Life's all about choices
I’ve noticed how lazy the sun is lately, creeping out shyly early every morning and being way to enthusiastic early evenings, which warns me that winter is just around the corner. To me winter symbolizes comfort food like pizza and red wine in front of a fireplace, hearty stews and many cups of hot chocolate. Awareness does bring responsibility and seeing that life is all about choices I would definitely limit these luxuries by only having them once in a while (fortunately for us there is something like Hot Chocolate Lite!). It's easy to go into denial during winter, thinking you'd face the results in summer, but with so many alternatives available to us, it's just not worth it!

Wise up
There is nothing better than a good soup in winter - make vegetable or minestrone soup (which is healthy and quite filling) and freeze it – it’s such a pleasure getting home on a miserably cold night, knowing that you can just pop the soup in the microwave. Another must for cold nights are stews - a good tip is to let the stew stand overnight and scrape the layer of fat off before you warm it up the next day, this way you get in all the wholesomeness without it affecting your cholesterol.

Keep it basic
We often complicate matters unnecessary, the golden rule is to keep it simple. Basic rules would be to try and buy your food as close as possible to its original, natural form, this would include meat, free range chickens, fruit and vegetables etc. and as a rule stay away from any refined foods ("whites") - our bodies weren’t made to digest factory foods. Have a variety of food and keep your meals balanced (salad and veggies to take up half of your plate, protein and starch a quarter each).

Fresh produce
Not only is nature our best source of vitamins, most fruit and vegetables have healing properties. Where possible try to buy your fresh produce from a farmer's market (mostly organic, which means closer to its original form). Have a variety of fruit and vegetables at hand and try to have at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal to ensure that you get all the vitamins you need. Having veggies like broccoli, peppers etc. in their raw form are much better for our digestive system as it takes our bodies longer to digest raw products, which will prevent us from snacking too often.

Cutting down
Don’t try to give up everything at once - we all know that we totally lose the plot when we deprive ourselves. Start on a small scale like cutting down on your caffeine, replacing sugary foods with fresh fruit, having less bread etc. It's just a matter of breaking some unhealthy habits and replacing this with good ones. I found it a good idea to keep a healthy snack-pack (nuts, apples, bananas etc.) handy for when I feel peckish or my resistance hits a low.

Water
Make a point of getting in your 8 glasses of (safe) water a day - by constantly keeping yourself hydrated you minimize the chances of getting a cold. With water you will always find yourself in a win-win situation - it's the only liquid that really quenches your thirst and it has no calories which is an added bonus!

Supplements
Our bodies serve us faithfully every day, it’s only fair that we supply them what they need to fulfill this important job. You might want to consider a supplement as an add-on to the natural vitamins and minerals you take in daily. Make sure that you are getting in the right amount of vitamin C, especially during winter (your body can only absorb a certain amount, the rest is wasted). In a nutshell - be kind to your body.

Flu vaccinations
Receiving the flu vaccine can go a long way in preventing or creating a resistance to the influenza virus. We did a bit of research and found a couple of common myths regarding flu vaccine.

Winter goodies
If you have the luxury of a fireplace, stock up on firewood, otherwise dust off the heater and buy yourself a fluffy water bottle and soft, cozy blanket to keep you warm in stead of having to resort to hot chocolate!

Keep moving
Who wants to exercise when the sky is painted gray on a chilly day and all you can think about is crawling up under a blanket with a good book or a DVD – it’s just not normal! Fortunately good decisions can’t be made based on feelings. Our minds remind us that we need to keep on moving while our bodies would much rather hibernate. Make some fool-proof, practical rules: Personally I need to go to gym directly after work, if I make any other turns, or go home first – that’s me for the night. Keep your gym bag (or other equipment) in the car and focus on the job ahead. Yes, it's painful to be beautiful, but by persevering the thought of summer won't bring on a nauseas feeling, you will shout out: Bring it on!