Make healthy swaps to eat better and move more in 2017

The New Year often includes goals to eat healthier and get more exercise. To make sure that Oklahomans don’t drop the ball on their healthier lifestyle goals, Shape Your Future and the TSET Healthy Living Program (HLP) serving Logan County share ways to make healthy swaps. By encouraging Oklahoma families to try swapping out a few poor food choices and activities for easy, healthy ones.

These healthy swaps consist of small, realistic changes that can be made to help Oklahomans eat better and move more. With better health, people can stay protected from lifestyle-related chronic diseases, like obesity and cardiovascular disease – two of Oklahoma’s top causes of preventable death. A new year, a new me. It is time to break the habit of the unhealthy lifestyle and start being the person you’ve always wanted to become. Especially after the festive holidays, a lot of people are thinking about dieting. Don’t think, just do. If you are hesitant about this, why not look into a health blog, to give you the inspiration and motivation you may need to work your way towards leading a healthier lifestyle.

“The New Year is the perfect time to concentrate on making healthy lifestyle choices,” said Courtney McLemore, Wellness Coordinator “Making simple food and exercise swaps are one way to do that. Knowing some quick, low-cost choices can make being healthier even easier, now and all year long.”

Healthy food swaps include choosing whole grains, lean meats, and fruits and veggies over less nutritious food options. There are also several healthy cooking swaps, like using applesauce instead of vegetable oil.

Oklahomans can also choose to swap sedentary activities with ones that include more physical movement. Shape Your Future and the TSET HLP serving Logan County encourage families to swap screen time for play time and to add physical activity to their morning routines by doing squats or calf raises while brushing their teeth. Adding just 30 daily minutes of physical activity for adults and 60 minutes for kids to the day, can get everyone on the path to a healthier lifestyle.

“These small changes can lead to big results,” said McLemore.  “Improving your food and activity choices helps create healthy habits for the future.”

This new year, join Shape Your Future and the TSET HLP serving Logan County in exploring healthy food and activity swaps, and have a healthier, happier 2017. For a complete list of healthy lifestyle swaps, visit ShapeYourFutureOK.com. You can also find other tools and resources, and dozens of easy,
low-cost recipes too. Connect with Shape Your Future on Facebook or Twitter at ShapeFutureOK and share your own versions of healthy swaps.