5 easy ways to be healthier

This year I vowed to take my health seriously – seriouslier? more seriously? – I want to be healthier, okay? But I knew that I needed a “5 easy ways to be healthier … without really trying very hard …” kind of list, because, let’s face it, another fad diet was not going to cut it for me.

I’m just going to say it: I’m not the healthiest person on the planet. I mean, I’m not proud of it. Don’t look at me like that Dr Phil, I know that I have problems. I love food, okay? Geeez give a woman a break!

So yes, If I have to force myself into a eating routine of sorts, I would fail immediately. Immediately.

Instead of trying to guilt myself into eating better, I decided to work on making little changes, over longer period of time. I mean, the key word is consistency. I figured that if I change small things, over a longer period, I will see results.

So here are my five easy ways to be healthier. You can applaud me for my “geniosity” at the end of the post.

1. Substitute my favorite drink for water

I’m a coffee fiend. I love me some java! But I knew that going cold turkey on it would basically cause my body to point and laugh at me. So, instead of deciding to not have coffee anymore, I resolved to rather have a whole glass of water before my coffee.

This means: if I usually have six cups of coffee per day, I would now also have six whole glasses of water, that I would consume before the coffee. You could literally do this with whatever drink you consume the most of.

The pay off is that usually, after the glass of water, I’m not really in the mood for the cup of coffee anymore. Am I not a genius?! Somebody call Kris Jenner, I think I need a manager!

2. Take the stairs

I’m a lifts and elevator kind of girl.

Whaaat, don’t look at me like that Jessica. I don’t like to physically exert myself. But the thing is this, guys, your body needs you to do some sort of movement, in order for it to stay in prime condition.

I knew that waking up at 5am to go to the gym is not “my thing” for many reasons (main reason: children, second reason: lazy). So, instead, I am now walking around more, taking the stairs when I can and basically trying to get as many steps in, per day. You can actually download an app on your phone, that helps to monitor how many steps you take per day. This is a cool way to motivate you to reach that daily goal.

3. I don’t do bread 

I love bread, you guys. Like, A LOT. Like, if I were a teenager, bread would be my secret crush that I just can’t stop thinking about. Yes, it’s that bad.

But I realized that a lot of my bloatedness is due to my heavy consumption of bread. My body is just not happy when I’ve consumed copious amounts of carbs.

So, instead of telling myself that I cant eat all the carbohydrates in the world ever again, I’m just not eating bread anymore. So that means I might still have a little pasta now and then, and you’ll probably find me dunking my chip in your tomato sauce here and there. But I draw the line when it comes to actual breads. They are not my friend.

4. More fruits and veggies

Veggies are boring, right? But I feel like this is one of those duh moments, because (duhhh) everyone knows that consuming more fruits and veggies is what one does when you want to be healthy.

Well, guys don’t be shocked, but I’m not a fan of either. I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to pack fruits or veggies into my lunchbox. So, instead of forcing myself to do this, I try to keep some fruit in my draw at work, so that it’s on hand and readily available when I want to snack. I’m more likely to consume fruits and veggies when it’s easily accessible. I’m also learning how to make more yummy, veggie-laden foods, because who said that veggies are boring? (Me, I literally said that a minute ago).

5. Batch cooking

Okay so batch cooking is another clever way to prep healthy food, for the week ahead. The many perks include not having to cook during the week AND you get to pre-plan healthier meals.

I also found a bunch of really great ways to add more veggies to your meals. Yep, a lot of them involve hiding the vegetables away because my kids will start an actual riot if I present them a dish with too much green stuff in it. Also, you could totally make your batches big enough to have a serving of last night’s leftovers for lunch the next day. This should totes make you a bit more intentional with what you put into your body (and that of your family, yo). Spreadsheet brain is loving it!

So those are my five (very clever, highly genius) ways that I plan to be more healthier this year. Do you have any similar (health) tricks up your sleeve? Share them with me in the comments section below.