Here’s how 28 small steps can improve your health, and can change how you look and feel.  

1. Grab your sunglasses on the way out the door. Use shades with UVA/UVB protection.
2. Serve purple eggplant or red pepper. The darker the colour, the more phytochemicals  a fruit or vegetable has.
3. Buy a tape measure. When starting exercise, check your waist and hips, not the scale, since muscle is more dense than fat.
4. Take 5 minute walking break every hour. That’s 40 minutes over an eight-hour day.
5. Divide your dinner plate into ½ veggies and fruits, a quarter grains and a quarter lean meats and other proteins.
6. Skip a TV show. You will have more time to be active or get some extra rest.
7. Enjoy an egg or two for breakfast. They’re not the dietary demons they’ve been cracked up to be.
8. Add shredded carrots to your salad instead of croutons. You will cut calories.
9. Drink water to stay hydrated. Add a splash of flavour with slices or orange or lemon.
10. Serve your food on luncheon size plate. You may find your more satisfied with a smaller meal if it fills the plate.
11. Put your athletic clothes near your bed so you can exercise first thing  in the morning.
12. Eat at the dining room or kitchen table and turn off the TV.
13. Put skim milk on your cereal. It cuts some grams of fat and 37 calories.
14. Trouble sleeping? Don’t’ keep a tv or computer in the bedroom, stop caffeine 4 to 6 hours before bed, limit alcohol to 2 or fewer drinks 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.
15. Find a gym that fits you. Wight yourself.
16. Send fewer emails. Do you need to compose an email to someone three desks away? Instead of that you can walk to their desk, which bum calories.
17. Avoid using the elevator and use the stairs.
18. Sip a glass of tomato juice instead of snacking on bread while you wait for your meal in the restaurant. You will slash calories by more than half.
19. Slow down when eating by taking smaller bites and chewing longer. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for our brain to process the signal that we are satisfied.
20. Stretch first thing in the morning and again before going to bed. It helps maintain flexibility.
21. Prepare a plate of cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, grapes, pineapple chunks and pre-cut red, yellow and green pepper to keep in the fridge for snacking.
22. Call to schedule an appointment for a skin check up with a dermatologist.
23. Make steamed spinach for dinner. A cup packs 157 milligrams of magnesium and only 41 calories, plus you get vitamin A and potassium.
24. Take time for breakfast. Research shows that the calories you devour at breakfasts pay off the rest of the day in grater energy.
25. Order salad dressing on the side and just dip your fork in it.
26. Give yourself a time out. Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly five times. It is a quick way to release anger and anxiety.
27. Throw frozen berries for 45 seconds in the microwave, to add to instant oatmeal, yogurt, or whole grain waffles.
28. End your day by thinking of one positive thing that you did for your health since you awoke.