We all want to find the easy way, right? Even when it comes to achieving huge goals, fitness or otherwise, we still focus on the most efficient way to get there even though there’s hard work involved.
With any worthwhile change, there will be hard work involved. But there are, in fact, some incredibly easy things you can do to start changing your life for the healthier.
Here’s the catch: these easy tips for healthy living ARE easy. They’re also easy to forget about, easy to skip “just this once”. The choice is yours.
Drink Water
Seriously, fill a glass, drink it. If you say, “Oh, but a soft drink is cheaper than water,” then quit buying water. (And quit buying soft drinks.) Get yourself a water filter
You don’t like water? You’re not five years old. Drink it anyway. Your taste buds will adapt when you quit caving to their desire for sugar-heavy drinks.
Take the Stairs
If you have an option between a flight of stairs and an elevator or escalator, just take the stairs. It’s that easy. It’s only one or two flights, so the discomfort isn’t going to last very long; it’s not a huge time commitment. It burns a couple extra calories and, more importantly, gets you into a movement-oriented mindset; it gets you thinking, “I’m a fit person, I take the stairs” and that’s huge. If your mind is on board, your body will follow.
Eat a Salad Every Day
I grew up thinking salad was boring, because at my house we just had lettuce and maybe some tomatoes and dressing. Yuck.
Turns out, salads are fantastic. My favorite? Greek salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, black olives, and feta cheese. But I also love the big vegetable piles we make at our house every week: a giant bowl filled with romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchinis, carrots, and bell peppers.
We put it in the fridge and help ourselves all week. It’s one prep-work session and you get several meals out of it. I add olives, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar when I’m ready to eat.
I highly recommend making your own big bowl of salad on Sunday and then eating it for lunch, maybe with some chicken, fish, nuts, seeds, or whatever you like, every day. It’s an incredibly easy way to add more vegetables to your life and cut calories at the same time by replacing a less-healthy meal with a salad.
Go On a Walk
Walking is low impact and it’s not that tiring. You can go on a simple stroll around the neighborhood in all but the worst weather. You can often do it without even breaking a sweat. I love a good sweaty gym session, but I also love walking. Just lace up your shoes and go. Easy.
Stretch
Again: small time commitment, not especially tiring. Very easy to do. Start gently to let your body warm up and get used to it. Devote a few minutes to it first thing in the morning. You can try this gentle yoga routine without even getting out of bed, or you can do this one in your office chair.
Take Advantage of Opportunities to Move
Someone asks you to run upstairs and grab a book. Is that pretty easy to do? Then do it! Your kids or grandkids want you to chase them? Chase! Your friend invites you to try a yoga class at the new studio? Go! When someone offers you a chance to move, take it. Most of these daily opportunities won’t require a lot of effort, they won’t make you sweat, they won’t require a big time commitment: they just require you to say yes.
Follow a Plan
Don’t know where to start? Get professional help. An investment in your health is always worth it.
Marathon training was challenging, for sure, but it was very easy for me to just get up, look at the plan, and do what the plan said. When I didn’t have to think about it, there was no chance for me to talk myself out of it or permit myself to take an easier option.
The action of the plan itself will be challenging. But getting a plan? Deciding to listen to what the plan says? Easy. Consider working with a trainer or follow a weight loss and management plan like the Bod•ē 12-Week Challenge.
Smile
Don’t underestimate the power of a good mood and some positive thinking to motivate you and help you stay on track. Grumpiness often fuels our overeating on not-so-healthy foods, and feeling blue can put us on the couch instead of in the gym. A smile makes your brain think you’re happy, whether you start out that way or not–so you can fake it until you make it.
How many of these tips will you implement today? What easy tips for healthy living would you add to this list?
This book talks about how we’re always either slowly going up toward our goals or slowly going down away from our goals–depending on the small, consistent actions we take every day. The actions that are easy to do–and easy not to do.
