You don’t need to completely overhaul your eating and fitness habits to improve your health. Focus on these four smart, manageable, and effective goals to get fit without upending your daily routine.
1. Start the day with a protein-rich breakfast.
Research shows that starting your day with a high-protein breakfast curbs your appetite at later meals, helps you stay alert and energized throughout the morning, and keeps blood sugars on an even keel. To reap these benefits, incorporate a protein-rich food at breakfast every day. Best bets include nonfat yogurt, eggs (try my 2-Minute Egg Souffle), reduced-fat cheese, turkey sausage, lean bacon (turkey or Canadian), or nuts (or nut butter).
2. Walk for 30 minutes every day.
Daily exercise helps you burn calories and shed pounds faster. It also keeps you in the right mindset to stick with a healthy lifestyle and enhances your overall health. Walking is a total feel-good and my preferred form of aerobic exercise because it’s low-impact (easy on your joints), doesn’t require any special equipment (just a comfortable pair of sneakers), and can be done almost anywhere. If you can’t commit to 30 straight minutes of walking, break it up into three 10-minute spurts and space them throughout the day. If you prefer, you can swap out the walking for 30 minutes of any cardio activity, such as biking, jogging, using an exercise machine, or completing a half-hour fitness DVD.
3. Incorporate produce with each and every meal.
Produce is high in volume and low in calories, so it fills you up without filling you out. Plus, vegetables and fruit shower your body with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber—ingredients that promote health and fight off disease.
4. Learn to make 3 SIMPLE, healthy, and delicious dinner meals in under 20 minutes.
These will be your go-to recipes for days when you’re short on time, so you won’t lose all resolve and grab unhealthy fast food or pizza. Some quick and easy ideas include: turkey burgers with frozen green beans, teriyaki grilled chicken with broccoli, frozen shrimp and vegetable stir fry, grilled or broiled fish with sautéed spinach, and an egg white omelet or frittata with vegetables and reduced-fat cheese. Then, make sure you have the ingredients for at least two of these meals on hand in your fridge, freezer, and cupboards at all times. On nights when you’re feeling stressed and exhausted, you’ll always have these quick suppers to fall back on, and you can still put something healthy and homemade on the table.
