Everybody likes the idea of being healthy, but not everyone is willing to put in the time and effort to make it their reality. The truth is that staying fit and healthy is something that has to be actively managed — it won’t just come to you! But the good news is that a healthy body and mind isn’t a mystery; we know all we need to know about how to make it happen. Below, we take a look at some tips for living your healthiest life. Make the changes, and you’ll be on your way to a fitter, stronger, and all-around healthier lifestyle in no time.

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Look at Your Exercise

Did you know that our ancestors were much stronger than we were? That’s because while we spend most of our time sitting down and being inactive, they were always on the move, always using their body. So while a little amount of exercise will be useful, hitting the gym for thirty minutes twice a week isn’t going to do much for you. It’s still more than most people, but less than what you should be doing. Take a realistic look at how much exercise you’re getting each week, and if it falls short (as it likely will), then bump up the time by 25% or so.

Eating Well

We know that it often feels like there’s not all that much time to prepare a healthy meal, but it is worth doing. Meals prepared at home using fresh ingredients are much better for you than processed oven meals or food you’d get from a takeout spot. There are plenty of healthy and tasty fifteen-minute meals to choose from. Make a big batch, and you’ll also have food for the following day’s lunch, too. Plus, once you get into it, you’ll find that there is plenty of pleasure to be had in cooking, and also that you’re saving a lot of money, too.

Good for the Body

It’s not just in your meals where you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting your intake of the good things your body needs to thrive. For starters, it’s not always possible to give your body all the vitamins, minerals, and feel-good substances via meals, unless you have an exceptionally varied diet. As such, you’ll want to ensure that you’ve always got probiotic yogurt, daily vitamins, and doctor recommended supplements in your cupboard. They’ll give your body the additional little kick start it needs to be at its best.

Mental Health

When people talk about being healthy, it’s usually in the sense of their body. But of course, that’s only one side of our health that we need to keep in mind: to be at our best, we also need to ensure that we’re managing our mental health too. There are a lot of benefits to living in the modern world, but there’s no getting around that it’s not always the most relaxing of existences. We’re working longer, fun and chilled times can be in short supply, and that all takes a toll on our mind. Thankfully, there’s more information about what we can do to improve our mental state than ever before. Things like yoga, meditation, and limiting the amount of time we spend online can all do wonders for our minds. If you’re ever in a quick boost, then going for a thirty-minute run is one remedy — plus you’ll be getting your body its daily dose of exercise, too.

Away from the Grind

To further this theme, let’s remember that it’s important that you’re actively removing yourself from your bubble every now and again. Even if you enjoy your work, the long hours and the groundhog day aspect can have effects on both the mental and physical sides of our health. We’re more likely to live a sedentary lifestyle if we’re just working in front of a computer all day, and then returning home to do nothing other than crash in front of the television because we’re so beat. Sometimes, it’s recommended to force yourself to have a vacation. You’ll come back feeling on top of the world after a week of having fun, especially if it’s been an active trip out in nature somewhere.

The Power of Change

Finally, believe that you can always change your health for the better, no matter how out of practice you might be. There have been some amazing transformations in people’s health just because they were motivated to change. Believe you can do it, and you’re halfway there!

•How do you live your healthiest life? Share in the comments below!

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Most people assume that healthy living takes a lot of effort. Having to exercise more and prepare meals with fresh ingredients means giving up more free time and having to exert more energy. However, that doesn’t mean that it has to be a complete chore. There are some ways to live healthily that don’t require as much time and energy – such lifestyle measures could be easier to keep up. Here are just a few examples of lazy ways to live healthily!

Exercise While Watching TV

Whilst some people are happy to take an hour out of their day to go to the gym or go jogging, for others this means giving up free leisure time to do something unenjoyable. Fortunately, there are ways of exercising and enjoying leisure activities that are usually perceived as lazy. For example, there are plenty of exercises that you can do whilst watching TV – this guide at Bustle lists some examples such as lunges and the plank. This could allow you to still catch up on your favourite TV shows or watch movies whilst getting the physical activity you need.

Embrace Tabata Training

If exercising for long periods is too much effort, you could always embrace Tabata training. This involves doing high intensity exercise for four minute periods. Such exercises can be easily slotted in throughout the day without you feeling as if you’re giving up valuable free time. Studies meanwhile have found the health benefits to be extraordinary.

Cut Down on Sugar and Alcohol

You may not have to change your diet drastically to live more healthily. Cutting out certain unhealthy foods could be all you need to make an impact. This takes willpower but no added effort. Sugar and alcohol are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to negative health effects – by consuming these less regularly you could help to lose weight, reduce your blood pressure, strengthen your immune system and clear up your skin.

Buy Time-Saving Gadgets and Utensils for Your Kitchen

A lot of people make the excuse of not having enough time to cook healthy meals (ahem ME), however, with a few handy gadgets you could reduce the time and energy you exert. Rice cookers can help to cook rice to perfection every time so that you don’t have to slave over a pot and keep checking the texture. Mandoline slicers meanwhile make cutting up vegetables much easier by simply using a grating action. There are even electric potato peelers in existence available at sites like Harts of Stur. By adopting some of these time-saving gadgets, you could find that you’re more inclined to prepare your own healthy nutritious meals rather than relying on unhealthy processed foods.

Get Meal Kits Delivered to Your Home

If it’s shopping for ingredients that you don’t have the time and energy for, there’s also a lazy solution to this problem – get these ingredients delivered to your home in the form of easy meal kits. There are many delivery services out there that offer meal kits. This Home Chef review details one such meal kit delivery service that specializes in providing healthy meals.

Prepare Meals for the Week

Rather than preparing for single meals, you could also consider planning ahead and preparing for several meals at once. For instance, rather than cooking a couple potatoes, you could can consider cooking up a whole batch of them so that you can simply refrigerated them and reheat them throughout the week. This could mean being prepared to eat the same meal two nights in a row, but it will save you the hassle of cooking twice.

Buy Healthy Ready Meals

Whilst a lot of ready meals aren’t healthy, there are a growing number of ready meals out there that are healthy and take minimal prep time. Opting for these instead of the unhealthy options could help you to improve you diet without having to make any major lifestyle changes. Most supermarkets now have healthy ready meal options, however, it is worth researching into these beforehand to check just how healthy they really are.

Eat Slowly

If you’re the type of person that likes to wolf down their food, eating slowly could be another easy way to live more healthily. Eating slowly gives your body more time to digest everything. This reduces the amount of food that gets stored as fat as it gives the body more time to distribute nutrients and waste to where they need to go. Most of us don’t chew our food enough, which can often put more strain on the gut – this could be another simple way of making a healthy lifestyle improvement.

Try Supplements

Supplements can be an easy way of absorbing important nutrients into our bodies without having to rely on fruits and vegetables. Of course, that isn’t an excuse to ditch the greens altogether – you still need fruit and vegetables for fiber, which something you can’t get in the form of nutrients. However, it could allow you to eat less of them, which could mean less preparation during meals. You can shop for supplements online at sites such as The Vitamin Shoppe.

Get Enough Sleep

We should all be getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night. This is the optimum amount that our body and mind needs. Sleep can affect everything from our ability to burn fat to our ability to counter stress. If you can’t sleep in later due to work, make an effort to go to bed earlier or incorporate more naps into your day. Taking steps to improve your sleep quality such as improving your bedding and using sleep-inducing scents in your bedroom can also make a difference.

•How do you live a healthy life? What are some tips you have for helping me live healthier? Comment below! 👇🏼

This post was a collaboration.

Thank you for reading!

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