Let’s be honest, we’ve all been through that urge to revamp our lives and become the ultimate health queen. One week into the 12-almonds-for-a-snack lifestyle, and suddenly you’re just over it. Dramatic and total changes don’t work for most people, and going from 0 to 100 just makes you more likely to become overwhelmed and give it all up. So, if you’ve decided that you’re in need of a little bit of a health kick but you don’t know where to start, here are five little changes you can make to your life that will steadily put you on the path to a healthier lifestyle.
1. Drink more water!
If you’re anything like me, remembering to drink enough water is tough! I have a tendency to only drink water when I’m actually thirsty, which can be two or three glasses a day – definitely not enough! Recently, I discovered an app called ‘Plant Nanny’, which gives you a little cartoon plant to grow. Each time you have a glass of water, you hold down a button on the app and it ‘waters’ your plant. The app also sends you a notification if it’s been a little while since you last drank water, which is useful!
I've already noticed a difference since I started consciously making an effort to drink more water. It makes me feel more full, which means less random snacking throughout the day, and staying hydrated is good for your skin as well as your body!
2. Start with a good breakfast
My usual go-to breakfast was always a bowl of cereal, because it’s the easiest and quickest thing to make. However, cereal is loaded with sugar, and even cereal which claims to be healthy is still not necessarily that good for you! Recently, I’ve started making oatmeal every morning, which fills me up for a lot longer than cereal, as well as being so much quicker to make than I thought it would be!
My oatmeal recipe is:
50g oats
10g chia seeds
150ml water
150ml oat milk
And then I either add peanut & coconut butter (the best) with bananas, or honey and blueberries!
Another fresher and lighter breakfast option is a smoothie bowl. The good thing about these is that you can completely vary any recipe and just throw in whatever fruit you have at home that day. You can also add in things like spinach and kale, and as long as you have something sweet in there too (such as berries), you won’t even taste it. Some people have really turned smoothie bowls into an art form – seriously, just search 'smoothie bowls' on Pinterest!
3. Invest in some new workout clothes
Starting an exercise routine from scratch can be really daunting. It definitely takes motivation to go from never exercising at all, to joining a gym or planning a running route. My best tip for starting your workout motivation is to get some workout clothes that you’ll be excited to wear! It’s just a baby step to get you started, but once you’ve bought those clothes, you’ll need a reason to wear them!
My favourite sports leggings are these ones from ASOS – they’re affordable and so comfortable! I also really like this sports bra by Dorina, which I also found on ASOS.
4. Healthy desserts
No matter how healthy I try to be, I can guarantee I will always have a massive sweet tooth. I know that completely cutting out all desserts and sweet snacks won’t work for me as a long-term plan (or even short-term, let’s be honest.)
Firstly, even though there are some people who do this, I don’t believe in TOTALLY cutting out all unhealthy food. Having the occasional treat will not destroy your healthy lifestyle. That being said, my best tip for becoming healthier if you have a sweet tooth is to find healthy recipes to trick yourself into feeling like you’ve had dessert!
My favourite healthy treat at the moment is chocolate chia seed pudding. I got my recipe from here: https://minimalistbaker.com/overnight-chocolate-chia-seed-pudding/
It genuinely tastes so nice, whilst still being healthy – a win-win!
5. Go to sleep!
Probably the easiest tip on this list, and definitely the one which requires the least effort: sleep! It can be tempting to binge-watch Netflix until late at night and then sleep in late the next morning, but going to sleep earlier and getting enough sleep is so beneficial for a healthy lifestyle! If you have trouble falling asleep, I have one more app recommendation for you… it’s called ‘Sleepiest’, and it has a selection of calming sounds to play as you fall asleep.
So, those are my top five tips for starting off a healthier lifestyle! Baby steps are always the way to start if you really want to make a permanent change, so I hope these tips were helpful to you!
Thanks for the great tips! I know I need to drink more water and liquids. I used to monitor how much I was consuming a day but sometimes things get going and I loose focus.