Healthy Resolutions You Can Stick To

How do you have a truly Happy New Year? By having a healthy one. We asked Sascha de Gersdorff, features editor of Women's Health Magazine, for tips on how we can make 2013 our healthiest year yet, and she gave us simple, effective tips that anyone can and should follow. In this cold and flu season, the best defense is a good offense. 'You can't feel happy or healthy if you're sick,' Sascha explained. 'The best way to [fend off cold and flu] is to wash your hands; we're talking at least 20 seconds with soap and running water. It's the single best way to protect yourself from falling sick.' When germs live on everything we touch, it is extremely important to keep things clean. You can also try carrying hand sanitizer with you, but be sure to get one with a moisturizer so you don't dry out your hands.Even with hand-washing, a cold can sometimes sneak up on you, but Sascha has a great weapon for getting over it quickly: Cold-Eeze. According to Sascha, Cold-Eeze works because, 'it contains zinc, which has been clinically proven to shorten the duration of a cold by almost half.' Cold-Eeze is available as a spray, lozenge or quick melt and there is a non-drowsy daytime version and a nighttime version to help you fall asleep faster naturally. No matter which form you take it in, it 'helps you get back to your best self.'Keeping your immune system in tip-top shape is even easier when you make time to relax. As Sasha told us, 'chronic stress is absolutely killer on the immune system, and you won't be able to fight off those germs, or just feel great in general, if you're stressed all the time.' She recommends taking a little time each day to calm down and de-stress, whether it's through yoga, meditation or deep breathing. Starting your day with a little you-time will help you feel great. As you push negative energy out of your body, it's important to take good energy in through fruits and vegetables. 'Eat your fruits and vegetables' is a mantra for a reason, according to Sascha. 'New studies show that people who eat seven servings or more of fruits and vegetables everyday are happier and have higher levels of mental health overall. Who doesn't want that?' The best fruits and veggies to consume are ones with darker, brighter colors; deep color in produce is a sign of higher nutrient content. Those nutrients help fight cancer, clean your liver and fill you with antioxidants that improve your overall health. While you're eating right, it's important to keep exercising and moving throughout the day. Those of us with desk jobs are negatively affected by all the sitting we do. Sascha recommends setting motion goals for yourself: 'maybe every time you take a phone call, you take it standing up. Maybe you always stand in meetings; maybe instead of emailing a coworker, you get up, walk down the hall and talk to them in person.' When it comes to your workout, Sascha believes weight training is key. ' A lot of people just love to go for their jog, or their cycle, which is wonderful too, but you want to pick up some weights this year,' she explains. 'And make them heavier ... get rid of those old 5 pounds, pick up a ten pound, a fifteen pound ... it is going to help you burn fat faster, and, also, just be healthier overall.' A stronger, more muscular body will help you torch more fat all day long. Of course, all of the above tips are no good without the most important foundation for good health: sleep. Sascha encourages everyone to 'practice great sleep hygiene.' This includes keeping your bedroom cool and dark, and unplugging from electronics an hour before bed. '[You] don't want any of that blue light in your eyes, it's signaling your body it's still daytime and not time to sleep, which means you can't fall asleep.' This signaling happens because the light can suppress the sleep hormone, melatonin. Sascha also recommends keeping a regular sleep routine by trying to go to bed at the same time every night. A routine will help you stay healthy and help you reach the recommended amount of sleep: seven to nine hours. For more healthy new year tips check out Women's Health Magazine on newsstands or at womenshealthmag.com. Sponsored by Cold-Eeze