Top 100 Health and Fitness Tips

Top 100 Health and Fitness Tips

 1.    Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but still go without it. Breakfast is what gets the metabolism going and keep it going throughout the day. After sleeping all night, your body is no longer full so the best thing for it is food. Retain your focus and energy with a healthy and nutritious meal.


2.    Just by eating the same foods but eating smaller portions will help you lose weight. Buy a smaller plate solely for your use and get one that you really like. It will psychologically make your meal times more enjoyable even though you will be eating less.


3.    When you take a spoonful of something to taste out of the saucepan or take just a handful of peanuts out of the bowl you hardly notice what you are doing. You may be fooling your brain but you won't be fooling your body as those extra calories add up. Make it a rule that you won't eat anything that is not on a plate. This really makes you stop and think about what you are eating and will help you stop picking at things. You really will start to think twice about what you are about to eat and if you really need it.


4.    To remove excess fat from soups, stews or sauces, drop in 3 or 4 ice cubes. The fat will congeal around them as they melt. You can then remove the fat and reheat if necessary to re-thicken.


5.    Be active. The safest and most effective way to lose weight is to reduce calories and increase physical activity.


6.    If you decide to follow a new celebrity diet please do not expect the same results unless you have your own personal trainer and cook like they do.


7.    Aim to have a brisk 20 minute walk three or four times a week. Brisk walking will help tone legs, hips and buttocks and reduce cellulite. By increasing the heart rate with a brisk walk fat reduction will be helped also. If you are short on time after work, go for the walk in your lunch hour.


8.    At times, you will not feel like exercising. If you're just feeling a little tired or low on energy, go ahead and try to complete your routine. The workout will likely boost your energy level and your mood.
9.    Park the car a little further away than you would normally. Whether this is when you are going to work or doing the shopping, just park that little bit further away and make yourself walk a little bit more. Tiny things like this can make a big difference over time.


10.Start each day with a glass of water as soon as you get up in the morning.  Water helps rehydrate the body of fluids lost during the night. 

11.Drink a glass of water 10 minutes before you sit down to eat.  Water will naturally make you feel fuller so you don't have to eat as much food.  Quite often we confuse our feelings of hunger with that of first so have a glass of water first and see how you feel.

12.Cut down on carbonated soft drinks as these are sweetened with lots of sugar.  Even though diet drinks do not contain as much sugar, they do contain other chemicals and components that are not good for your body either. 

13.Fruit juice contains a lot of natural sugar and so isn't as healthy as most people think.  If you are craving a glass of juice, make sure it is fresh and dilute it with water. 

14.Try to get used to drinking tea and coffee black.  Counteract the caffeine effects by following with a glass of water. 

15.Start to drink green tea.  This has been used as a medicine in China for over 4,000 years and aids the digestive system.  It can help ease an overly full stomach and it has been linked to a reduction in cancer risk.

16.Cut down on alcohol.  If that is too much to ask, there is evidence to suggest that a glass of red wine does have heart benefits.  Avoid beer which is especially fattening.  Cocktails can be very fattening depending on what they are made of. The other problem with drinking alcohol is that after a few drinks most people get the munchies and when you're feeling a little inebriated and hungry you won't be able to make rational decisions regarding your diet. 

17.Eat more fruit and vegetables that have high water content such as tomatoes, watermelons, kiwi and grapes.  These foods contain about 90 to 95% water, so you can eat a lot of these and they will fill you up without adding on the pounds.

18.Increase your fibre intake as much as you can.  You can get more fibre from eating more fruits and veggies or try adding a sprinkling of oatbran to your cereal in the morning.

19.Fill up on vegetables.  Try different ones that you haven’t had for a while to avoid getting bored. 

20.Be careful of the calories you add to your food such as garnishes and condiments.  These are usually high in fat so try to avoid them wherever possible. 

21.Try to set a meal pattern to help you to control what you eat and when you eat it.  It is also better to have 5 small meals a day rather than just one or two huge meals.  Having a small snack in the morning and afternoon stops you getting over hungry and then wolfing down an extra large portion at dinner time. 

22.If you do snack between meals, make sure they are healthy and not junk food like crisps.  Try fruit and nuts for energy. 

23.Raw vegetables also make great snacks.  Sliced carrots, peppers and mushrooms are great because they satisfy hunger and they are packed with nutrients.

24.If you have over indulged, work off those extra calories.  Go for an extra session at the gym or go for a longer walk. 

25.Cut out the fried food and switch to baked.  Fried foods are immersed in fat and oil which gets absorbed into the food itself and is retained even after it has been drained. 

26.Don't skip meals.  You should have, at the very least, three meals a day, but preferably five small meals. This will keep you from getting hungry during the day and overeating out of starvation.

27.Keep your chocolate for a special treat.  When you do buy chocolate make sure it is the best and only eat a small amount. Savour each morsel and you will enjoy them so much more.

28.Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up to give your body the jump start it needs.  Don't skip breakfast but at the same time don’t stuff yourself full of a fry up.  Make it a healthy start to the day.

29.There are many diets that prohibit certain food groups but by following these you will be depriving your body of certain nutrients which could be harmful.  Carbohydrates are a great source of energy so don’t totally exclude them from your diet.

30.Protein is an important part of your diet but make sure that if it is not too high in fat.  Lean proteins include white meat and eggs. 

31.Healthy fats are important in your diet. Cutting out fats altogether is not healthy and can make your skin incredibly dry, making you look older and less healthy.

32.Eat more white meat than red meat.  White meat is not just chicken.  Turkey is an excellent low fat white meat.

33.Whilst pork is a white meat, it does not assist in weight loss in any way. Pork is more difficult to digest and has a high fat content.  This includes food items such as bacon, ham and sausage.

34.Cut down on your sugar intake.  Even if you use artificial sweeteners, these are not particularly healthy and will only help continue your sweet cravings. 

35.Try grazing five to six times a day as touched on earlier. Eating more, smaller meals each day can help curb those hunger pangs in addition to keeping your metabolism working, which will burn fat naturally.

36.Cut back on the salt.  Salt can cause water retention and is one of the main causes of obesity.  Do not just automatically add it to your plate.  Taste the food first and try using herbs and spices for extra flavour.

37.Use non-stick frying pan spray rather than oil.  Many non-stick don't require oil at all so you can use them for dry frying.

38.Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that low fat foods are always better for you.  Many of these use added chemicals or carbohydrates to make up their flavour and can actually be as high, if not higher, in calorific content than their full fat counterparts.  Check the label!

39.Stay away from the quick fix cure of the crash diet.  These are bad for you and do more harm than good in the long run.  Whilst you may lose a few pounds in the short run, your body will have gone into starvation mode and once you start eating normally again, the weight will pile back on and may increase above what it was originally.

40.Chew your food.  Try to chew each mouthful at least 8 to 12 times.  Really take time to taste what you are putting into your mouth and give it chance to mix with your saliva in order to digest it properly.

41.Start cooking with olive oil.  The health benefits outweigh those of normal vegetable oil and it tastes so much better.  Olive oil has also been associated with a reduced risk in coronary heart disease and helps to increase the elasticity of the arterial walls which reduces the chance for heart attack and stroke.

42.Get yourself moving.  You don't have to sign up to an expensive gym membership to get exercise.  Simple brisk walking is excellent for toning up legs and gently increasing your heart rate for aerobic benefits.

43.Don’t expect to see immediate results when you start to exercise.  Remember it took a long time to get this out of shape so it is going to take some time to get that figure back again. 

44.Don’t push yourself too much when you first start exercising or you may end up with injuries.  Your bones, joints and ligaments have been in rest mode for a while and are not prepared for the force you are about to put on them.  Build up slowly and steadily.

45.Check your weight when you start exercising, but don't use it as a guide to how much you are losing.  Muscle weighs heavier than fat so the pounds on the scales may not drop as quickly as you would like.  Also your weight will fluctuate throughout the day dependant on your level of activity and what foods you have been eating. 

46.The best way to know if you're losing weight is by how your clothes fit. If your waistband starts to feel looser and your muffin top disappears, then you know you're eating and exercising is doing you some good.

47.Treat yourself as you start to lose weight.  Rewards are great for keeping you motivated whether you treat yourself to a new pair of running shoes, a new pair of jeans or a massage at the local spa. 

48.Make sure you have at least one rest day per week when you start exercising.  Your body needs a chance to rest and repair and re-charge itself.

49.Three days of 30 minute exercise each week will help you to maintain your weight.  If you want to lose weight you need to increase this to at least 4 days of 30 minute exercise each week, but 5 days a week is even better.

50.Find yourself an exercise buddy.  This could be a friend who wants to keep in shape or a work colleague who wants someone to partner up with after work for a walk or jog.  By joining someone else you will feel responsible towards them and will be less likely to find an excuse not to exercise each day. 

51.If you are feeling particularly tired and your body tells you it has had enough, stop and take a break.  If you continue to push yourself when you are exhausted you will only end up with an injury or become ill. 

52.When you decide to increase the length of your workouts, do so gradually, no more than 10% at any time.  Ease your body gently up to the next level and you will reap the rewards without injury.

53.Don’t follow the crowd.  Find an exercise routine that suits you and your lifestyle.  If you love the outdoors try running rather than joining the gym where you will be shut in.  You need to find something you enjoy to keep your motivation high. 

54.Don't just stand, move around.  If you can walk around then do it. Every little helps.

55.Don't sit if you can stand.  If you can stand comfortably, you will burn more calories doing so than if you were to sit.

56.If you have a job where you are sat down most of the day, make sure you stand up and stretch every half hour or so.  Many of today's jobs are in front of a computer where you will tend to hunch up and create neck and shoulder strain.

57.Stand up every time you make a phone call.  If you are using a cordless phone you can get a great workout if it is a long conversation.

58.Use the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.  Try to build up to taking two steps at a time. 

59.Walk everywhere that you possibly can.  Ditch the car keys and walk to the shop or to meet your friends.  Take in the scenery along the way and see what you are missing whilst behind the wheel of a car. 

60.Ditch the remote control.  Remote controls make it all too easy to stay parked in one spot.  If you really want to watch another channel, get up and move to change it manually. 

61.Try having one evening per week where you resolve not to turn the television on.  Go for a walk, read a book or go meet friends instead.  I bet you won’t really miss it that much.

62.If you can’t break away from the television, make sure you walk around during commercial breaks.  Try some simple exercises like stretches or bending over and touching your toes.   Run up and down the stairs a couple of times.  Do anything to get your body moving that little bit more.

63.Dance, dance, dance.  There is nothing like some good music to lift your energy levels and get you moving.  Turn on your favourite tunes and boogie away.

64.If you take the bus, get off one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way.  Get the taxi to drop you a little further away than your destination.  This is a great way of getting in a daily walk.

65.Gyrate those hips to get your midsection in shape.  They are a good for improving your back muscles and helps keep your hips loose.  Get a hula hoop and have fun seeing how long you can keep one going.

66.Pull in your stomach muscles when you walk.  This is a great, but simple way to help tighten those stomach muscles.

67.Use breathing exercises to tone your midsection.  It is amazing how breathing properly and with your entire diaphragm can actually help to tighten your abdominal muscles. 

68.Try yoga.  Either join a class or follow a dvd.  Yoga is a great way to lose weight and reduce your stress levels.  It teaches you how to control your muscles and gain more control of your individual muscles groups resulting in better posture.

69.Incorporate some weight training into your weekly workout.  When you build muscle, your body will begin to burn fat to fuel muscles growth. 

70.Take the stairs two at a time instead of one at a time.  This causes you to have to exert yourself more and increases your heart rate.

71.For a quick exercise, lean against the wall so that your face is close and then use your hands to push your body away.  Do this three or four times to stretch.

72.Swimming is one of the best exercises for cardio fitness and it's low to no impact on your joints, which is great for people who have osteoporosis or joint problems.

73.Always warm up before a workout and end with a cool down.  Your body needs to increase its heart rate gently before going into a full workout.

74.Leave you mobile phone by your landline.  If it rings, go find it.  There are so many conveniences in life and we always have everything we need at our fingertips, but this is obviously bad for the waistline.

75.If you're standing around, stretch your legs a bit by standing up on your toes and then gradually drop to your heels.  You can also flex your buttock muscles as well, but maybe when nobody else is looking.

76.Take a good look at yourself in the mirror before going to bed. Make a mental note of what areas you need to improve on and what areas are your best assets.  Taking a self-inventory can keep you motivated in your workout endeavours.

77.Sit up straight in your chair.  Slouching is bad for your back and gives you a flabby figure. Practice sitting and standing with good posture.

78.Use breathing exercises to help tighten those stomach muscles. Breathe in air as strong as you can and tuck your stomach at the same time as much as you can.  Hold it for a few seconds and then slowly let it out.  Don't let it out so fast that your belly flops out.  This is not good.  Try to breathe like this whenever you think about it, about 50-60 times a day is ideal. 

79.Always wear clothes that fit.  If you're a size 12, wear a size 12.  Wearing the wrong size of clothes can make you appear larger than you really are.  You may be a perfect size 10 but if you wear size 8 jeans you are bound to have a muffin top that will make you look fatter than you really are. 

80.Replace bad fats with good ones.  Get rid of vegetable oils, such as corn and sunflower and replace them with olive oil and almond oil.

81.Start the day with a high-protein breakfast. High-protein foods fill you up, preserve your lean muscle tissue, and add fewer net calories to your diet, when compared to fats and carbohydrates. Try eggs, Greek yoghurt, lean meat or cottage cheese.

82.Start a food journal. Studies have shown that those who keep a food journal lose twice as much weight as those who don't. Keeping a food journal will allow you to quickly identify bad eating habits.

83.Increase the effectiveness of your exercise routine. Firstly, increase your pace. Secondly, increase the intensity. By constantly varying these, you will keep your muscles guessing and adapting.

84.Stretch whilst taking your morning shower. The hot water will help loosen up your muscles, whilst the stretching will help you release stored tension.

85.Don’t eat in front of the television or computer.  Take the time the time to slow down and eat without distractions.  We tend to eat more when eating whilst distracted.  Turn off the television and enjoy your meal.

86.Put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls.  This will slow down your eating and help your digestion.  It will also stop you shovelling in mouthfuls without really thinking what you are eating.

87.Put colour on your plate.  Research shows that eating fruit and vegetables of different colours gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients. For example, red fruit and vegetables are believed to help reduce certain types of cancer, whilst oranges and yellows reduce the risk of heart disease and boost the immune system.

88.You don’t have to do a full 30 minute work out in one go.  Individual short bursts of 5 to 10 minutes a day, can be just as beneficial. 

89.Set yourself a target and to give yourself focus and purpose and you will be more likely to factor exercise into your week.

90.Treat yourself to a new workout outfit.  Looking good helps you feel good and can give you improved motivation and performance. A new top, shorts or shoes could inspire you to keep going.

91.Taking short, brisk walks throughout the day is a great way to keep your energy levels high, boost your mood, and shed pounds. One of the common arguments people give for not exercising is that they don’t have time – well, anyone can squeeze in a few short 10-minute walks each day!

92.Get up and move after your meal.  Don’t automatically crash out in front of the television.  Do a bit of cleaning, go for a walk, do 10 minutes of gardening.  Staying active helps boost your metabolism and aids digestion.

93.Spice up your life.  Spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper have thermogenic properties, which means they increase body temperature and boost metabolism so you burn more calories. Spices like these (and many others) are also known mood-enhancers, inducing feelings of contentment and well-being.

94.Having a positive attitude has a lot to do with your overall state of well-being, including your weight. The more positive you can be, the more energy you will have, and the more likely you will be to eat well and exercise each day.

95.Keep away from negative people.  Too many people will try to put you off track whilst healthy eating and exercising.  Avoid them and surround yourself with like minded positive people only.

96.Make sure you stretch daily.  Stretching relieves tension from your muscles, improves circulation, increases flexibility, improves balance, and more.

97.Stretching not only benefits your body but your mind and emotions too. After a good stretch you feel more relaxed and peaceful. Stretching is one of the best ways to boost your mood, increase your energy, and make you feel good physically.

98.Set yourself mini-goals within your main weight loss goal; for example, set a goal to be able to run a mile and work up to it gradually.  Or set a goal to lose so many inches a month from your bodily measurements.

99.Stop making excuses.  Excuses are for people who plan to fail! Being willing to be responsible for your own results no matter the challenges you face empowers and strengthens you and makes it much more likely that you’ll achieve your goals with ease.

100.               Visualise the new you.  Keep a clear picture in your head of how you are going to look and how you are going to feel once you start to eat healthily and exercise regularly.  Keeping this picture firmly in your head will help to inspire and motivate you.