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Last Updated on December 8, 2023
Many people decide on a New Year’s resolution that involves eating healthier and working out on a regular basis. It’s difficult to completely change your routine — especially if you plan on continuing your normal habits and waiting until January 1st to make any changes in your life. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to start working on some healthier habits before the new year begins? Here are some tips for getting started on a healthier lifestyle today.
Are You Willing to Make Some Bigger Changes in Your Home?
When it comes to eating healthier and working out, you need the necessary materials in your home to make it a reality. Have you considered making some changes to your kitchen so that you are able to meal prep healthy lunches and dinners? Up to 76% of homebuyers consider a center island in the kitchen an essential element. The extra prep space a kitchen island offers would definitely be helpful, especially if you have a family or your kitchen is on the smaller size. If your kitchen can’t hold an island but doesn’t have a lot of counter space, consider purchasing something handy like a bar cart or a folding table that you can tuck away. This way, you can spread out your food, food storage containers, and also have room to utilize a cutting board or a crockpot.
Working out in your own home may seem like a challenge if you don’t have your own fitness equipment or a home gym. Not to worry. Many people turn their basements, garages, or guest rooms into a workout space. You don’t necessarily need fitness machines. Instead, perhaps a small TV to watch videos, mats, and weights will do the trick. There is an abundance of free workout videos that involve little to no equipment. If you don’t want to renovate a room, you can also utilize your living room space to workout. Remember to start small, perhaps with one or two workouts a day. As you get used to working out more often, you can challenge yourself even more.
Consider Shopping Small and Planning Ahead
Along with the idea of meal planning, there are several ways to go about this process without getting sick of the same foods. You can find thousands of recipes online that match your food preferences and dietary restrictions, and many of the natural ingredients can be bought cheaply at a local farmer’s market or fresh vegetable stand.
It’s important more than ever to support small businesses. Small businesses are defined as businesses with fewer than 500 employees, and they account for 99.7% of all business in the United States. Therefore, shop small and visit your local farmer’s market or vegetable stand. You can get great deals on a variety of healthy vegetables, such as zucchini, broccoli, corn, carrots, beets, beans, and lettuce, and fresh fruits, such as strawberries, apples, bananas, and blueberries. While it may be harder during the cold winter to shop small when many fruits and vegetables aren’t in season, alternatively try to shop at grocery stores that sell products from local farmers.
Meal prep is largely based on how many mouths you’re feeding. If it’s just you, you may grow sick of eating the same meal every day for five days straight. To avoid this, utilize a crockpot or a similar alternative to make meals for yourself once every few days. Be sure to find recipes that make three or fewer servings. This way, you’ll eat the meal two to three times and not grow tired of it. Prepare snacks, too. You can cut up apples with peanut butter, carrots with hummus, celery with a healthy dip, and other healthy snacks the night before you’ll be eating it. Prepping easy meals like vegetable and fruit salads at the beginning of the week is a great way to make sure you’re getting all of your necessary servings in every day, too.
Smaller Daily Changes You Can Start Making Now
There are also many smaller changes you can make on a daily basis that you can start making now. This way, they’ll become habits sooner rather than later. When it comes to liquids, start each day with a glass of water. There are water bottle options that have labels to follow throughout the day so you’re sure you’ve had enough water on any given day. Also, try to cut down on caffeine. If you’re a coffee drinker, perhaps start to add caffeinated teas into your daily routine. The caffeine in tea is better to maintain a steady workday, while coffee can sometimes lead to fatigue. Caffeinated tea has less caffeine than coffee, but making this change may help with a caffeine dependency you’d like to cut out.
If you’re an avid junk food eater, start choosing healthy alternatives, such as vegetable-based chips, baked veggie fries, yogurt fruit popsicles, homemade smoothies, fruity sparkling waters, cauliflower pizza crust, and vegetable-based pasta. Introduce these alternatives slowly. Something like a vegetable-based pasta can be eaten with a typical sauce and sprinkle of cheese, so it’ll still taste yummy. After a while, you’ll get used to the different tastes and textures.
You should also consider growing your own gardens in the spring. Did you know that food crops must compete with 30,000 species of weeds, 3,000 species of nematodes, and 10,000 species of plant-eating insects? While these numbers may be applied to a larger scale of crops, be aware that growing your own food takes work. Be prepared to pick out weeds, spray for insects, and check on and water your garden regularly.
Get started on making some smaller changes before the new year begins. If you want to practice a healthier lifestyle post-New Year’s, then getting started now may be a great way to get a head start on maintaining it. Be open to new foods, ideas, and shopping and preparation methods. You may find yourself loving some of the new foods and workouts you introduce yourself to.
