Top 10 Healthy Tips

1. Decrease fat intake

  • Use low fat products, e.g. semi or skimmed milk, low fat cheese, yogurts.
  • Try boiling, grilling or baking food instead of frying
  • Choose lean cuts of meat, chicken or fish.
  • Remove visible fat from meat and skin from chicken.

2. Decrease sugar intake

  • Use sweeteners in your tea or coffee instead of sugar.
  • Drinking water instead of fizzy drinks or juice drinks.
  • Buy fruit tinned in juice NOT syrup.
  • Cut down on high sugar foods like biscuits, cakes and sweets.

3. Increase fibre intake

  • Try using ‘whole-wheat' products, e.g. whole-wheat bread, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta.
  • Add dried beans to soups and casseroles. Beans contain lots of protein, are low in fat and are a great source of fibre.
  • Try eating high fibre breakfast cereals in the morning e.g. Bran Flakes, Weetabix, Shredded Wheat or porridge.

4. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables

  • Aim for 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Check out the eatwell plate
  • When serving dinner, fill half the plate with vegetables.
  • Try to make your meal as colorful as possible.
  • Add lettuce and tomato to a sandwich.
  • When having yogurt or ice cream - try adding a piece of cut up fruit to it.
  • Have a banana on top of your cereal in the morning.
  • Try dried fruit as a snack instead of sweets.

5. Decrease salt

  • Too much salt in the diet can lead to high blood pressure.
  • Try not to add extra salt to your meal, try using herbs and spices for seasoning instead.
  • Drain & rinse canned vegetables before using them.
  • Cut down on high salty snacks e.g. crisps, pretzels, popcorn.
  • Cut down on foods made with lots of salt e.g. fast food, ‘microwave-meals', processed meats (e.g. bacon, ham, sausage).

6. Make sure you get enough calcium

  • Calcium is needed in your diet for strong bones and teeth.
  • Eat at least 2 servings of ‘dairy' each day. Dairy includes milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese.
  • Other good sources of calcium are sardines, dried beans, tofu, broccoli.

7. Be careful of your portion sizes

  • Think about how much you want to eat. Do you really want the biggest portion?
  • Listen to your body, it knows when you are full.
  • Relax for 5 minutes before going for a second helping; ask yourself do you need more?
  • When eating out try splitting a starter or pudding.
  • Try taking some of your dinner home - that way you can enjoy it another day.

8. Exercise

  • Exercise makes you feel good, reduces health problems and tones you up.
  • Try to exercise 30 minutes each day: dance/run/ basketball. Anything that makes you sweaty and gets your heart going.
  • Stay active, e.g. take the stairs instead of the lift, get off the bus a stop early & walk.
  • Check out  the fit chance website for activities in Hackney

9. DO NOT skip meals

  • Skipping meals can make you gain weight by confusing your body, causing your metabolism to slow down and preventing you from burning enough calories the next time you eat.
  • Always eat breakfast. When you wake up in the morning your metabolism is already low because you've been sleeping, it's been a while since your last meal and your body hasn't had anything to do for eight hours. It needs breakfast to stimulate it into burning off calories, which will give you energy for the morning ahead.
  • Skipping meals also means that your body craves high calorie foods, such as high fat snacks (e.g. crisps, pastries), or sweets and sugary drinks.

10. Drink lots of waterGlass of water

  • Aim for 8-10 glasses a day (About 2 litres).
  • Water can help Improve your energy, increase your mental and physical performance, remove toxins & waste products from your body, keep skin healthy and glowing, help you lose weight, reduce headaches and dizziness and aid digestion.

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