Eat French Fries, and Other Things You Can Do Right Now to Live a Happy, Healthy Life

Yahoo Beauty welcomes Veronica Webb as our new celebrity columnist. Known for being one of the first black supermodels to break barriers in the beauty and fashion industries, Veronica uses her experiences as a model, health and fitness enthusiast, lifestyle blogger (Webb on the Fly), mother, and wife to exclusively report on what’s trending in beauty.

I can’t wait for warmer weather and brighter days. It motivates me to eat lighter and to add a few simple changes to my daily routine for better health. A little discipline now adds up to positive results that I’ll feel when winter gives way to spring.

Here are five things you can do right now to feel more confident and beautiful, both inside and out.

1. Some of the best advice I ever got was to stretch every morning before I get out of bed.
Keep it simple. For example, hug your knees into your chest. Sit up and touch your toes. Shrug your shoulders up to your ears, hold it a moment, then release the tension in your shoulders and repeat. Drop your chin and roll your neck 360 degrees. I love doing these simple morning stretches.

It’s a great feeling to know that I’ve started my day by doing something good for my health, and that’s a beautiful thing.

2. I wear as much of my workout clothes under my work clothes as possible every day.
It’s easy to put a black tank with a built-in workout bra under a jacket or pop a tunic-style dress over leggings. It makes it so much easier when I do finally get time to work out, at home or somewhere else, if I don’t have to scramble for something to wear.

3. Add one healthy thing to your diet that you wouldn’t normally eat.
For me, I drink water, but usually I don’t have the time or I don’t remember to drink enough water every day. To change this, I designate one day a week to drinking 1.5 liters (50 ounces) of water.

In the last year, I’ve also added quinoa to my diet, and I feel lighter and more energetic for it. Getting enough water and eating the right vegetables and grains are literally like eating and drinking beauty.

4. Make your own french fries.
I am a french fries addict. I can tell you where to get the best fries from street vendors or five-star hotels, from Hawaii to Timbuktu.

I always say, “You’ve got to pay to play.” When my pants get too tight from my french fries habit, I make it a rule to make my fries at home rather than give them up entirely. I like to use an air fryer or make them in the oven. Frozen fries do just fine. If you skip the oil that restaurant fries are normally cooked in, making them at home ends up averaging around 194 calories per serving versus about 365 calories.

5. Pump yourself up!
It helps to stick to simple affirmations because they’re doable, not overwhelming, and can quickly shift your entire point of view in a positive direction.

Keeping your routines and affirmations simple is the key to keeping it going and, in time, to building big, positive results.

Read More:
8 Beauty Products to Chase Away the Winter Blues
What You Need to Know Before Going Red

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