1. LOSE 10% OF YOUR BODY WEIGHT
If you’re 1,68m and weigh 73kg, shaving off just 10% (7,3kg) will take you from the ‘over- weight’ category to a normal body mass index.
If you aim to lose 1% of your body weight a week, you’ll have lost 10% in two to three months – if you weight 70kg, that’s a whole dress size.
2. UP YOUR EXERCISE BY 10%
Even if you’re completely sedentary, your body still burns at least 4 200kJ a day (depending on your weight and age).
Boosting that by 10% translates to a mere 420kJ – an amount you could expend by taking Fido out for a 28-minute walk OR mowing the lawn for 14 minutes or walking up and down stairs for 15 minutes.
3. LAUGH FOR 10 MINUTES
Laughing tenses your abdominal muscles, makes your heart beat faster and speeds your breathing so you take in more oxygen – think of it as jogging on the couch.
Watching a comedy uses up to 10% to 20% more kilojoules than a regular TV show or movie. You could burn off up to 168kj for around 15 minutes of funny time.
4. EAT 10% MORE FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Snack on an additional six strawberries or half a large carrot and you’ll boost your intake about 10% above the recommendation of nine half cups of fresh produce a day.
5. CUT SODIUM BY 10%
Cut your salt intake by making your own pasta sauces, opting for low sodium soya sauce and swapping tinned vegetables for fresh or frozen. You’ll cut your intake by at least 400mg per day.
6. LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE BY 10%
By cutting back on salt and increasing your exercise you’ll naturally lose weight – which lowers blood pressure.
You can expect blood pressure to fall at least one point for every [450g] you lose.
7. CONSUME 10% FAT
5% to 10% of your daily kilojoules should come from healthy fats and omega-6 fatty acids.
Replace saturated fats like butter with oil like sunflower oil. But remember, oil is high in kilojoules – two tablespoons will do the trick.
8. DRINK 10% LESS COOLDRINK
Choose water over two cans of sugary fizzy drinks a day and you’ll save 1 008kJ on a 8400kj day’s intake.
9. SLEEP 10% MORE
People who slept for less than seven hours a night were nearly three times more likely than well-rested people to catch a cold
If you normally log seven hours of shuteye a night, turn in 40 minutes earlier to boost your sleep time by about 10%.
10. NAP FOR 10 MINUTES
Not enough zzz’s last night? Take a 10 minute nap.
To feel sharp when you wake up, limit it to 10 minutes: in an Australian study, those who slept for 20 to 30 minutes were slower to get back in gear.
