You don’t need to go to a gym in order to learn how to be healthy. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a healthy life either.

There’s a myth out there that says you’re only healthy if you go to the gym. Or, that you can only be fit if you have a HUGE house to workout in. And, for some reason, a lot of people think that living in an RV means that you can’t be healthy. That’s just crazy because we have the outdoors to keep us active!

If you’re learning how to be healthy, a gym membership isn’t always the key. And, according to Statistic Brain, there are 58 million people in the US use the gym annually.

With the number of gym memberships there are, you’d think that we would be a country of super healthy people.

Sadly, that’s not the truth, though.

Many people think that learning how to be healthy just means working out at a gym.

Really, it’s more about changing your mindset and changing the way you live, so that you can start living a healthy life.

See, I’ve never been one to go on a diet or to force myself to be healthy.

Instead, I try to make lifestyle changes instead of temporary ones. Temporary changes don’t last. And, this is especially important for someone with a busy schedule.

Another myth I’m not a fan of is that you need to spend a lot of money in order to be healthy.

Without counting the upfront equipment and clothing (bikes, running shoes, etc.), we don’t spend any money on working out.

Nope, not even one dollar.

And, we are still able live a healthy lifestyle even though we live in a small space – our RV.

I’m not a healthcare expert, nor do I feel like I have a perfect body, but healthy living is something I am working on, and I am already noticing a difference.

And, I’m sure that learning how to be healthy is something you want to do too, and if you are already living a healthy lifestyle, there may even be new ways to get even healthier.

Note: I am not a doctor or even a health professional. The below is just my personal opinion and what is helping me.

By learning how to be healthy, and from just the small changes I have already made, I am feeling much better in general. I feel much more refreshed every day, I am able to be active for longer without getting tired, and I actually feel even more motivated to work.

As you can see, there are many positives that come from learning how to be healthy.

Related blog posts that will help you learn how to be healthy:

• 45+ Ways To Live An Amazing Life
• 18 Ways To Simplify Your Life
• Be More Confident And Get What You Want In Life

Here are my tips on how to be healthy:

 

Finding quick ways to lead a healthy life is important.

Life can be super busy.

Due to that, you may feel like you don’t have time to make the adjustments it will take to live a healthier life.

However, it doesn’t take as much time as you think to get fit and be healthy. Learning how to be healthy and practicing what you are learning can come in small steps, which can work with even the busiest schedule.

Some things you can do to squeeze healthy living habits into your life include:

• Meal prepping for the week. By having healthy meals to fall back on when you’re busy, you will avoid eating unhealthy foods.
• Fitting quick workouts into your day. Try to do some simple exercises like jumping jacks or crunches while you’re cooking, waiting on hold on the phone, etc.
• If you watch TV, try to fit in a workout at the same time.
• Lunge instead of walking around your home.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
• Instead of driving around in circles to search for the best parking spot, park further back in the parking lot.
• Take short sprints outside (even just a short sprint is great for you!).
• Sleep in your workout clothes so that you can wake up and immediately start working out.

Related read: 11 Ways You’re Wasting Time And How To Change

 

I like to fill my average week with fun.

I’ve never been one to work out at a gym. Power to all the people who can do that, but it’s never been for me. I get bored, I tend to get tired really quickly, and so on.

Instead, I like to fill my days with hikes, runs, bike rides, and more, which combine fun and working out. I can go on a 3 hour bike ride or a 6 hour hike and have a ton of fun, which is great.

Plus, RV life makes this much more enjoyable because I get to workout in beautiful landscapes all the time for free.

Whenever I’m feeling a little stressed out, tired, or even grumpy, I try to fit in a workout. I know that even a small workout is better than none.

Exercising is great and can improve your life because it can make you all around healthier. You will feel more confident, your mind will be clearer, you will be able to better cope with stress, and more.

If you want to learn how to be healthy, then your first step will be to find ways to exercise more. If you have trouble exercising, then I recommend doing what I do – make it fun!

 

I am my worst (or best?!) competition when it comes to my Fitbit.

I won my first Fitbit in September of 2016 at a blogger’s conference.

It took having one to realize how valuable they are.

However, it also made me realize a lot of not so great things. My Fitbit made me realize that:

• I never really move. I thought I was active, but other than dog walks, hikes, and cycling, I found myself not moving for several hours. I thought I was really active all of the time, but according to my Fitbit, that was all a lie!
• I never really get my heart rate up. I used to always quit before I got too tired, or I would take a break. Now, with my Fitbit Charge, I can see my heart rate and see that I should definitely keep going instead of taking a break.
• Some days I don’t move at all. It was sad to see that some days I would only get around 1,000 to 2,000 steps. That was alarming to see, because I didn’t realize how inactive I was!

Now, I am much more active. I almost always get over 10,000 steps per day.

My Fitbit helped me realize a lot of things, and this helped kick me into shape.

Plus, I am my own worst ( best?) competition when it comes to my Fitbit. I like to challenge myself to get 10,000 steps a day. A big part of figuring out how to be healthy has come from challenging myself with my Fitbit. Lately though, it’s almost been unhealthy, because if I don’t get 10,000 then I’ll get a little angry at myself. Or, I’ll just go on a late night run so that I don’t “lose,” haha!

My daily goals for steps include:

• Reach 10,000 steps every single day. I am able to reach this because I go on a mile walk in the morning with my dogs, then I go on a 3 mile walk with my bigger dog around lunch time each day.
• Walk 250 steps every hour.
• Walk 5 miles a day total.
• Reach the “Peak” heart rate zone once a day.
• Beat everyone else that I’m in weekly challenges with (ha, sorry guys!)

 

I (gasp) like water.

Yes, I actually like water!

I’ve been told that liking water isn’t possible because it doesn’t have a flavor. However, I disagree – water quenches my thirst, I don’t feel sick afterwards, and it helps keep me healthy.

When I’m feeling a little more adventurous, I’ll have some tea. Sometimes unsweetened, but other times extra sweet. I’m not perfect, and I know extra sweet tea isn’t healthy but it doesn’t happen very often

According to Lifehacker, the average person should drink around 9 to 13 cups of water per day. This is just a baseline, as if you exercise or are in hot weather, then you should consume more.

However, not many people get anywhere near this amount of water.

Drinking water can help you lose weight, perform better, be happier, prevent headaches, help your skin, and is a must for your body to survive. Drinking more water is a big part of learning how to be healthy!

If you find that you aren’t drinking enough water, here are my tips so that you can drink more:

• Add a little flavor to it. Sometimes adding some flavor to your water can help you begin to actually crave it. This can be as easy as adding some fruit to it, such as lemon or a cucumber slice.
• Add ice to your water. Surprisingly, something as simple as adding ice to your water can make it much more enjoyable to drink.
• Track your water intake with a cell phone app. Some apps, like the one I have with my FitBit, allow you to track how much water you’ve drank. This can be a way to keep yourself accountable.
• Fill up (reusable) water bottles with all of the water you are supposed to drink each day. This will keep drinking water on your mind so that you know how much you have left.

 

I do this simple workout five days a week.

Okay, I actually just do this workout whenever I remember. Sometimes it’s every day, other times I do it once a week. However, I am adding it to my to do list at least every other day for now.

The easy, no equipment workout is:

• 10 pushups
• 15 squats
• 20 crunches
• 10 lunges on each leg
• 15 second plank

I repeat that circuit 5 times in a row. It’s a simple workout that can be done pretty much anywhere, and I can do it inside the RV easily too.

Finding a simple workout that you can do anywhere is extremely important, especially if you are a busy person because you may feel like you just don’t have the time to workout. However, this workout can seriously be done anywhere, so you no longer have any excuses!

Yes, you can do this workout in your RV, at home, in your office, before you go to bed, and so on. Part of learning how to be healthy means eliminating the excuses you give yourself, like not having the time for a workout.

Here’s a graphic I made in case you want to save it for easy reference.

 

I hardly watch TV.

Sure, you can be a healthy person and still watch TV, but I found that watching TV was not helping me live a healthy life.

And, I bring this up a lot on Making Sense of Cents, but this statistic is just crazy- the average person watches around 35 hours of TV a week.

35 HOURS!

Watching TV can be a big time waster for many people and can be detrimental if you are learning how to be healthy.

Instead of turning on the TV the next time you are bored or looking for something to do, you may want to do something more worthwhile, such as working out, spending time with friends and family, reading a book, and so on.

I used to watch TV a ton. And, I’m one of those people who just unknowingly stares at the TV when it’s on – whether it’s my favorite show or if it’s Sesame Street. I just completely zone out if the TV is on.

Now, I hardly ever watch TV, and it has greatly changed my life.

We even stopped paying for TV. Nope, I don’t pay for cable, satellite, Netflix, Hulu, or anything else.

Like I said, TV is a huge time waster. Instead of mindlessly sitting in front of the TV, you can use this time towards making healthier meals, working out, or doing something else that is more productive.

Related read: 59 Things To Do Instead of Watching TV So That You Can Take Your Life Back

 

We meal plan.

Many people eat out because they are too tired to think of a meal to eat at home. This leads to eating unhealthy meals out or resorting to junk food to fill your stomach.

We like to meal plan for this very reason.

Meal planning is when you list out exactly what meals you’ll make for the week. You create this meal plan before you shop so that you know exactly what you need to buy in order to make the meals.

By knowing exactly what to buy for the week, you won’t have to worry about not having all of the ingredients on hand for your meal.

One of the great benefits of weekly meal plans is that you can create healthy meal plans for you and your family. With meal planning, you’ll be less likely to eat out or to eat an unhealthy snack. Instead, you’ll have a healthy meal planned and ready for you to make!

As you can see, meal planning can play a big part in learning how to be healthy.

If you have trouble eating at home, or eating unhealthy, and feel like you don’t have the time to learn how to be healthy with your meal choices, then I recommend trying out $5 Meal Plan. They send meal plans directly to your email. It’s only $5 a month (the first two weeks are free) and you are sent meal plans along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals.

 

I make sure to get enough sleep each night.

With my Fitbit Charge, I can track my sleep habits, such as how many times I wake up during the night and how many hours I slept.

This is great, because I used to get really awful sleep. I would constantly wake up or I would sleep like a rock and not be able to wake up for anything in the morning.

Now that I know what my sleep habits are, I can better understand how to be healthy because I can analyze why I may have gotten such bad sleep the previous night.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average person needs around 7.5 hours of sleep in order to “function at their best.” However, the average person actually only sleeps around 6.5 hours.

Lack of sleep, according to HealthLine, can lead to issues such as:

• Impaired brain activity
• Memory problems
• Moodiness
• Depression
• Cold and Flu
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease

Due to this, you should aim for 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

 

Eliminate or cut down on unhealthy sweets and start healthy eating.

I have an addiction to sweets – donuts and candy to be specific.

Everyone around me knows this, and it’s super unhealthy. Due to that, I’m making a greater effort in 2017 to cut back on unhealthy food.

If I do eat something unhealthy too many times in a row, then I always try to follow it with a run or a bike ride. That really makes me think about whether or not I even want to eat the junk food, because I’ll have to do a workout afterwards and (gasp!) spend the time it takes to do the workout!

Are you trying to learn how to be healthy? What other tips do you have to share on how to be healthy?

The post The Busy Person’s Guide On How To Be Healthy appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

from Making Sense Of Cents


via Finance Xpress