1. Only eat when sitting down. It’s true,   we tend to eat mindlessly and “graze” more when standing up. Sitting   down encourages us to be present and eat with more focus–things that can   prevent us from overeating.

2. Use small dinner plates. Using a smaller plate,   research has shown, leads to taking smaller portions. If you’re trying   to avoid overeating, this is a simple trick.

3. Park is the back row at the grocery store. If   you routinely hit the grocery store two or three times a week, walking an extra   quarter mile to and from the store is an easy way to get more exercise into   your busy day. You can adopt this policy everywhere you park, or just at the   grocery store for starters.

4. Take the stairs at work. If you are only going   up a flight or two, make a promise to yourself that you will take the stairs   and give your legs and lungs a little workout mid-day.

5. Switch out coffee for green tea. Green tea has   a multitude of health benefits, including warding off cancer, diabetes, high   cholesterol and heart disease, stroke and dementia. If you can’t do without   your cup of joe every day, then start with just Mondays. Remember, the goal   is to make small, manageable resolutions that you will keep.

6. Sign up for a 5K. Not a runner? Walk. The very   act of signing up for a race will make you more accountable to lace up your   sneakers and train for it.

7. Give your spouse one compliment a day. It’s   so easy to nitpick and criticize our partners, but make a positive change in   your relationship by offering one nice, thoughtful exchange a day.

8. Start a journal. You don’t have to write   pages and pages. You don’t even have to write in it every day. But honestly   jotting down your thoughts, emotions, goals and hopes can be very healing to   our souls.

9. Ditch naysayers. Life is too short to surround   yourself with people who are negative, thoughtless, selfish or not healthy for   you. Know how to tell? Monitor how you feel when you’re around them–do   you feel drained, angry, anxious or insecure? Might be time to weed them out   of your life.

10. Find more positive friends. In addition to   the above, make a commitment that you are going to surround yourself with those   who make you feel great, warm, happy and comfortable. You’ll notice a big   difference in your energy when you’re with them.

11. Give up soda. You don’t have to completely   rid your diet of all sugar and processed foods (although, that’s great   if you do), but replacing soda with water each day will make a huge difference   in your health.

12. Sign up for a class. It doesn’t matter   what it is–yoga, Zumba, dance, photography, creative writing–anything   that you are interested in and want to learn more about is great. In order to   keep our minds healthy, it’s important to continue learning new things.

13. Turn off the local news. You’ve probably   noticed that the local news is often filled with negative, draining stories   about violence, shootings, murders, thefts, etc. Definitely not a good way to   start or end the day. Instead, get your news through reputable papers and online   sites where you can pick and choose what you want to read.

14. Commit to vegan days. Take Meatless Mondays   a step further and ditch the dairy too. Just one day a week of freeing your   diet from all animal products can make a tremendous difference to your health,   our environment and the life of animals who are often treated cruelly and inhumanely   at factory farms.

15. Read more. Let’s turn off the TV and our   computers an hour earlier each day and read. Commit to reading one book a month   and feel the difference it makes in your mental and brain health.