.
* Don’t take seconds.
Drink
* Use fat free milk over whole milk.
* Drink water before a meal.
* Drink diet soda.
* Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if at all.
* Order your latte or hot chocolate with fat-free (skim) milk.
* Drink water or club soda—zest it up with a wedge of lemon or lime.
Eat
* Eat leaner red meat & poultry.
* Eat half your dessert.
* Eat off smaller plates.
* More carrots, less cake.
* Eat more celery sticks.
* Try your burger with just lettuce, tomato, and onion.
* Share an entree with a friend.
* Before going back for seconds, wait 10 or 10 minutes. You might not want seconds after all.
* Snack on fruits and vegetables.
* When eating out, choose a small or medium portion.
* If main dishes are too big, choose an appetizer or a side dish instead.
* Ask for salad dressing “on the side”.
* Try a green salad instead of fries.
* Before going back for seconds, wait 10 or 15 minutes. You might not want seconds after all.
* Eat sweet foods in small amounts.
* Every time you eat a meal, sit down, chew slowly, and pay attention to flavors and textures.
* Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok, choy, starfruit, or papaya?)
* The smaller your plate, the smaller your portion. Eat your meals at home on a smaller plate.
* Eat before grocery shopping.
* Top your favorite cereal with apples or bananas.
* Try fast food options such as smaller burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches or salads with low-calorie dressings, cups or bags of fresh fruit, low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice and bottled water.
* At sandwich shops, ask for leaner cuts and smaller amounts of roast beef, turkey, or ham; extra lettuce and tomato; and whole-wheat, oatmeal, or rye bread.
* Make half your grains whole. Make your sandwich on 100% whole wheat or oatmeal bread or snack on whole grain crackers.
* Get a whole grain head start with oatmeal or whole grain cereal in the morning.
* Swap your usual sandwich side for crunchy broccoli florettes or red pepper strips.
* Focus on fruits. Bag some fruit for your morning commute. Toss in an apple to munch with lunch and some raisins to satisfy you at snack time.
* Never be fruitless! Stock up on peaches, pears, and apricots canned in fruit juice or frozen so they’re always on hand.
* Snack on low-fat or fat-free yogurt. Try it as a dip for fruits and veggies and a topper for baked potatoes.
* Go lean with protein. Eat lean or low fat meat, chicken, turkey, and fish. Try dry beans and peas as your lean protein.
* Enjoy pinto or kidney beans on a salad or a hearty split pea or lentil soup for extra protein and fiber.
* Toss salad with salad olive oil and flavored vinegar.
* Try thin slices of avocado on a sandwich or sprinkle some nuts on a salad.
* Don’t sugarcoat it. Choose foods and beverages that do not have sugar and caloric sweeteners as one of the first ingredients.
* Keep a bowl of cut-up vegetables in the refrigerator for snacks. Carrot and celery sticks are traditional, but consider broccoli, cucumbers, or pepper strips.
* Choose low – or reduced sodium, or no-salt-added versions of foods and condiments when available.
* Ask for more vegetable toppings (like mushrooms, peppers, and onions) and less cheese on your pizza.
* Add lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber to sandwiches.
* Try eating at least 2 vegetables with dinner.