Being healthy isn’t the easiest, is it? When we are trying to be healthy, it can seem there are a lot of barriers up against us. Modern life dictates that we have to prepare and invest more in our health than ever before which is why we’ve got to learn how to make being healthier easier on us, but what are the best ways to do this? Here are some practices that could make life easier for you.
Invest in Snack Packs
If you live a life where you are constantly on the go, you may either forget to eat or you are tempted by something from the store that’s less than healthy. But if you ever feel hungry, remember that there’s nothing quite like a handful of nuts, seeds, or dried fruit to keep you full until you can get to a healthier option.
The great thing about dried fruit is that it’s incredibly tasty and you can eat it while you are on the go anywhere. If you like dried fruit like cranberries or apricots it might be worth going a little bit further out. The online store Cheekoo’s sells dried elderberries which are really tasty, and a handful of dried fruit with some nuts is going to keep you full because of the healthy fats in the nuts, as well as the fiber.
Throw Out Any Junk Food
If you are trying to be healthy the first port of call is to remove any temptations. Because the fact is, if the food is there, you are going to eat it. Don’t think of yourself as mentally weak for giving into temptation, but you’ve got to realize that when you are undergoing a journey where you are changing your health there will be times when you could fall off the wagon, which is why you have got to remove the temptations.
Don’t Think That Exercise Is a Massive Task
Again we think that being healthy requires a lot of investment, not just in our money, but in our time. But when we start to think like this, we become overwhelmed by the entire prospect. After all, have you come home from work thinking that you’ve got to exercise but it’s the last possible thing you want to do? If you want to exercise and there is no time, you’ve got to break it down. There’s a lot to be said for the cumulative effect of exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym and spend an entire hour, and if you don’t have the time, you can actually break it down into more manageable chunks. If you have the space, you could easily crank out a few press-ups.
You have to remember that the minimum effective dose is what is going to stimulate muscle growth or weight loss. Rather than thinking that exercise is something that you need to do in one chunk, this is not actually the case. There are plenty of ways to actually get an intense workout in without hitting the gym. One approach that was very popular before the advent of gyms was isometrics. Isometrics is where you intensely contract a part of your body, for example, your bicep, and you hold this tension for a specific amount of time. Because working out is essentially giving your body a signal to grow bigger and stronger, this will be a significant shortcut.
Keeping Realistic Goals
Lots of people think that if they want to be healthy, they’ve got to be 110% perfect. But health is a very subjective topic these days. Everybody has their own opinion of what constitutes healthy, whether it’s a keto diet, a carnivore diet, or a vegan one. You have to remember the goals you want to accomplish and be realistic about how you make these goals a reality. Goal setting is so important but you also need to remember that it’s not just about setting a large goal but about accomplishing short-term ones along the way.
Ultimately, it’s the smaller goals that are easier to achieve but these are what will pave your success in the long run. Swapping a can of soda for some sparkling water is such a little thing that can make a massive difference. You could start eating a side of vegetables with every meal if you aren’t used to any at all. All these short-term goals provide such a crucial foundation, and they give us a very important lesson that big changes don’t happen overnight, they happen in small increments.
Get Into the Habit of Reading the Labels
You might think you’ve got no time to read the labels when you are rushing around the store but a quick glance at your favorite food item might highlight a lot of hidden ingredients, including excess salt and sugar. When you start to read your food labels, it gives you a greater insight into the calorie content, the macronutrients, and if there are any preservatives.
Reading the ingredient list means you can determine if it’s been processed. The goal is to reduce processed food intake because of the detrimental impacts of consuming processed food. Once you get into these little habits you will be surprised to see how much of a difference it makes.
Starting the Night Before
We live in a world where decision fatigue is rife, and if we are to get a head start on the day ahead of us, we have to start the night before! Preparing healthy meals is vital because this doesn’t just help you establish what your diet plan will look like for the week, but it will reduce sensations to grab naughty snacks while you are out and about. If you find preparing meals the night before difficult because you are too tired, the solution is to just start. Because habits take some time to form, you need to get off your butt and just begin.
Preparing your meals will give you the motivation to stay healthy, but it also saves time the next day. Rather than heading out of the office to buy lunch, you now have the opportunity to do some little exercises at your desk! And this means that if you spend a bit more time exercising at your desk during your lunch hour after eating healthy food, this effect is cumulative because you will feel a lot better. So the next time you look at your colleagues wolfing down fried chicken, you have got to remember just how sluggish they will feel in a couple of hours! Additionally, if you feel that evening is just too tight for time, you need to bring batch cooking into your life. If you can spend a morning on the weekend cooking an entire week’s worth of meals, you will never have to feel the temptation to get takeout. There are plenty of ways to do this including an abundance of slow cooker recipes.
Start Simplifying Things
In life, we can needlessly complicate things. We believe that in order to be healthy we’ve got to have a very specific degree of macronutrients in order to feel the benefits. If you want to go down this route there are plenty of macronutrient calculators online. But being healthy can be a lot of headwork. So instead of trying to come up with dozens of new meals, just focus on the basics. The best rule to follow is just to have a plate that has vegetables, whole grains, and some protein. If you can do this: mission accomplished!
Also, remember that while this rule is incredibly simple, we can certainly get fed up with the taste of certain foods. But this is where herbs and spices really come into their own. It can get to a point where you become fed up with a simple meal, and adding different spices and flavorings can shake things up. But also remember that there will be times when you just want to fall off the wagon. This is okay too! If you feel like you want to have a meal that feels naughty, make it a meal rather than an entire day. The best rule to follow when it comes to the healthy to unhealthy ratio is to make your foods 80% healthy and 20% unhealthy.
Being healthy is something we all deserve but it becomes harder because of the temptations that are around us every single day. If you want to be healthy you’ve got to learn how to make things easier on yourself. It’s not about being perfectly healthy this time tomorrow, but it’s about making those smaller changes in your life that become habits and therefore, become a lifestyle. People talk about being healthy as almost a temporary thing. People want to lose weight or they want to eat more vegetables. But the real way to make being healthy easier is to bring it into your life in every single way. This means having the right habits while also persevering because these habits can take time to set in.
Use Supplements
If you are struggling to feel healthy and energized each day then your body may be lacking in vitamins and minerals. This is common, especially if you have recently started watching what you eat and dieting. If you constantly feel tired and lethargic with simple tasks feeling like a mammoth journey then taking one supplement a day could really help you feel more like yourself. There are some supplements like THC drinks that work for your mind, body, and spirit. It may be useful to take a trip to your doctor before you start taking any supplements just to be sure there are no underlying health conditions causing your tiredness.
