Ever heard the expression ‘Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’? Well, the same applies to your health – lots of little changes can result in one big change.

It’s easy to decide that tomorrow will be the day, the day when everything changes and you start eating a perfectly healthy diet, exercising everyday. But we all know that isn’t as realistic a goal as we would hope. Making one small change everyday, allowing that change to become a new healthy habit, is a much more realistic way of changing your lifestyle.

Find five minutes
Even five minutes a day can have an impact on your health and there’s no way you can’t find five minutes in your day for a bit more movement! There are countless ways to get five minutes – or more! – of movement into your day. The best way is to get off the bus or train a stop earlier – do this on your way to and from work and you’ll wrack up a lot more than five minutes! You could also look at your working day – is there any way to work movement into it? Even going somewhere for lunch forces you out of your seat and onto your feet. While five minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, once you’ve found those five minutes it’s a rare day that you won’t move more. You’re bound to exceed your expectations.

Get the app
There are loads of health apps out there which can help you in healthier habits. Start logging what you’re eating every day and you’ll be more aware of what you eat and will make more consciously healthy decisions. Many phones have a built in pedometer – monitor your steps per day and aim to hit 10,000!

Just one more
At each meal, aim to add at least one – or one more – vegetable to your plate. Over time your meals will become much healthier!

Half an hour earlier
How much sleep are you getting? Our moods, energy levels and general sense of well-being can be heavily affected by whether or not we’re getting enough sleep. Try going to bed half an hour earlier. This doesn’t have to mean lights out and head on the pillow, but it’s important to try and build a gentle night time routine. Half an hour before you go to sleep, make sure all the electronics are off, open a window for some fresh air and curl up with a good book. Aim to end your day as gently as you can.