The Great Swapathon

We all use January as a time to make changes to the way we live and usually all have dieting and exercising on our list of New Year's resolutions... But many of these good intentions often falter, because we set ourselves impossible tasks. So, this year we're challenging you to make small, manageable swaps instead!

We're joining forces with Change4Life and connecting to the Great Swapathon - a new and innovative way to get everyone swapping their unhealthy habits for healthier ones.

To help you think about what you can swap, here is our list of small and easy changes for the New Year and a new you...

• If you're only going a short distance and the route is safe, why not leave the car at home and walk or cycle instead
• If you do have to drive, always try to park at the far end of the car park or as far away as possible from where you're going
• Use the stairs instead of the lift or escalator!
• Standing up on public transport will test your balance and train your inner core muscles; going a long way to strengthening your stability
• Make the most of sitting at your desk by keeping your feet off the floor; it will strengthen your core abdominal muscles and you can also try to move your feet (such as circular rotations) to make it even tougher
• Get up and about in the office; instead of contacting colleagues in the same building by email or internal phone, go over and speak to them in person
• Don't stick to the games consoles, play like a child! Have a snow ball fight, challenge the kids to races across the beach, or climb on the climbing frame at the park; releasing the inner child in us is great fun and a great way to keep in shape!
• When carrying your shopping, lift the bags up and down in alternate hands; improving shoulder, arm and core strength
• Be as energetic as possible whilst doing the housework as the constant movement will speed up your metabolism
• When mixing ingredients in a bowl, hand whisk rather than using an electric whisk, this will work the muscles in your shoulders and arms
• Hand wash your car rather than going to the car wash, the extra movement your body gets will help those pounds fly off!
• Use a foot pump to pump up your tyres, rather than the electric one at the garage, this will help your core stabilising muscles and your leg strength

If you're feeling motivated to get more active this year, follow our easy steps to getting started... starting off slowly will make it a lot easier to stick at what you're doing and before long it will simply become a part of your usual routine without you even realising!

To get you thinking about what changes you can make to what you eat, here are some of Change4Life's Top Swaps:

• Swap sugary drinks like fizzy drinks or squash for water, milk or unsweetened fruit juice. This could be in packed lunches, on the way to school or work and during breaks.
• Swap fry-ups for grill-ups. Everyone enjoys a nice cooked breakfast, but you can easily make it healthier by poaching or scrambling the eggs and grilling the sausages or bacon rather than frying them.
• Swap the sweetie jar for a bowl of fruit. Once the sweets aren't there, people soon stop thinking about them!
• Swap snacking on the run for 3 meals a day - it's easier to make healthier choices and keep hunger pangs at bay.
• Swap big plates to smaller plates. Using smaller plates is a good way to keep portion sizes in check (and it'll look like you've got more food!).
• Swap white bread for wholemeal for your sandwiches or toast. It's tastier and full of fibre.