My Top 3 Simple Tips to Stay in Shape

Hey friends! How are you? Hope you’re enjoying the morning. Btw, Happy Friday! ;-) It’s been a while since I’ve done a stay-in-shape-related post, so I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned in keeping myself in shape during the last few hectic weeks.

As you already know, I don’t believe in quick magic diets that promise you to lose weight in a short time, gain energy and fix all of your health problems.

Quality for quantity, get fit for video games — this is how I see it, “no excuses” when it comes to making healthier choices. So, give one, two, or why not even all three of these habits a try for a month, and let me know how it works for you.

1) Eat a high-protein breakfast: You know it, I know it, we all know it by now that eating a high-protein breakfast has been shown to reduce cravings and calorie intake throughout the day.

While I agree it’s very important to eat high-quality protein at each meal throughout the day, I am promising you that having a nutritious breakfast gives you energy for the rest of your day. Besides, it’s linked to many health benefits like weight control and improved overall performance.

I do like to add some protein straight to my breakfast on those hectic days because I get the boost I need to keep me feeling full until lunchtime.

Here are a few of my recommendations for a quick, easy and healthy boost to start your day: 

• Avocado Egg Sandwich with Smoked Salmon
• 5-Minute Power Parfait, which basically is Greek yogurt with fresh fruits and nuts like walnuts, almonds and so on
• Super-creamy Scrambled Eggs with Spinach

Researchers have found eating a higher protein breakfast (compared to a standard high-carb breakfast) improved satiety, appetite control, and limited subsequent food intake.

2) Drink water throughout the day: We all know we need to stay hydrated, but making sure we’re really getting the water our bodies need on a daily basis can sometimes feel like a big challenge, isn’t it?!

NO MORE! I’ve got your back with my favorite healthy tips.

Drink water before every meal: How many meals a day is your norm? I for one have three meals and two snacks. My recommendation is to try to integrate drinking a glass of water into your routine. Before sitting down (sit down when you do eat, please!) to your meals, grab a glass of water and drink it up. Not only will you be helping your body stay hydrated, you are very likely to eat less. Thirst is so often mistaken for hunger.

To determine if you are hungry or thirsty, drink a glass of water and wait at least 15 minutes. If your desire to eat subsides, then you were probably thirsty, not hungry. Symptoms like headache and fatigue may also signal the need for more water in the body.

Buy a cool bottle for water: Drinking water should be a habit you enjoy and it’s very important to not only you love the taste, but also the bottle it comes in. You should see me wearing my red sleek and cool intense red Camelbak (water bottle) everywhere! ;-) My recommendation is to drink water out of the bottle you love. Buy yourself a sleek and easy to hold bottle to make drinking water fun.

Make sure that you keep your favorite water bottle on hand at all times – in your bag, in your rucksack, at work or in the car so that whenever you feel thirsty, you can be sure you’ll be ready!

3) Get moving each day: Let’s face it we all know regular physical activity is important. And while many organizations (like the American College of Sports Medicine) provides realistic time-based goals (e.g., 30 minutes 5 days per week), setting a goal for physical activity in terms of steps per day is easily understood and actionable.

Even more physical activity on a daily basis have resulted in weight loss, reduced body fat percentage, improved carbohydrate tolerance, reduced blood pressure, improved mood, more energy, and so much more.