6 Ways to Be Healthy Today (with Minimal Effort)
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There are some things you can do today to snap yourself back into healthy habits.
We all have those times when we feel yucky. Maybe you’re just coming back from a bachelorette weekend in Nashville. Maybe you’ve been eating way too much sugar lately. Maybe you just feel yucky and want an instant boost.
Sometimes we gradually let our healthy habits slip or completely let them go on vacation, and then we feel the effects. We want to right the ship, but it seems like a monumental task at times.
The easiest way to re-establish healthy habits is to pick a few small things to do right now.
First of all, doing them right now (or today in general) means you are much more likely to do them (and not dread them) than if you waited until tomorrow or Monday.
Secondly, if you pick one or two small tweaks to your day, they are pretty effortless. That means they are more likely to become a part of your routine!
While you cannot completely remake your body in one day, you can do some simple things that bring immediate gratification. These six things will just make you feel a lot better.
Another benefit is that make small healthy decisions get momentum going to make more small (and large) healthy decisions.
If you want to feel instantly better, pick one of the following things – or even all six – to do right now.
1. Base your next meal on produce.
Far too many of us do not get enough fruits and veggies on a daily basis. If you make the foundation of your next meal produce, you will be a lot closer to meeting your daily recommended intake.
Want a crash course on the importance of fruits and veggies? Read more about Why We Need to Eat the Rainbow here.
Eating more produce does not mean a salad! If you love salads, go for it of course, but it is easier than you think to get more into your diet. Some of the ways I get 12-15 servings a day are here (they include pizza, FYI).
When you get more produce, you get a ton of nutrients and volume for fewer calories, so you will not feel bloated or icky from eating a huge meal.
2. Base your next snack on protein.
We often miss the opportunity to get some of our daily protein quota in at snack time.
The reason protein has such a good reputation is that it has earned it. Protein helps build muscle and repair your body (including your skin – collagen powder is popular for a reason!). And from a weight management perspective, it increases feelings of satiety.
Feeling fuller longer makes you feel better! And unlike many snacks (pretzels, crackers, anything sweet), you won’t get the blood sugar crash after your 3PM cookie hit. So again, you’ll just feel better.
Also, squeezing in more protein helps if you are strength training (which, you know you should be). Protein is key to feeding your muscles.
Remember, as a woman, your body does not produce enough testosterone to become “bulky.” Building muscle will give you pretty muscles, not a body builder’s hulk. Also, from a functional perspective, it will make it easier to carry all those groceries into your house. Or carry your child upstairs. Functionally and aesthetically, muscles are great, and protein helps get you there.
3. Take a walk after your next meal.
Getting your body moving after you eat helps your body with digestion and regulating your blood sugar (so it’s even better if you’ve just eaten a lot of carbs). A nice walk is perfect because it is not too strenuous.
Bonus: it gets you away from the table so that you don’t pick at leftovers!
4. Do a plank.
A plank is arguably the perfect move. It works your full body and requires no equipment or space. And it works more than just your core. The best part is that just a couple of minutes is enough for you to get the benefits.
And since it works your deep core muscles, you feel more “zipped up” and tight (at least that’s how I feel).
If you have a couple of minutes today to feel better, why not start my 30 Day Plank Challenge? Less than 3 minutes per day, they’re perfect to do during a commercial break!
5. Don’t drink today.
No one ever woke up and said “wow, I wish I drank last night!”
Every time you drink, your body has to prioritize ridding your body of alcohol before doing other things (like burning fat).
When you don’t add extra junk into your system, it makes your whole body run more efficiently and stresses it less. In other words, you are not adding additional inflammation to your body.
So not drinking won’t necessarily make you feel better instantaneously, but drinking will definitely make you feel worse. The extra bloat and detox your body has to do puts you back a step.
Instead, focus on drinks that will do something for your body, like lemon water. Also, coffee is remarkably healthy – it has lots of antioxidants that benefit your whole body (including your liver!) and helps with exercise endurance. And if one of the things you want to do today is work out, having some coffee will help you get into and through your workout.
If you are really craving a glass of wine but want to avoid alcohol, good news for you – today’s non-alcoholic wines are actually good! My personal favorite is some bubbly in this pretty packaging.
6. Go to bed a half hour (or even an hour) earlier.
No one ever woke up and said “wow, I wish I’d stayed up later last night!” (Yes, this is the same logic as the last point.)
When you go to bed earlier, that extra sle6. ep helps you face the next day much fresher. Plus, when you are not tired, the hormones that regulate your hunger are regulated and normal so that you are not hungry for no reason than being sleepy!
Also great about going to bed earlier? You’re less likely to indulge in a late night snack or glass of wine. That means a) you miss unnecessary calories, and b) you miss something that could mess with your sleep quality.
I wrote more about how going to bed and waking up earlier can help fend off holiday weight gain here - and if it helps during the holidays, how much easier is that the rest of the year??
If you make this a habit, you’ll probably be surprised that this small change actually makes you feel a lot better. And if you start waking up earlier as a result, your productivity will increase! Read more about How to Build the Perfect Morning Routine for You here!
Well there you have it! When you are feeling blah or need to take one step toward building a healthier lifestyle, try one of these 6 things!
If you’re looking for a total body reset to get your nutrition on track, try my FREE Three Day Liver Reset, which is a long weekend of recipes for what I ate to help rebuild my liver after a severe illness!
