I remember it like it was yesterday...November 18th, 2016 I decided to get healthier. So, I started to make simple changes to help with my goal.

I tell people all the time that when they decided they want to do something they will do it. They aren't going to do it because you guilt them or make them feel bad about themselves. Or worse, harass them to change.

I just decided on that day to do it. And, in a year I lost over 120 lbs. And, the changes weren't anything drastic. It was silly stuff like instead of parking as close as I could to a building, park a little further away.

According to the Daily Mail, I saw some small things you can do to get healthier in 2017. Here they are:

1.  Look at the menu and decide what you're eating BEFORE you get to a restaurant.  A recent study at the University of Pennsylvania found we tend to order healthier food if we plan ahead like that . . . up to 1,000 calories less per meal.

2.  Eat in total silence.  Meaning don't watch TV or listen to music.  Researchers at Brigham Young and Colorado State found we eat less if we can hear ourselves chewing.  One group ate 30% fewer pretzels when they could hear them crunch.

3.  If you're a woman, work out a little harder in the two weeks after you start your period.  Scientists in Sweden tracked women's workouts for four months, and found the extra estrogen you get in those two weeks helps build more muscle.

4.  Don't use diet drinks as mixers.  The lack of sugar makes your body absorb alcohol faster.  Researchers at the University of Kentucky had people drink vodka with lemonade, and with diet lemonade.  And they ended up with 25% more alcohol in their system when they had diet, even though they drank the same amount.

5.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.  But not just to lose weight.  It also improves brain function.  A study in Canada recently found that walking up four flights of stairs a day reduces your "brain age" by about two years.

[via: Daily Mail]

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