Everyone wants to be healthy. Luckily there are lots of changes for a healthy lifestyle that you can make right now!
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Changes for a Healthy Lifestyle
Brings along snacks
Before you head out of the house grab some healthy snacks for the road. This will help tide you over to your next meal and keep your energy up without needing to buy fast food. Some ideas are nuts, protein shake, carrots and hummus, celery and almond butter, etc.
Drink more water
Staying hydrating can be hard, but it’s so important. Get tips on tricking yourself into drinking more water here.
Get enough sleep
According to harvard.edu, sleep is really important. They say that chronic sleep loss
“can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and a decrease in the immune system’s power”
Needless to say, getting enough sleep will dramatically change your life. Not everyone needs 8 hours, some need more and some need less. Pay attention to your body and find out what you need. Then, do what you need to do to get that much sleep every night. The best way to make sure you get enough sleep is with a great morning and evening routine.
Start your day off with a solid routine
When you have a well thought out morning routine you are much more likely to stick to it. This way you are able to fit in lots of healthy habits first thing in the morning. And then you are more likely to continue those habits throughout the day. Some things that are in my morning routine are having a green drink, meditation, yoga, and Agni Sara breathing.
Avoid sugar
When you eat a lot of sugar, your body gets addicted to it. You are constantly running out of energy and wanting more sugar. If you can cut it out for a few weeks, you can break the cycle and in return feel more energic and not crave sugar treats all the time.
Cut out tv
TV can be a huge time waster. Fill your time with things that enrich your life instead. Once you get out of the habit, you won’t even miss it.
Read
Carve out some time each day to read fiction and nonfiction. I typically like to read nonfiction before I go to bed and fiction once I am in bed. I know nonfiction can come off as a bore, but don’t miss out on the wealth of knowledge you can get from nonfiction. Give yourself this opportunity to learn about things that interest you.
Focus on your breath
Anytime you feel stressed, bring your attention to your breath. This will immediately help to calm your mind and body. Try breathing in four a count of 4 followed by breathing out for a count of 4, repeating until you feel that your body is calm.
Develop a workout routine
Start slow and build up from there. Find exercises that you enjoy. Try rock climbing, cycling, yoga, Zumba, rowing. You can read my post on how I developed my yoga routine.
Have some no screen time each day
In today’s world, we are constantly surrounded by screens. Dedicate some time each day to be screen free. I like doing this in the evening before I go to bed because it helps me sleep better.
End your day with a great routine
Before bedtime is a great time to fit in some self-care. Plus I find that my routine helps me unwind for a more restful night. Somethings that I do in my evening routine are stretch, write in my gratitude journal, meditate, oil my feet, and drink some warm milk.
Pamper yourself
Take the time to pamper yourself. Take a bath, get a massage, buy that comfy bath robe. It’s hard to take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first.
Set goals
Don’t just set goals on New Years. Every month or so take the time to write out new goals and reflect on past goals. If you need to adjust old goals, do it. To amp up your goal setting, write down why you want each of your goals. Goals help you accomplish your dreams.
Practice gratitude every day
I truly believe that having more gratitude is the best thing you can do to improve your life. If you want to increase your gratitude, take my 30-day gratitude challenge. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4 I write three things in my gratitude journal every night before I go to sleep.
Walk in nature
So many of use tend to walk from our house, to our car, to our office, to our car, to a store, and back to our house. We rarely spend time in nature. Spending time in nature makes us feel better! So connect with nature, get outside at least a couple of times a week and breath some fresh air.
Drink tea
I am a huge tea lover.
According to webmd.com: Studies have found that some teas may help with cancer, heart disease, and diabetes; encourage weight loss; lower cholesterol; and bring about mental alertness. Tea also appears to have antimicrobial qualities.
Some of my favorites are chai, peppermint, passionfruit, lemon, and fruit tea.
Eat breakfast
Your body needs fuel when you wake up, don’t spend the whole first half of your day running on empty. I like to stay away from sugar and carbs, especially in the morning. Some of my favorite things to eat for breakfast are cottage cheese with cherry tomatoes, baked asparagus wrapped with prosciutto with a poached egg, scrambled eggs, plain yogurt with peanut butter mixed in.
Laugh
Laughter really is the best medicine. Hang out with a fun friend, watch funny youtube clips, rent a comedy, or read a joke book. Laugh until you cry and your belly hurts.
Find your passion
When you don’t have anything that you are passionate about, your life can seem dull and lifeless. Explore new hobbies, take a class, go somewhere new, make a list of things that interest you and go out and try them! Once you find something that you love, keep up with it, make sure that you fit it into your weekly or even daily schedule.
Spend time with friends
Spending time with your friends can really help you get out of your own head. Have a potluck, play board or yard games, have a picnic together, have a girl’s DIY spa night, workout together, you get the idea…
Use inspirational quotes
Find quotes that inspire and post them around your house. Use them as your mantra. Quotes are great motivators. As your life changes find new quotes that inspire you.
Learn and apply Ayurveda techniques
Ayurveda is yoga’s sister. It is a guide to healthy living. I suggest reading this book to get a basic understanding of how it works. Apply some of the techniques to your life and enjoy the benefits.
Do yoga
My best healthy living tip is to do yoga. Start slow and increase your practice from there. You can read about how I increased my yoga practice from once a week to six times a week without injury in this post.
When you live a healthy life, you have a happier and more fulfilled life as well. Do yourself a favor and pick two of these that you don’t already do and start them. Once you have those down, add a couple more.
If you enjoyed this post, you might be interested in my post Five Ways to Trick Yourself Into Drinking Water. Drinking enough water is crucial to a healthy life and this post has ways to trick even the most reluctant water drinkers into staying hydrated.
What are things you do to get healthy lifestyle? Comment below!
