Blog Posts by FitSugar

Source: 10 Healthy Habits to Nail This Week

Feeling like you need a healthy living revamp? Here are 10 ways to make this week your healthiest yet.

• Exercise for 150 minutes this week. Whether you work out for 50 minutes three times a week or exercise every weekday for 30 minutes, 150 minutes is the bare minimum experts recommend to maintain heart and body health. For how much you should be exercising to lose weight, read here.
• Cook dinner every weeknight. Here's a stay-on-track meal plan from nutritionist Cynthia Sass to help you plan your week.
• Make a water goal to hit every day, and then meet it. Calculate how much water you should be drinking here.
• Drink green tea. You'll be boosting your metabolism and fighting disease with each mug.
• Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Forgo the pastry display for one of these healthy breakfast recipe ideas.
• Stretch. To improve flexibility and relieve aches, take three mornings this week to do a quick, gentle stretching

Source: 4 Medication-Free Ways to Relieve Congestion

Congestion is one of the more annoying manifestations of catching a cold, and the stuffy nose and sinus pain that result from it can make other cold symptoms even more unbearable. Instead of loading up on an over-the-counter decongestant, which may make you drowsy and foggy-headed, here are four natural ways you can relieve congestion.

• Use the shower: Steam from a shower is beneficial for opening up nasal passageways, so focus on breathing while you're in there. Make a conscious effort to breathe deeply and slowly to maximize the steam's decongesting benefits.
• Exercise: You may not feel like you're at full energy, but even if you go slower than you're used to, cardio can help open up your nose and relieve sinus pressure. Aim for 20 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, or other cardio to help break up sinus pressure.
• Tea remedy: A spicy tea can help open nasal passages while also warming you up. Peruse your spice cabinet

FitSugarSource: How to Stay Motivated During a New Routine

Getting motivated is often the easy part; it's staying motivated that can present an even bigger challenge. Forgetting what urged us to join a new class or change our diet happens all the time, especially once we've started making a little bit of progress. This is why it's crucial to keep reminding ourselves all the way through. Here are a few simple ways to keep up with new healthy habits.

• Ease Into It: Gradually moving into healthier food choices can give you the extra boost you need for an overall new diet plan, workout regimen, or both! It's important to choose a realistic plan to enable you to be successful all throughout the year. It's the small steps that lead to major accomplishments.
• Vision Board: You don't need to cover your bedroom in quotes, but you certainly can if that keeps you treading on. Make a small vision board you can keep at work or somewhere more discreet so you can look at every day to help remind you

Source: Healthy Spreads For Bagels Help Save on Fat and Calories

There's nothing wrong with a little cream cheese here and there, but enter the world of other topping possibilities. These new tastes are fresh and can help you to mix up your palate. Another perk of these foreign bagel flavors is that they are all healthier options without sacrificing flavor. See which spread will be the next butter to your bread.

• Neufchâtel: This spreadable cheese looks just like cream cheese and is usually available right next to it in the refrigerator aisle. Judging by labels alone, this is the health-conscious choice with 10 percent less fat than cream cheese.
• Farmer cheese: Lower in calories and in fat is farmer cheese. If you enjoy the texture and taste of ricotta cheese, think of this as its cousin, which makes it a whipped-style bagel topper.
• Goat cheese spread: Herbed goat cheese can taste great on a bagel. The lower-cal, more spreadable version involves combining it

Source: 5 Habits to Learn Now to Relieve Stress Anytime

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to not stress, the characteristically quiet weeks of January are a good time to start working on a few habits that will help you manage this when things become more hectic. Here are five habits to learn now so you can beat stress when it starts to creep up on you.

• Streamline your morning: If you normally start the day behind, devote some time to learn how to make getting ready in the morning a quick and painless affair. Pack your work, lunch, and gym bags the night before so you're not frantically packing in the morning, and start training yourself to stop relying on the snooze button. And when you wake up, think of something positive - it helps to begin a busy day on the right foot. Read more tips on having a stress-free morning here.
• Schedule tasks: If you're feeling overwhelmed when it comes to your to-do list, schedule them out on your calendar. That way you can group them in

Source: Healthy Baking: Surprising Butter Substitutes

Baking calms the mind and feeds the soul, but all that buttery goodness can pack on the pounds. If looking to make healthier baked goods, omitting some or all of the butter from your favorite recipes greatly reduce the amount of calories, fat, and cholesterol in your sweet treats. There are countless ways to replace eggs in recipes, and here are healthier alternatives to using butter. These substitutes are great for vegan bakers too.

• Applesauce: Often used to replace oil in recipes, applesauce can also be used as butter alternative, and works best in cake-like recipes (like this Vegan Banana Apple Chunk Bread). Replace half the amount of butter in your recipe with applesauce; if the recipe calls for one cup of butter, use half a cup of butter and half a cup of applesauce. If you don't mind a denser, more moist bread, replace all the butter with applesauce to cut even more calories and fat.
• Avocado: Substitute half

FitSugarSource: Came Down With a Cold or Flu? Eat These Foods

A balanced diet can boost your immune system and help prevent you from getting sick, but if you happen to catch a cold, or worse, the flu, a healthy diet is essential in helping you recover faster. Here are the foods you should be eating when you're sick.

• Beverages - Lots of Them: You may not feel like eating solid foods, but make sure to take in plenty of fluids. All-natural ginger ale and peppermint or ginger tea are good choices if you have an upset stomach, and electrolyte-infused beverages are a good option if you've been visiting the bathroom a lot. Real fruit juices like OJ, grapefruit, and apple cider will offer calories and nutrients to help feelings of dizziness from not eating, but if you have a stuffy nose, choose hot liquids such as tea with lemon or our apple cider vinegar brew.
  Some other options: Green tea supports the immune system, and if you add a little honey, it will also coat your scratchy throat.

FitSugarSource: Commitment Issues? Help Weight-Loss Resolutions Stick

Going with the flow can be healthy in many circumstances, but it's not always the best bet when it comes to a weight-loss routine. To see the results you want on the scale and in your clothes, committing to a healthy diet and exercise plan is a must. And with these tips in mind, it's not as hard as you think.

• Pencil it in: Keeping a food journal is a helpful technique to achieve your healthy goals. One study found that the women who were the most successful at losing weight monitored their food intake by keeping a journal. In addition, whether you have to jot it down in a calendar, send a series of email reminders, or pay for classes ahead of time, schedule workouts in advance.
• Stay positive: Beating yourself up does more harm than good when it comes to weight loss, and anxiety and negativity aren't helping you achieve your goals at all. Focus on keeping a positive attitude and celebrating healthy