The road to making your lifestyle healthier can be daunting and challenging, and can often seem doomed from the start. But there are small steps you can take to lead a healthier lifestyle.

If you don’t like going to the gym, add physical activity in during the day so that it becomes part of your daily routine.

• Walk to work instead of taking the bus and
• Play with your kids at the park on the weekend
• Count house work and chores as part of moving your body
• Remember that shopping (either for necessities or “window shopping”) is better than sitting around
• Look for hobbies and spare time activities that are more active
• Challenge yourself to try something new—join a free class at a community center for yoga, zumba, or gentle movement

Harlem resident Tracey Tann Parker made very small changes to her lifestyle, but saw huge results. She suggests making  substitutions to your existing lifestyle rather than following a diet, “Don’t focus too much on a diet plan,” she says, ”like telling yourself that for breakfast you can only eat this and this … People are terrified that once they commit to a diet they’ll never be able to eat their favorite foods again. No way! What I try to do is just make small substitutions and slight changes. If I was on an actual diet I don’t think I would have lost any weight.”

To read more about Tracey’s story, click here.