Healthier Lifestyle – Try, swap and change
Are you ready to embark on a healthier lifestyle? Below are steps for how you can get there! The British Nutrition Foundation have put together a planner to help you on the way to a healthier lifestyle. Try something new, swap old habits for healthier ones and change your lifestyle choices. Choose a different ‘try’, ‘swap’ and ‘change’ goal each week to reach a healthier, happier lifestyle and improve your overall mental and physical wellbeing.
Each of the goals has been colour coded to make it easier for you to choose those that suit your needs.
Hint: The goals that you are most averse are probably the ones that need improving the most!
Green: Increase fruit and vegetables
Yellow: Swap wholegrains for refined versions
Red: Physical activity and exercise
Orange: Healthy habits
Blue: Boost your protein
Pink: Decrease salt, sugar and saturated fat
TRY
- Eat the rainbow: Eat at least 3 different coloured fruit and vegetables
- Plant-based: Incorporate some plant-based protein into your die, e.g. pulses, lentils, nuts, seeds
- Slow down: Eat more slowly and enjoy your food, giving your body time to register that it is full
- Grab some grains: Try a new wholegrain food, e.g. wholemeal pittas, wraps or bagels, brown rice, oats, barley, quinoa, spelt or bulgur wheat.
- Screen breaks: Reduce your seated screen time; this applies to your computer, tv, phone or tablet. Set yourself a target or halving your social screen time each day.
SWAP
- Wake up with fibre: Swap your usual breakfast for a higher fibre alternative
- Get fruity: Increase your fruit intake by exchanging a piece for your usual snack
- Move more: Add an extra 10 minutes of physical activity to your usual daily routine. This could be a 10 minute walk, if you do a minimum amount usually. Work for an extra 10 minutes in the gym, jog for another 10 minutes, or play that game of tennis for another round.
- Fish: Swap your usual protein source for a portion of fish twice per week. Make one of these swaps for an oily fish such as salmon or fresh tuna.
- Snacks: Swap snacks that are high in salt, fat and sugar for healthy alternatives such as fruit, Greek yoghurt, vegetable crudités and plain nuts.
CHANGE
- Exercise: If you don’t hit the recommended daily exercise goal, ask yourself why; change it up, find something you love. Join a club or group, take up kickboxing, power walking, sign up to a gym membership, take a dip into your local pool or dust of your bike in the garage.
- Up your veg: Fill half of your plate of bowl with vegetables for every main meal
- Decrease sugary drinks: Ditch the soft drinks or adding spoonfuls of sugar to your tea and coffee
- Add extra: For each of your meals, add an extra portion of fruit or vegetable than you normally would
- Stop salt: Avoid using salt in your cooking and replace with herbs and spices. Check food labels for salt content
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