Regularly drinking water is essential to leading a healthy lifestyle. Many of us live chronically dehydrated, and in an attempt to rectify this drink heavily sugared and carbonated drinks, resulting in only making the dehydration worse and adding unneeded empty calories. Water flushes waste from your body and helps your kidneys and lymph nodes filter your blood. It can also help you to feel full sooner, which can eliminate the extra calories you consume from snacks consumed between meals and extra servings. Making a goal to drink more water and cut back on sugary drinks will be a huge benefit to your health and weight loss. If you want some flavor added to your water, add a slice of lemon or lime, or a bit of 100% fruit juice.

Contrary to popular belief, you should actually be consuming grains every day to maintain a healthy diet. The key is to eat whole grains instead of refined grains. Whole grains have an abundance of healthy benefits, such as being a source of dietary fiber, reducing risk of heart disease and obesity, helping control digestion, and lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. It also helps you lose weight by making you feel fuller sooner, so you'l be satisfied with less calories in your diet. Making at least half of your grains whole grains every day is a game changer in your New Year's healthy diet.

Not all sugars are bad (such as the sugar you find in fruit) but consuming too much sugar has been proven to cause an increased risk in a variety of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Cutting back on sugar can be a difficult and gradual process. It doesn't happen overnight. Start by decreasing your intake of sugary foods (which can be surprising, such as ketchup and granola) and read food labels to see if sugar is an ingredient. At first, cutting down on the sugar can feel impossible, but over time your taste buds will adjust.

Even though they're fundamental for a well balanced diet, most Americans are not consuming enough (or any) fruits and vegetables on a day-to-day basis. You should make half your plate fruits and vegetables every day. They're chock full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, and can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and prevent some cancers, lower blood pressure, help with digestion, regulate blood sugar, and keep you fuller for longer. The key is variety. Eat fruits and veggies in different colors (different healthy benefits come with all of these color variations), and explore the produce aisle and choose something you've never tried before.

The hardest thing about making a New Year's resolution is figuring out how to stick to it. Sudden changes almost never last. Completely giving up foods you love generally ends in resentment and a default back to your old ways. You don't have to suck the fun out of your diet to live healthy. Treat yourself every once and a while to something not-so healthy (brownies, cookies, whatever your sweet tooth desires!) as long as it's only every once and a while. Stick to the rule of following an indulgence with a healthy meal. Rewarding yourself from time to time completely will set the stage for long-term success!