Micro steps to make yourself healthier

Join a gym? Sure, that is one way to make yourself healthier. Odds are though, if you are not already working out on a regular basis, getting a gym membership is just a more convenient way to have money deducted out of your back account. Chances are, despite your best efforts, you won't use it.

Why is that? Making a huge life change is something most of us aren't ready for, and the step of purchasing a gym membership is not a huge life change. Why do you think most gyms have minimum terms before you can cancel? They know you will fail, they also know you will probably keep paying just in case you decide to put in the effort.

My advice is start small. Make micro changes that don't really make a huge difference in your life, but when put together form a pattern of healthy living.

Step one : cut out the drive through

The first thing you should do is ban drive-through ordering. Getting a coffee? Get out of your car, walk into the store and buy that coffee at the counter. This is easy, and it's probably better for the environment as a bonus. There are some exceptions, like if you have a sleeping baby in the car, but just the simple act of getting out of your car is exercise, and let's face it, it is not that hard.

Step two : cut out other deliveries

Ordering fast food? Think of it this way... You are already saving exercise by eating fast food (yes, cooking is exercise). So why not just go and get that food at the restaurant? Is it really that much effort? Truth is, there aren't many things lazier than ordering fast food to be delivered to your sofa. I'm not telling you NOT to eat it, these are micro changes, remember? Smaller changes have bigger chances of success, and we can work on the big changes later.

Speaking of deliveries, and this is a big one for some people, online deliveries. Limit yourself to ordering only items online that you can't find in-store. Do you really need to have toilet paper delivered? Or groceries? Everything you can think of that people used to go out and do themselves is now offered as a service, and relying on those services is making us a plump nation. The act of actually going to a store will give you some exercise, plus it might cut down on some of those impulse Amazon purchases your budget doesn't really need.

Step three : small substitutions

Once you get familiar with nutritional information, you will realize that little changes in what you eat can have huge benefits. Just the simple act of cutting out mayo on a sandwich can eliminate up to 100 calories, and cutting out cheese can have similar effects. Don't want to give up on cheese or mayo? Consider cutting the usual amount in half. Sour Creme and other high calorie and fat dips and sauces are one of the worst things to add to a meal. Consider making a burrito with salsa instead of sour creme, and cut down the amount of cheese and you can turn a calorie bomb into a healthy option.

For pizza, consider the italian style which is thin crust and lighter on cheese, and much healthier in most cases. Changing the type of pizza you order might feel like a big change, but think of it as a substitution not an elimination. (and remember to go pick up the pizza yourself!)

Step four : keep healthy snacks ready

This can be easy or hard depending on what you consider a healthy snack, or more accurately what you are likely to eat instead of things like chips.

I like to make light microwave popcorn in advance and store it in small ziplock containers (portion control for the win). Prepared veggies like cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, green beans and celery are great for munchies and fairly easy to prepare. Keeping things like this close, especially at work can help get you through those times where your co-workers bring boxes of donuts. That is a bigger change, and I know I promised micro changes, but consider having one donut or muffin and not going back for more.

If you can't get enough of things like chips, there has been a lot of improvement in the healthy snacks industry. I like "Veggie Crisps" by Dare which have 90 calories for 14 chips and 3g of fat, but more importantly they taste like snacks not like sad compromises.

Little changes like these can make a lot of difference without too much suffering. Keep an eye on ways you can move more and the nutritional information for what you are eating and make informed choices and you can succeed, plus it will give you more likely success at the bigger changes!