My Nutritional Top Ten (in no apparent order)

Everyone has their favorite ways to stay healthy. Here are mine.

1) Drink a full glass of water before every meal. This is an easy one, but people (including myself) often toss it aside. Drinking water fills you up so that you don’t gorge yourself with food and then regret it later. In addition to this,

2) Eat slowly. The faster you eat, the more you eat before you have time to fully digest and realize you’re full. Too many people eat a lot really fast and afterwards hold their stomach crying out “I’m sick…I’m sick…” (i.e. my dad, bless his heart).

3) Stop drinking soda. I know, I know…it’s hard. Believe me. I still haven’t fully succeeded at this one. Not only is soda terrible for you, it’s rotting your teeth (just like your mother told you). Every sip of soda continues to eat away at your enamel for twenty minutes (longer if you’re drinking dark sodas like Coke or Dr. Pepper).

4) Set out healthy snacks so you don’t go for the chips and ice cream. If you have bowls of edamame, some mixed nuts (excellent source of good fats), finger sandwiches, carrots, celery and peanut butter, cherry tomatoes, etc… you can still snack and hold yourself over until your next meal while not racking up the calorie count.

5) Think of pasta/rice as a treat to be had once a week at most, not an everyday meal, and try to always pair it with a lean protein, like chicken or shrimp. Remember that starches expand in your digestive tract so you only need to eat a little (even though it tastes so good) to fill up. Stick some cherry tomatoes on top and you’ve got a yummy vegetable serving as well.

6) Juice your fruits and vegetables…together. Everyone’s heard of V8. Well this is similar, only you control what you’re mixing and drinking and you’re getting it fresh.

Bonus.

I juice about 8oz of spinach with one whole apple. You don’t taste the spinach, so you’re getting the taste of amazing fresh apple juice (way better than Motts or whatever store bought brand you get) and the nutrients of spinach.

(Too bad Popeye didn’t have a juicer.) It’s a fun and quick way to get your daily servings, and especially great for those who have to eat on the go.

(I also enjoy juicing apple, strawberry, and raspberry together. Mix with ice cream or nonfat yogurt and you have one delicious healthy(er) dessert.)

This is what I use.

7) Eat flax seed. Flax seed is rich in fiber and antioxidants. Bake it into your bread, sprinkle it on your cereal, or do as I do and just munch on a spoonful before breakfast.

8) If you have to eat chips, make your own dip rather than using heavily processed store bought dip. You can find good recipes at allrecipes.com or you can just invent your own like I do.

9) Make a point to cook for yourself. Not only is it rewarding to know that you are taking care of yourself, but anything you make at home is going to be healthier than picking up food at a fast food restaurant.

Plus, cooking is an activity, and activities burn more calories than just sitting in front of the TV with Taco Bell.

10) Drink tea instead of coffee. Yes, it's true that coffee has its health benefits…but tea just tastes better and feels better. Coffee, at least for me, has the tendency to cause an upset stomach and bloating (plus it puts hair on your chest).

Tea - black with a little milk and sugar - is the same consistency of a morning cup of coffee but it tastes hecka better and is better for you.

The caffeine in coffee is about double the caffeine in tea, so a couple cups of tea won’t make you jittery the way coffee might.

Some other health benefits of tea you might not know about:
- Tea has antioxidants that fight osteoporosis, prevent blood clotting, and lower cholesterol.
- Tea helps speed up your metabolism so you can burn more calories and lose weight faster.
- Green teas, such as Oolong, curb appetite so you eat less. (Though let me point out Wu-Long, Wu-Yi, and Oolong are all the same tea. You don’t need to spend tons of money to order the Wu-Yi tea when you can buy Oolong at your local market or Target.)
- Tea does not stain your teeth, in fact, it strengthens them.
- Non-caffeinated tea relaxes you and calms your nerves. Pour yourself a cup and take a bubble bath with a good book. This will cure any bad day.