10 Rules to Live By in 2015

1. Break up with bread
I am a big advocate of eating little to no gluten. So why cut it out? Wheat is not your friend. It's addictive and an appetite stimulant, and the gluten it contains can make you sick. Easier said than done, but once you make it a priority to stop eating bread you'll find plenty of yummy alternatives.

2.  Do intervals! (AKA exercise like kids play)
Think about how you played outside as a kid. Were you running super fast while playing tag for five minutes and then slowing down for ten—then doing it all over again? That's called interval training. And our bodies really like it. The long-held belief that we need to elevate the heart rate with 30 minutes of sustained activity is being replaced....there's lots of evidence that intervals burn more calories, too.

3. Don't look at any screens one hour prior to bedtime 
This is one of the biggest secrets for a getting a good night's sleep—no mindlessly flipping through Instagram, answering email, or even watching Netflix an hour before shuteye. In fact, put the iPhones and laptops out of reach in another room to keep the eerie charging lights away from your sleep zone. If you can't, use an eye mask. These devices mess with your body's production of melatonin.

4. Swear off sugar
If you can only make one change, let it be a drastic reduction in the amount of sugar you eat. Why should you cut it out? Because it raises your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. Oh, and gives you breakouts.

5. Learn this chill out yoga pose
If your to-do list resembles the Dead Sea Scrolls and your stress-o-meter is reading 100, then supra buddha konasana is for you. It's a heart-opening, lung-stretching, deeply restorative posture. Put a bolster, or folded blankets, under your shoulder blades to support your knees, spine, and head, and you'll feel a gentle release in your hips, chest, shoulders, and throat. Hopefully your whirring mind will follow.

6. Do something you love for at least 10 minutes a day
No matter how slammed at work you are or how demanding your responsibilities, spending just a few minutes a day on something you love can have amazing benefits. Shoot hoops in the driveway. Sketch something on the bus home. It's incredibly powerful and healing.

7. Eat the yolk
Three decades in, it looks like egg whites will never go out of style. But that doesn't mean the yellow stuff is bad for you. Contrary to popular belief, the cholesterol in the food you eat has virtually no impact on the cholesterol level of your blood. It's sugar and cards that trigger production of bad cholesterol in your body. May we suggest cutting out the sugar from your latte, instead of the yolk from your chopped salad?

8. Consider clutter the junk food of your home
A healthy home doesn't have magazine piles in every corner and clothing on every chair. Clearing it out gets energy moving again. So, throw it out, donate it, and stop buying so much stuff (and don't mean hide it all away in closets and drawers)!

9. Get 15 minutes of sunshine a day 
Vitamin D is important and most people don't get enough. It's especially hard for those of us who are at our desks all day, tied up in work. But taking a few minutes a day to walk outside is better than none. Get out in the sun, arms and legs exposed (weather permitting!!) for 15 minutes every day, no sunscreen. It'll do wonders for your mood and energy level, too.

10. Honor thy feet
Not a pedicure (though they are amazing!) - your feet are super important because they're the command center of the body.  Try rolling a tennis ball under the bottom of one foot, then the other, for five minute each. When you take off a pair of high heels,  stretch yourself back into shape; stand on a step with just the balls of your feet and let one heel lower down for a deep calf stretch. Switch feet and do that for two minutes.

~Excerpted from The New Health Rules by Frank Lipman, M.D. and Danielle Claro (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Gentl & Hyers