Get a life! Boost your health in 2017 says nutritionist Kavita Devgan

Do you want to tackle your work with greater ease, feel more alert, and not have to drag yourself out of bed every morning? Then this health and energy-boosting plan is just what you need. Follow these 8 super-easy-to-follow but often missed steps spread over Mind, Body and Lifestyle to add more life to your day – everyday, all through 2017!

She The People

FOOD

We all know how good fruits and vegetables are for us… (help boost immunity, give a lot of energy, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants etc). So ensure that you include some in every meal. For breakfast grab an apple, eat a plate of salad for lunch and begin dinner with  soup. You could also juice some vegetables and have it mid morning (maybe beetroot and spinach). For your heart’s sake build your menu around these five key foods – fish (specially fatty fish like salmon), legumes (like peas and lentils), whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal), soy and olive oil. In the long term, this preventive protection will do wonders for your heart. To keep your weight in check, have more protein. Proteins rev your metabolism (more than carbohydrates and fat) and ensure that your muscle mass stays intact. Be sure to include some type of lean protein with every meal (chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, dairy, soya milk, sprouts, beans and lentils).

Drink water before chips. Before you tear into that bag of potato chips or any namkeen, drink a glass of water first. People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger, so you can end up eating extra calories when a glass of water is really all you needed.

Also Read: Why Ghee Is The New Super Food

MIND
Stress. It can shoot up blood pressure to dangerous levels, push the pulse rate high above normal, and cause serious damage inside the body. To keep it in check meditate, even if only for 15 minutes every day. Just sit with your eyes closed, anywhere quiet, and repeat a mantra or a positive thought in your mind… it’ll take practice but will soon help clear out energy draining negativity from your mind and body.

Start writing a diary. Write both your dreams (to keep them alive) as well as your goals (to stay accountable to these). You can write in a leather bound book or type away on the laptop – your choice – the benefits though remain the same – physical, mental and emotional healing. Try it, it is supremely healing.

LIFESTYLE
If you eat late you gain a lot of weight so try to have dinner completed at least 3 hours before you hit the sack, at least five days a week (you can cut slack for a day or two). And if you must eat dinner late, eat a light meal, give it time to digest before you sleep and maybe go for a light stroll (even 10 minutes are good) before you go to sleep.

Do pending tasks during the commercial breaks in your favourite TV show or shows. Get up to do laundry, empty wastebaskets, gather dirty dishes, or wipe countertops – as all this can add up a lot of activity minutes during a hour-long show; plus you'll save hundreds of calories by not snacking instead.

By Kavita Devgan, Nutritionist, Health Columnist, Weight management Consultant and Author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People.
Views expressed are that of the author.