I swear, one of the best things you can do for you overall health, is make healthy living part of your everyday life. The more you do things like sweat, workout, eat your fruits and veggies, and take the stairs, the more it feels like a necessity…like brushing your teeth or something. Then, next thing you know, you feel off when you aren’t doing those things. Not in a crazy, obsessed, and can’t function without spending an hour at the gym everyday while eating only carrots and green juice sort of way. Just in a like damn, it feels great to move, sweat, and take care of myself, I think I can get used to making this part of my daily life, kind of way.
Or at least that’s how it is with me. So, I thought I’d share a few tips/tricks/life hacks whatever you want to call ‘em, that have definitely helped me. Some are no brainers, some are me being lazy-healthy, some are just fun.
Enjoy.
Ready, set, bullet points….
1 • Make a big pot of green tea (or any tea) in the morning. Pour it over ice, or heat it up in a mug. Just drink it throughout the day whenever you want something other than water. This helped me kick my diet coke habit.
2 • Speaking of drinking, invest in a nice glass or metal water bottle (I heart my little bkr). Keep that sucker filled up and on you at all times. Refill, repeat, and be prepared to pee.
3 • Invest in some sort of home gym equipment: Resistance bands, a TRX, or powerblocks. As little or as much as you need. It all helps. Basically the less effort you have to make to actually work out and train, the more likely you will do it more often. For me this means not having to drive anywhere or plan anything.
4 • Also keep your home gym stuff out, visible, and easy to use or access. Not locked up in a storage room where you have to dig it out and dust off to actually use.
5 • Frozen veggies are your friend. Always have a big bag or two of them. Heat ‘em up, throw on some avocado and siracha (or whatever topping you like) and boom. Easy no chop/cook super filling veggie bowl.
6 • Blenders are also your friend. Get one. Make smoothies, make protein shakes, make soups. Combining lots of good stuff in an easy to consume manner is ohhhh sooooo niiiice. And Easy.
7 • If you are too busy to make a smoothie, yet can go through a drive through. You really aren’t too busy to make a smoothie. Take a minute and make a darn smoothie.
8 • Wear two sports bras when lifting, plop your phone between the two. Boom instant phone holder so you can listen to music while you lift. Which is a MUST for me. I do this all the time. I even sweat a lot. Yes my phone still works. and yes I have some great pandora workout stations as a result.
9 • Never waste a rainy night’s ability to give you a really really good night’s sleep. Open the windows a little, and sleep like a champ.
10 • Speaking of sleep. Set an alarm for when you need to go to sleep so you can get your eight hours. Yes this might be before 10pm. When it goes off get your butt to bed. With no phones or screens nearby.
11 • Keep a workout outfit in your car at all times so you can stop for an impromptu run, hike, or class.
12 • Same goes for a swimsuit, goggles and towel in the summer. Make choosing to go for a swim a no brainer.
13 • Keep your sunscreen out and easy to use everyday. Not in some closet stored with your home gym equipment that you have to dig out and dust off to use.
14 • Don’t worry about looking “weird” – too many people are just sitting, all doing the same thing. Get up and play at the playground, do pull ups, stop and do some push ups or jumping jacks or burpies to wake up. Go do beach sprints. Run hill sprints with your dog. Take the stairs with your big carryon at the airport. Workout anywhere.
15 • Avocados. Eat them.
16 • Precut, easy to grab and eat when the jalapeno kettle chip craving hits, are always worth every penny. Always.
17 • Download a tabata timer app. Pick a move. Do a round of Tabata. Get creative, and soon you will bust out fun 20 minute workouts in no time. And feel freaking fantastic.
18 • When you get out of bed in the morning stretch a little bit. Gets the blood flowing. If you are super tired do 10 jumping jacks…still tired? Drop down and do 20-50 push ups. I call that a push up espresso shot.
19 • Get a pull up bar for your home. One you just put in a door (I have this one). Put it somewhere you are a lot. Just start doing pull-ups regularly. Even if it’s just one. Next thing you know it’s two, then three…then you are stopping and busting out five pull ups on your way to take out the trash. And feel like a bad ass.
And finally…
20 • Throw away your scale. Just buy some perfect fitting skinny jeans. I hate scales. And love excuses to buy jeans.
I’m sure I’ll think of a dozen more after posting this. But hopefully you get the point. If anyone implements one of the tips above. I’m totally giving myself a massive high five.
Cheers to health, making healthy choices, and taking the baby steps to making a big difference in how you feel.
And to sweat. Speaking of which…time for me to go break one now.
*Have any tips let me know. I love these sorts of things.