Tips for jumping on the healthy living wagon - and staying put.

Chicken breast with a mixed salad served with pomegranate seeds

January is the month for a healthy lifestyle reboot. At this stage in the month though, resolve starts to dissolve and it gets tougher to stay on that wagon.

We’ve been thinking about why this period becomes such a sticky phase for so many. It isn’t just healthy eating that suffers, so there is obviously psychology in play.

Another factor for the struggle is to do with the parameters we set for ourselves in order to be healthy – why does healthy food have to be… so… well… boring!

Our response is that it doesn’t and we think that this could be the key to successfully clambering back on that wagon and getting your 2016 off to the healthiest start ever. Here are our top tips for forming, and sticking to, some great healthy habits this month:

Instead of flying straight from the extreme of over-indulgence to a saintly regime, ease yourself in gently. The phrase a little bit of what you fancy does you good is a cliché for a reason! That said when you go for a treat opt for the most sensible option you can bear and work towards that saintly apple in a week or two.

Once you have decided to hop on that wagon help yourself to stay there by making a plan. Diets usually bite the dust as soon as we get too hungry and haven’t got that instant solution. A weekly meal plan and then just buying in the ingredients that you need will save you time and money as well as help you to stay healthy.

Stock your fridge and cupboard with a few basics that will get you out of trouble when plans change. Chopping up pineapple or melon and just having a bowl in the fridge as a go-to can give you that sugar hit you need to think through the next meal without risking your regime.

Keep it interesting – if you have something tasty to eat the healthy attributes will not really be relevant. Try cooking with a selection of herbs and spices. Add a little bit of chopped ginger, crushed garlic or lemongrass just to give your tastebuds a reason to dance again.