Simple Health + Fitness Minute

‘Before and After’ photos are a great way to show your progress in your fitness journey. But just having the ‘Before’ picture while you work towards the eventual ‘After’ is a great way to keep you motivated, as you can see just how much progress you have made ‘Now.’

Simplify your eating habits by setting a schedule of themed menus for specific nights. Try things like Meatless Monday, Chicken Taco Tuesday, or Baked Fish Friday. Get creative with your themes and make your healthy meals more fun in the process.

Eating less is easier when your brain sees a full plate, but you have switched to a smaller plate.

Check the fluids you intake periodically. See what extra calories you are mindlessly ingesting, and occasionally substitute for 'cleaner' liquids to wash down your meals or just for simple hydration.

Saturday Morning Cartoons may not be a thing anymore, but now is a perfect time to reestablish reading the box! Going through the packaging of your favorite foods and learning the truth about serving sizes and ingredients will mean the difference in calories needed to burn off extra pounds.

Start measuring your food portions when you prepare your meals to understand how much you should eat to maintain a healthy weight. Like magic, you will begin to see accurate portion sizes everywhere, even in overly sized plates at your favorite restaurants.

If you are a parent who picks off your children's plates or a social eater who reaches for the appetizer bowl with reckless abandon, you may find solace (and easier weight control) in eating more meals in solitude.

Apples are rich in essential nutrients and are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols, a group of antioxidants known to combat free radicals in the body. And you can always enjoy the variety of apples to add to your kitchen table fruit bowl.

Processed foods are usually high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Limit your consumption of processed foods while focusing on consuming whole, unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

The more you move around, the more calories you can burn throughout the day. Being at work may seem like a hard place to get extra movement in, but if you can figure it out, you’ll see how much more effective your formal exercise program is.

The best way to fight going to the cabinet for those snacks that are bad for you is to have plenty of good snacks available to reach for. Pre-cut plenty of fruits and vegetables and always have them in the fridge to fight the temptation of going to the cabinet.

The simplest plan is always the most effortless plan to follow: The simplest diet may seem boring, but it is the most effortless way to manage calories.

: Tell people you think will have your back what you are doing, and don’t tell people you think will get in the way. Those pulling for you will not only give support but may join the bandwagon. Those against you will hate anyway, so find the best way to mute them and their opinions Read more

Fight the temptation to snack at home by not fighting it. Eliminate the need to resist temptation by not having junk food stashed at home.

Walking after dinner can be beneficial for several reasons. It can aid digestion, improve heart health, help manage blood sugar levels, promote weight loss, regulate blood pressure, reduce gas and bloating, and offer a relaxing way to wind down after a long day.

Pack more healthy options for on-the-go snacks to save yourself from temptation and your kids from unnecessary sugar highs.

Some people who start trying to watch their caloric intake falsely believe that eating first thing in the morning triggers eating all through the day, and in fact, it tends to surpass the urge to eat more later at night.

Your body may be trying to send you a message, and you might not be doing as well as you think (or just pretending you are). Listen to that message and do something about it before it is too late.

A simple, healthy, and inexpensive diet includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods that are low in fat and calories. And it doesn’t have to be boring.

You will not succeed in reaching any fitness and lifestyle change goals if those closest to your everyday lives possibly sabotage your efforts. Get as many of them involved as possible to keep them close to you in your life.

Everything is better with a friend. Even the painfully journey of improved personal fitness you are oddly embarrassed to let people in on.

Spice up your wardrobe and pimp out your playlist! When exercise is dull, you will be less inclined to keep a steady workout schedule consistent.

Eight hours of sleep is a generic target. Some need more, some need less, but most don’t get enough regardless. Aim for eight hours and see how well that works as you get closer to maintaining that target.

Put reminders in your calendar or alarms to remind you to take breaks, head to the gym, or prepare a healthy snack. Call it a bonus if you can find a friend to also nudge you forward for added encouragement.

Adults need to drink at least 1.5 liters of fluid a day. And the definition of fluid can be a little, well, fluid.