Living a healthy lifestyle is more than just cutting calories to lose weight or taking the stairs. It is about paying attention to the benefits individual foods and nutrients provide for our body. It is also about developing a regular schedule of physical activity that includes family and friends, whether it is playing soccer with the kids or walking the dog through the neighborhood. Healthy living is truly a way of life that brings quality to our lives.

10 Steps to a More Healthful Lifestyle

• Start your day with breakfast. Eating breakfast fuels the body to start the day and makes you less likely to overeat later. Believe it or not, knowing that you will be having breakfast in the morning may help curb mindless eating late at night.


• Make time to move. Adding physical activity to the day will help manage your weight and make you feel like you have more energy. If you cannot set aside 30 minutes at a time, try 5-10 minutes of activity spread throughout the day— the activity will add up! Consider this: expending only 10 more calories a day adds up to 3,650 calories overa year— a little more than the amount of calories in one pound of body fat.


• Rest and recharge your batteries. People who are fatigued are likely to eat more. Make sure you get enough sleep each night to recharge and refresh.


• Watch your portions. Americans are not good judges of appropriate portion sizes, and we tend to eat more when we receive large helpings. Use a small plate and measure what you eat for a healthier portion size.


• Write down what you eat for a day or a week— most people will eat less to avoid having to write so much. Keeping track of your diet also will show you healthy and unhealthy patterns so you can assess where to start changing behaviors.


• Set small, behavioral and achievable goals for yourself. Smaller, more specific goals are more easily achieved than large, vague goals. Start your goals with the words, "I will…" and target a specific behavior, such as "I will substitute yogurt or nuts for my afternoon snack three days this week instead of reaching for cookies."


• Don't deprive. If you really want dessert, have it— but have a small amount.


• Clean up your environment. If there are "problem foods" (foods that have more control over you than you have over them), don't stock them in your home. For example, if you know that you'll end up eating a large bag of chips or a tub of ice cream, don't buy a big bag or container.


• Include more fruits and vegetables in your daily diet— they are filled with incredible nutrients. Sometimes, having the fruit or vegetables cut up and ready to eat makes the difference between eating them and choosing something else.


• Drink water; it quenches your thirst and hydrates your body.