Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Health and Lose Weight

We all know that the best way to shed pounds is through diligent diet and exercise. With that said, there are a lot of great and easy ways to improve your health. If you abide by these tips then you will undoubtedly begin to feel healthier and as a result you will have more energy. With more energy comes the ability to be more active and therefore you will be more successful in losing weight!

The following are five simple, yet life-changing, tips to improve your health and shed a few pounds.

1.) Raw is good

I'm not talking about sushi here (though sushi is a wonderful health food, minus the soy sauce). I'm talking about raw fruits and veggies. Cucumbers, oranges, tomatoes, apples, zucchini, carrots, bananas. You get the idea. The more raw, natural food you eat the better. Sweet fruits (like raisons or cherries, for example) make wonderful snacks. In addition, raw veggies should be present at every single meal.

Remember: Almost every single fruit and vegetable has more nutrients uncooked than it does cooked/steamed.

*Tip: The next time you go to the grocery store, stock up. Raw produce is often very inexpensive (especially when compared with packaged foods) and is right up front (so there's no forgetting it!).

2.) Make your meal a colorful one

This little piece of advice comes from a saying my grandmother, a retired nurse, uses all the time. Clearly I'm not talking about skittles or M&M's here (which are quite colorful indeed!). No, I'm talking about those raw foods. The more colorful your meal is, the more vitamins and nutrients you are consuming.

Consequently, the more monotone your meal, the less nutritious it likely is. Say you have some pasta, bread and a salad. You've got a green and white meal. Add some sliced carrots to your salad and a few cherry tomatoes. Add a few strawberries or grapes as a dish and you've got yourself a pretty little rainbow going on! Just think of all the vitamins you'll absorb in this tasty meal!

3.) Read the labels

I cannot stress this enough. It is imperative that you know what you're eating. There are countless additives and preservatives in most packaged food. I can guarantee that most un-organic, packaged and frozen foods will have a long list of chemicals you have a hard time pronouncing.

When looking at the labels, they should be short. Avoid items with corn syrup listed at the beginning and avoid items with ingredients you can't pronounce. If every single ingredient in your item is one you recognize then you've got yourself a nice piece of food!

*Tip: Most items these days have organic counterparts. Compare the ingredients and choose the best one. Organic foods tend to be more expensive, but they are worth it.

4.) Cut the red meat

As a vegetarian, this one is pretty easy for me. But I have friends who are die-hard steak fans who just can't seem to cut the red meat out of their diet. I'm not saying to go all-out and become a vegetarian, but you should really control the amount of red meat you consume on a weekly basis. Red meat not only leads to various cancers and high cholesterol, but it is also high in calories and often served in portions that are far too large.

As a rule, 1 portion of red mean is equivalent to the palm of your hand. Most steaks at restaurants are double or triple this size. Additionally you should only have 2 portions of red meat a week. That's right - a week. So choose your meat wisely (none of that McDonald's meat!) to make it worthwhile meal!

5.) Eat Slowly

Have you ever heard the rule: Chew 100 times and then swallow? Take it from someone who has tried - it takes a lot of patience and you're food is tasteless by the end of the 100 chomps!

So no, I don't expect you to chew your food 100 times before swallowing. However, you should take time to chew your food thoroughly and savor every minute of its deliciousness! This is good for two reasons: A) It allows your body to absorb more nutrients by breaking the food item down fully in your mouth and B) It helps slow you down.

*Tip: Take time to enjoy your meal. And, before you reach for seconds, wait at least 10 minutes until your brain catches up with your stomach.

For more ways to lose a few pounds, check out other article's I've written.