6 Easy Ways to Be Healthier
Long term goals are great and we can all agree that your health won’t change overnight but sometimes you need some short term motivation to get you going. You already know that you should drink more water and take the stairs but here are 6 (slightly unconventional) easy ways to jump start your health!
1. Set a curfew for e-mail. If you go to bed at 10pm, don’t let yourself check your e-mail past 9pm. A task like that gets your brain working in overdrive. Pretty soon you’re tossing and turning in bed trying to solve a problem as you fall asleep… and you won’t remember the answer in the morning.
2. Set a “Do Not Disturb” time on your phone. I have mine sent from 10pm – 7am meaning I don’t get any notifications during that time. (If someone calls twice, it’ll ring the second time, so you don’t have to worry about emergency calls.) It means your phone won’t be lighting up all night with Groupon offers and Instagram notifications.
3. Make a workout-only playlist. I’m guilty of listening to my favorite song on repeat until I’m sick of it. But now I try to put those make-me-wanna-run songs into a list that I only listen to at the gym. That way when I hear those songs, they always get me moving!
4. Make dinner at home. Eating out will almost always mean extra calories, large portion sizes, and not-so-good for your choices. Cooking at home can also save you some $$$. Plus, recipes don’t have to be complicated. I’ve got a whole list of 5-ingredient recipes for you!
5. Eat a meatless meal. While you’re at it, skip out on meat. Vegetable based meals are good for your heart, better for the environment, and you might find you don’t even miss it! Don’t know what to make? I’ve got tons of easy meatless recipes for you!
6. Eat out of a bowl… not the container. We all know that eating straight from the bag will result in eating more… but we still do it. If you struggle with portion control, take things to the next level and pre-portion tempting snacks. Tackle that giant bag of pretzels and separate it out into sandwich bags filled with individual servings. It’ll be easier to grab a snack on the go and you won’t be tempted to eat the whole bag.
Those are a few of the things that keep me in check. I don’t always follow these rules (even when I know I should!) but all these little things do help! Healthy living doesn’t have to be difficult. Make small changes and they’ll start adding up to big results!
What are some healthy habits that are easy to incorporate into your routine?
I love the ideas for email curfews and do not disturb. Doing that now!
I am with you on the do not disturb – my friends know not even to try me after 8 pm most nights because I am just done for the day and don’t want to talk. And, I also save my playlist for my runs otherwise I will get totally sick of the music (which happens for me anyways lol).
Oh, great post! Made me think about what healthy habits I can focus on. One is definitely eating a healthy and filling breakfast — on the days I skip this my eating gets completely thrown off for the day.
LOVE these tips! Especially that one about setting a Do Not Distrub notice on your phone. My phone always manages to vibrate and wake me up in the middle of the night, and somehow I just never seem to learn!
I need to be better about #1. I begin every day thinking, “Today I will turn everything off at 9 pm and just relax.” That hardly ever happens – I need to buckle down. And I didn’t know #2 was a possibility – will have to look into that!
Love these tips! Especially the one about music, I’ve never thought of that. I turned off notifications on my phone for ALL apps. I feel like it’s not healthy for me to feel compelled to play CandyCrush at any hour of the day just because my lives are full. If I have time, sure, but I should stop what I’m doing and zone out with a video game.
I’m awful about that! I HATE notifications and have to have them gone instantly. So I open that soul sucking app just to get rid of the notification, and then I end up playing…
I love this post! I struggle with checking my email (and going on social media) right before bed and it keeps me awake when I should be relaxing and going to sleep. It’s something I hope to work on! And I agree with the workout playlist idea! I do the same thing, having a workout playlist on my spotify. These are great ideas, Liz!
Yes!!! I know it’s hard to step away from the internet before bedtime but it helps SO MUCH!
I love all these tips! But the one about creating a separate playlist was brilliant to me! I’m so guilty of overplaying my favorite songs, so I really need to create separate playlists just for my runs.
Container eating doesn’t apply to ice cream or snacking on cereal in this house.
But it should 🙂
Hahaha oh man, cereal is the hardest!!
This is great Liz, and those are important tips. I definitely do the curfew for computers….yet sometimes I still find myself scrolling through social media on my phone, which is just as bad, I am hoping to work on that. Another tip I find is to start the day off with a green or chai tea, gets my digestive system working right, and makes me sit down for a few minutes to drink it!