Sometimes it can all seem like too much. First, there was too much of the holidays. Then, before you were used to writing 1994, your new calendar was already blackened with too much to do. Some days, you just want to toss it all out and start over-go on the diet of diets to lose that holiday flab, revamp your exercise routine from the ground up, re-invent an entire lifestyle full of healthy habits.
Relax. The good news is you don’t have to change everything at once to make a difference. Think small; think one step at a time. By adding easy, healthy habits one by one, you’ll be more likely to make them a permanent part of your life.
Here are some possibilities culled from the nutrition, health and fitness experts at the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, publishers of a wellness newsletter and the new “Wellness Guide to Lifelong Fitness” (Random House, $29.95):
1. Drink one glass of water for each caffeinated beverage you consume.
2. Take the stairs once a week, working up to every day.
3. Boost circulation and your outlook by laughing heartily at least once a day.
4. Increase your fruit and vegetable consumption by adding one new exotic choice-such as mango or an ugli fruit-to your cart on your weekly shopping trip.
5. Add aerobic exercise in bits. Take a 10-minute lunch-time walk and park your car a little farther from the office for two more 10-minute sessions before and after work.
6. Switch to bite size cookies but don’t eat twice as many.
7. Use self-talk to reinforce your self-esteem. Begin by replacing one negative thing you say to yourself with a positive affirmation. An example: “I have no self-control around food,” can become “I can learn to have self control.”
8. Drink calcium-enriched orange juice.
9. Do stretching exercises on the floor while you watch the evening news.
10. Add a daily boost of fun along with nutrition by choosing cartoon-themed chewable vitamins, such as Garfield, Bugs Bunny or Flintstones. Be sure to check the label for the correct adult dosage.
