5 Tips for Healthy Living When You’re Busy
There’s no denying that over the years, our society has become accustomed to working long hours. For many of us, our definition of ‘normal’ is operating at maximum capacity with little-to-no down time throughout the working week.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while simultaneously juggling work, relationships and personal commitments can feel like a chore. Often, we find ourselves facing an all-too common cycle; over-committing ourselves to work or others, resulting in a lack of energy and motivation to work on ourselves and ultimately feeling like we just can’t get back on the ‘health wagon’.
Sound familiar?
The truth is, prioritising your mental, physical and emotional health is one of the most worthy and valuable investments you can make in yourself. The good news? You don’t have to make unrealistic commitments or drastic changes to start living a more healthy lifestyle and feeling like ‘you’ again.
In this blog, we’ve shared our top five, easy to achieve tips for how to eat healthy when you’re busy.
1. Routine, not grind
You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘the 9-5 grind’. For so many Australians, working 9am-5pm, five days a week is standard and unavoidable, particularly in the corporate world. While this lifestyle may seem like a grind, there are ways to make it work for you! Implementing and maintaining a daily routine is a fantastic way to take control of your mental and physical health.
Routine looks different for everyone. What’s really important is finding tasks or rituals that help and inspire you to feel in charge of your day. This could be something as simple as making your bed in the morning, spending 15 minutes journaling or meditating, tidying up a common space in your home, or spending some time on your skin care.
Implementing small rituals into your daily routine will help to increase your productivity and ultimately give you back some time to spend doing the things that fill your cup.
2. Achievable exercise
The fitness industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Unfortunately, to the detriment of many, the industry has placed somewhat unrealistic and unachievable expectations on individuals when it comes to physical wellbeing.
When you live a busy lifestyle, fitting an hour or two of physical activity into your schedule every day is just not doable, and that’s ok! Our advice? Make time for up to 30 minutes of movement each day (however that looks for you!) and schedule it into your calendar or diary the same as you would with a work commitment.
Twenty minutes to half an hour of exercise per day is truly beneficial and better than no time exercising at all. A walk during your lunch break, a quick spin cycle before you start your day, or a 30 minute gym class in the evening is more than enough to get your endorphins flowing, your heart rate up and your mood elevated. Want more information on our naturopath for weight loss services? Check out our our what we treat page here.
3. Bulk meal preparation
Planning your week’s worth of meals ahead of time is going to save you time. We’re talking breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between! Whether your daily food intake is a lot or a little, planning and preparing your meals 1-2 times a week is going to help ensure you are consuming a healthy diet, even when you’re pressed for time. Make a list each week of the foods you’d like to eat, sort your groceries and prepare your food, and trust us when we say – future you will be thanking you!
Click here to visit our entire catalogue of Naturopath designed recipes!
4. Watch your water intake
One of the most common things people forget to do throughout their busy work day is to drink water! And many people don’t even realise they’re dehydrated (check out our blog: 7 Reasons you may be chronically dehydrated!) But drinking water is one of the easiest practices to fall into and is so important to your overall health and wellbeing. All you need is a big bottle of water (1L is a great size) next to your computer, in the centre console of your car or in your handbag/backpack to start sipping on that H2O throughout the day!
If you’ve truly fallen out of the habit of drinking water, set yourself regular reminders on your phone or laptop until this job becomes habitual. You may just be surprised at how much extra energy and cognitive function you experience when upping your daily water intake.
5. Ditch the device!
Raise your hand if you’re guilty of mindlessly scrolling on your phone after dark? We’ve all been there. Did you know that screen time before bed can impact your sleep routine and quality? Now, we’re not telling you not to look at your device at all, but practicing less screen time (particularly within the hour before bed) can help clear your mind, increase your quality of sleep and give you more time to spend doing things that bring you joy. You might discover a new book, spend quality time with yourself, or reconnect with your loved ones or housemates by dusting off old board games or getting lost in conversation.
Living a healthy lifestyle when your busy is achievable and doesn’t require major life changes. Often, taking small steps will lead to bigger steps, which will improve your mood, relationships and quality of life.
Have you already implemented some of these tips into your lifestyle? Let us know if our tips have helped you by connecting with us on social media or getting in touch via email!
Our Naturopath’s are experts at helping busy people achieve their health goals! Book in for a FREE 15-minute phone consultation by calling our clinic on 4961 4075 or book online by clicking here.
