Last updated on October 26th, 2022 at 06:41 am
Today we’re talking about how to live a healthy lifestyle, even when you’re super busy or really unmotivated. I hope these simple healthy living tips will inspire you to create a healthier, more positive and happier life.
18 Simple Tips To Live A Healthy Lifestyle
1. Have water with you all the time.
Do you track how much water you drink? I found when I forget to put water on my desk, I don’t drink any water. For hours. I get distracted with other things and water doesn’t exist to me during that time. It’s surprising because I know drinking more water makes me more energetic, it has helped so much with my skin and it also reduces food cravings. So now I always make sure to have a big water bottle with me.
If you’re struggling to get properly hydrated every day this simple trick will solve it for you. Believe it or not, going for a refill can be a real reason for staying thirsty. So whether you’re trying to lose weight, stay productive, improve your skin or have more energy – get your water and stay on track.
2. Watch The Sunset & Sunrise
This is one of my favorite stress relievers. First of all, I have to take a walk so I can get to a place where I can see a sunset or a sunrise. Around 4000 steps = done for the day. Second: looking at the sun coming up and then going down is so beautiful, calming, and energizing at the same time. When you witness this you can’t help but be present and grateful for this beauty.
3. Take Your Supplements!
I’ve never taken any supplements and I actually hate them. I hate taking pills, I hate taking any sort of medication. And also, I always forget about them. However, last year I found I was deficient in vitamin D and a little bit on the edge with vitamin B12. I took supplements for months, but somehow my vitamin D levels are still under the norm even though I go on daily walks when it’s sunny.
Also, this year, I found out my thyroid was getting out of control which might be related to my vitamin D deficiency, but here’s not the place for this sort of conspiracy. The point is, whether I want it or not, now I have to take a bunch of supplements every day. I still, always forgot about them, even though I knew it was super important for me to basically stay alive.
So I decided to save myself and to make taking these supplements a habit by doing it every day at the same time. Best time: in the morning.
Maybe you need to take probiotics, maybe you need to take garlic gels, omega-3’s, maybe you need to take vitamin D like myself…Wake up, get it done and then get on with life.
4. Savor
I talked about the importance of savoring not just food, but also moments at the beginning of the year. At that time silly us, nobody expected this virus to actually go viral around the world and we were all making vision boards that are now burning in hell.
However, savoring still exists. And it will still make you a healthier happier person. Savoring is noticing the positive things in your life when they’re happening and being aware when you’re experiencing positive emotions.
It is actually a habit we can all cultivate. It’s linked to improved well-being, resilience and reduced levels of depression (source). Slow down. Despite this situation, there are still good things going on in the world, we just have to shift our focus and talk and think about them more often.
5. Simplify Skincare
Simplifying skincare means getting rid of the things that have a ton of ingredients and getting back to good things that work. So, yes, I left the $2 face cream that I’ve been using since I was 23 and was scared to look at the ingredients.
I heard about putting vitamin E on my skin, instead of cream and I thought: I want to do this. I knew vitamin E is an important antioxidant for the skin – it helps with wound healing, it prevents skin aging and my sister put it on her belly when she was pregnant and she doesn’t have any stretch marks. So I knew it’s basically a miracle.
I’ve been using only vitamin E for over a month now, I put it on every morning after I wash my face and while I still have some water on my face, because it’s really sticky and thick. Not easy to spread, but I really love it. I feel like my skin is glowing more and like it can breathe. And I seem to have gotten rid of a minor breakout on my chin, which I had for months. Could also be that I changed my diet and cut out most of the gluten in it, but I also believe vitamin E made my skin so much healthier. As with everything – this might not be for everyone, but it’s working great for me at this point.
Whatever your skin type is – use skincare products that are simple and natural and avoid those with toxic ingredients (if possible).
6. Listen To Music
Talk about savoring. This is one of my favorite things to do right now. Go out for a walk and listen to the music I’ve always loved. Rediscover songs I’ve loved but had forgotten about. Songs that make you want to sing along and fill your heart.
7. Plan Realistically
Great expectations are the greatest reason for stress. We always want to do more, we’re always in a rush to finish something, we can’t resist the urge to put 153 big tasks in our planners, even though we know from people who seem to have their life together that you should only have 3-5.
They’re absolutely right, I do feel better, more productive and more relaxed when I only have 3 things to do for the day. Then again, I get stressed, because when am I going to finish the other 150? Someone’s gotta do it.
I found it’s crucial, absolutely crucial, to know your priorities. Get clear and get focused. What are the three most important things you could do overall? What will have the biggest, positive impact on your life? Why?
Then have a day during the week for the things you don’t want to do, but you just have to. What will the consequences be if you don’t do “a have to” from that list?
For example, my top 3 priorities right now are: my blog and business, my health and my family. So tasks that are important for the day would be creating content for the blog and social media, exercise, eating healthy and having dinner and doing something fun with my family. These things make me happy.
For the things I don’t feel like doing – I don’t feel like paying bills or doing laundry, so I just try to do it on one day. It’s been really hard for me to have a full day out of the week dedicated to things like this, but when I don’t, everything else seems to start falling apart and I get overwhelmed. I just don’t know where to start. When I do have it, I feel on top of things and so much better and ready for new things to do.
So definitely dream big, but plan realistically. What if you can achieve a dream in one year and not in three months like you initially intended? It’s still good. Right? Be patient and nice to yourself in the process and remember to live life.
8. Clean Up
I’m a big believer in “When you look good, you feel good”. Don’t know about you, but personally I don’t feel happy or motivated when my hair is messy, I haven’t showered and can’t find clothes to wear because someone hasn’t done the laundry again. And that someone is obviously me. I also like my apartment clean and organized.
When I let go of those two things, I let go of other good habits as well. Why would I make a salad for lunch or exercise? I don’t have time for that if I don’t have time to shower.
Some days like that always happen, but when those days turn into weeks, then it gets bad. I start feeling insecure, really unclear in my head and I just want to hide somewhere. I definitely know there’s more to life than looks, but I also know that beauty on the inside doesn’t cancel out beauty on the outside.
You deserve to look your best every day, to feel confident in your own skin and you deserve a clean space where you can relax and enjoy your time alone or with your family.
9. Meal Prep (some things).
This is another thing I hated for years. Still cannot imagine reheating something I’ve made 4 days ago or eating a salad that’s more than a few hours old. But last week I meal prepped by accident. I peeled some garlic and there – meal prep for the week is done. You’re welcome.
Just kidding. So I was preparing this quinoa fried rice and was getting everything ready. I peeled the garlic, chopped the cabbage, carrots and scallions, cooked my quinoa and then someone called me to go out to dinner at their place. Fear of missing out calling…I’m going. I packed everything in the fridge and left. The next day I again didn’t eat at home again, so this thing stayed in my fridge for 3 days.
3 long days…which in my head translated into bacteria and mold having a party over that cabbage, carrots and scallions. And quinoa, oh that poor quinoa that’s been cooked in water – the substance that makes bacteria grow big and strong and evil. However, I still made that healthy fried rice recipe. It turned out super delicious and it saved me so much time. So from now on, If I know I’m cooking something for 2-3 days, I’ll wash my fruits and vegetables, chop whatever needs to be chopped, cook whatever needs to be cooked, peel some garlic, because honestly I’m surviving on garlic right now, and pack it all in the fridge to speed up the cooking process.
10. Make Fruits and Vegetables your go-to’s.
It’s summer, fruits and vegetables are everywhere. Make them more available for yourself. What does it take to eat a bowl of cherries or strawberries? That’s right – washing. It’s not much more effort than eating candy, but so much better for your body. Do yourself a favor and don’t overthink it.
11. Commit To Goals
Do you write down your goals? If you don’t, you have to start. It’s important to clearly define your goals and to actually pursue them. Having goals and doing something about them will change your mental health for the better.
It’s one of the top weekly habits to increase your happiness (source) and it improves your quality of life too. Once you start seeing progress on your goals, it’s easy to stay motivated, you wake up excited because you’re getting closer to the things you want. Along the way you might get distracted by new opportunities, but having the end goal written down helps you focus on what truly matters to you.
12. Stop Eating Late
Intermittent fasting has gained so much popularity lately and I can definitely say it truly works, but you have to make sure it’s safe for you to do. One thing I feel gets ignored often is not simply doing intermittent fasting, but not eating late. Eating late is bad in so many ways.
It can affect your hormones and it’s especially bad because it can cause acid reflux and that’s not a fun thing. So make sure to stop eating after a certain time at 7 pm or 8 pm – depending on when you’re going to bed. It’s very important to have eaten well and enough throughout the day, so you don’t have overwhelming nighttime cravings. Stay occupied with creative things, chatting with friends, evening yoga – don’t let yourself get bored. You will feel so much better when you wake up in the morning.
13. Be Grateful & Kind
Kindness and gratitude are scientifically proven to improve your health and well-being long-term (source). I know for myself when I’m not kind and when I’m not grateful I start feeling like I’m doing something very wrong. It’s in our nature to want to treat others right and to connect and when we don’t do it – we feel bad. Well, most people.
Create your own practice of gratitude and kindness. Do something kind for others and remind yourself of those acts. Keep a gratitude and kindness journal you’ll be so happy and amazed when you reflect back.
14. Chew More
Do you know how many times you chew your food? They say you should always chew your food until liquid and recommend 20-30 times. I chew 10. MAX. Chewing more is so important for a few reasons:
- helps you be more mindful when you’re eating
- important for your digestion and gut health
- increase satiety gut hormones, which prevents overeating and weight gain (source)
15. Engage Your Core
No matter what you’re doing keep your core engaged – it will improve your posture so much. It’s important for your confidence, it will make you more present and it will protect your back and neck from pain and injury. I know it’s not easy, but work on your core strength and remind yourself to keep your abs engaged throughout the day.
16. Exercise for 10-15 Minutes In The Morning
That’s all it takes to feel good and to be more productive throughout the day. Choose any form of exercise that you enjoy and start your day with 10-15 minutes at home. Here is a list of some of my favorite 10-minute morning workouts.
17. Nap when needed
If you haven’t gotten enough sleep during the night, don’t feel like a sloth for needing a nap. Allow yourself to nap for as long as you need, because sleep is restorative and actually healing. You can do all of the things on this list, if you don’t sleep – you’re not gonna be healthy, you’re gonna be exhausted. Get enough sleep and nap if you need to.
18. Track!
Track the behaviors you want to change. Tracking creates accountability to pursue your goals. It also will help keep you motivated when you see the progress you’ve made. You can use a bullet journal, a planner for this, an online tracker, or use my habit tracker. You can get it by subscribing here.
I’m not sure you’re going to remember all of these tips, so I decided to create a little list to pin to your Pinterest boards or print out as a friendly daily reminder. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying summer!
