5 Small Healthy Habits That Can Have A Big Impact

We’re about to begin a New Year, and resolutions are being made… have you made yours? So many people make the resolution to lose weight in the New Year, and often start their resolution with SO much motivation! But then after a few weeks they fall off for whatever reason. I’ve found that the reason that so many people fail at keeping their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight is that they into the “all or nothing” mentality about fitness.

They start the New Year going full force to lose “x” amount of weight and are going to the gym 5 days a week and eating strictly “clean foods” or maybe just drinking juices or shakes. This seems to work great the first week because the scale drops! But then the following weeks there’s not as drastic of a drop in the scale so they get discouraged and quit. The reason this happens is because that first week, a large amount of water weight is lost when calories and sodium are reduced so weight will go down…but this does not mean fat loss has necessarily happened. Fat loss takes time, and someone CAN consistently lose 1 lb a week if they reduce their average weekly calorie intake by 3500 calories. This typically means that most people can moderately reduce their calories in a way that’s sustainable and STILL lose weight! This leads into the other reason why most people cannot keep their New Year’s Resolution: They make their plan too aggressive to consistently stick to so they just stop all together.

They think that if they can’t eat healthy at every meal or can’t go to the gym 5 days a week then they shouldn’t even bother trying! I’m happy to tell you that small healthy habits CAN have a big impact if they’re done consistently! Here are 5 Small Healthy Habits that can aid in weight loss as they will help you keep you more satiated throughout the day so that you’re less likely to overeat, and also help you get into a realistic routine to working out:

1. Have a serving of lean protein at each meal🥩🍗🥚

   • Why? Protein is an essential macronutrient because it provides the building blocks for so many of our body’s cells. It’s also the most satiating macronutrient, which means that it helps us feel fuller longer. But it’s pretty typical that most people under eat protein, so they will find themselves constantly hungry throughout the day and continuously snacking. This can lead to an easy calorie surplus which will lead to weight gain.
   • Think: Have you ever had a high carb meal or snack (bagel, donut, oatmeal, pasta, pizza, beans & rice burrito, ice cream, candy, etc.) and felt hungry an hour or two later? Try pairing any of those examples with a serving of lean protein and see how much longer you feel full.
   • Lean Protein Examples: Chicken Breast, Lean Cut Steak, Pork Tenderloin, Turkey Breast, White Fish, Canned Tuna in Water, Egg Whites, Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Nonfat Cottage Cheese, Protein Powder. Vegan Options: Lentils, Edamame, Tofu, Chickpeas, Vegan Protein Powder. (A serving of protein is typically 20-30g, check the nutrition facts for these proteins to see how much you should be having at each meal)

2. Get an additional serving of veggies everyday🥦🍆🥒🥕

   • Why? I think pretty much everyone knows that veggies do a body good. Packed with micronutrients they keep our bodies feeling good, and since they’re typically SO low calorie you can enjoy them in large amounts! This let’s you enjoy a BIG plate of food without over doing it on the calories! This is called volume eating (and it’s my absolute favorite!) I believe that if a meal takes at least 15-20 bites then no matter the calorie total, it will help keep you fuller longer because you will feel even more mentally satisfied from seemingly eating SO much. And adding a serving of vegetables to any meal can add more bites!
   • Think: How many cups of vegetables are you typically having a day? None? Then try to add just 1 cup to 1 of your meals everyday. Are you having 1 already? Then try to have at least 2. The USDA recommends for adult women to have 2-2.5 cups of vegetables a day and for men to have 3-3.5 cups. But if jumping right to 2+ cups a day isn’t going to be realistically consistent for you, then take it slow and just try to add 1. Remember, the point is to make these small habits a part of your life!
   • Make them tasty! Don’t be afraid to add some low calorie flavor! The more palatable you make them, the more you will want to have them! My favorite way to make my veggies is either buy steamable or frozen bags that can be cooked in the microwave or to cut and roast my vegetables in the oven. Some great ways to season them: salt, pepper, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic powder/salt, cayenne powder, hot sauce, Mrs. Dash seasonings, or I LOVE drizzling a little Bolthouse dressing over my lean protein and veggies.

3. Have 16 oz of water at each meal (1 water bottle)💦💦

   • Why? Drinking water makes us hydrated which lets us feel our best because it helps transfers micronutrients (like from protein and veggies) throughout our bodies! And keeping water intake up can greatly aid in weight loss for 2 reasons: 1) By focusing on drinking water you may start to drink less calorie dense drinks like soda or juices, and 2) Drinking more water helps with satiety! Which (like stated above) will help with keeping you comfortably full throughout the day so that you don’t feel starved and then overdo it on your next meal.
   • Think: How much water are you typically drinking now? A typical water intake recommendation is to have half of body weight in water oz, example being if someone weighed 150 lbs then they would want to drink about 75 oz of water.  Focus on trying to have a water bottle at each meal and sip on an additional water bottle throughout the day.  Drinking 4 water bottles would put you at 64 oz, this can be a great starting point that you can build off of depending on what your daily intake might need to be. But focusing on having the goal to just have a water bottle at each should help make getting that water intake easier without thinking about it.

4. Commit to a realistic amount of exercise and do it!🏃‍♀️🧘‍♂️⛹️‍♀️🏋️‍♀️⛹️‍♂️🥊💪

   • Why? Exercise is good for our health, it helps us feel better with released endorphins, sleep better by pushing our bodies more during the day so we need deeper sleep at night, and lose weight through increased calorie burn. Those who exercise are less likely to be depressed, get heart disease, get type II diabetes, have high cholesterol, have high blood pressure, or have a stroke. I think most of us are aware of the benefits and importance of exercise, but for most it comes down to “just not having the time to workout”. The USDA recommends 5 hours of a 168 hour week to be dedicated to physical activity. And some can easily get that in, while others subtract 40 hours from work, maybe 10 hours commuting, 56 hours(hopefully) from sleeping, 21 hours making and eating food(an hour 3 times a day), and that leaves 41 hours left in the week which is probably dedicated to running errands, cleaning, spending time with friends and family, or just wanting to relax. So hey, I get it sometimes 5 hours a week is just not going to be a realistic sustainable goal. Though the month of January may motivate someone to do 5 hours a week, something may come up and they miss a workout. And then they miss a week of workouts. And then all of the sudden it’s May and they realize that they’ve been paying for a gym membership that they haven’t been using.
   • Think: What is a realistic amount of time you can commit to exercising each week? Maybe you know there’s an hour every Tuesday you have free. Or maybe you can commit to 30 minutes 3 days a week. Whatever it is, make it something you will be able to stick to and do it! Also, make it something you at least semi-enjoy! Groupon has TONS of deals on classes you can sign up to try (yoga, kickboxing, spin, pilates, etc.) If you hate the treadmill and have no idea what to do to get physically then I think trying out different classes is a great place to start! Most gyms also have great class options available too! Classes are also a great place to meet people with similar goals which can help keep you accountable to going each week. And if you’re not into doing classes, or don’t have a full hour to commit to them, then try these super simple full body workouts with 10 minutes of cardio (on treadmill, stair master, elliptical, bike, etc.) and you’ll have yourself a quick and effective 30 minute workout! And even if you can only do 30 minutes once a week, remember that something is better then nothing. And you can always increase activity when you have more time or even find yourself enjoying exercise more and in turn seeming to find more time to want to do it!

5. Have a low calorie mid-afternoon and evening snack🍎🍌🥚🧀🥛🍫

   • Why? I really don’t understand why it seems to be the norm to have lunch at 12 and then dinner at 6. That’s such a big gap! I’ve found many people will overeat at lunch because they know that they will not be eating again for 5+ hours and/or overeat at dinner because they’re starving from not eating since lunch. I’ve found that have a low calorie snack between lunch and dinner can help SO much with overeating. By knowing at lunch that you will be having a snack at 3, you will feel less stressed about needing to eat to point of being uncomfortably full. And going into dinner being hungry and not starving will let you more easily listen to your body’s fullness signals so you don’t overeat. And by allowing yourself to have an evening snack, you may also feel less stressed about feeling the need to overeat because you won’t be eating anything until the next day and you may find yourself more easily staying away from high calorie sugary snacks. Overeating at lunch and/or dinner and snacking on high calorie snacks at night can lead to a calorie surplus which will cause weight gain or negatively effect weight loss.
   • Think: Do you normally find yourself starving by dinner? Are you getting hungry before bed and reaching for high calorie snacks? Then maybe try these low calorie snacks mid-afternoon or in the evening:
     • 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of fruit OR 1 tbsp peanutbutter (mix with stevia to sweeten if desired)
     • 1 Babybel light Cheese with a rice cake or a serving of crackers
     • Deli meat or canned tuna on a rice cake
     • Protein Bar or Shake

So what do you think of these 5 small healthy habits? Do you think they’re attainable? Do you think they’ll have a big impact? All of these are small habits that will aid in getting you to eat less and move more which should help you feel more energized while also aiding in weight loss. These are all habits that I follow and have found success in so I hope they do the same for you!