Obesity is an economic issue, according to an academic study published by Nature magazine. Sure enough, fast food is cheaper and more accessible than healthy gourmet meals. Moreover, the media tends to promote a healthy lifestyle as something only the rich can afford, emphasizing regular spa visits, wellness activities, and luxurious self-care rituals. Not to mention quality healthcare is expensive.
But the truth is, nobody needs to break the bank to live a healthy lifestyle. Besides, health isn’t just determined by the food you eat and the activities you perform daily. Health also involves the mind and the soul, two parts of yourself that you should feed with thoughts and energy that cost $0.
But of course, a healthy mind and soul should go hand-in-hand with a healthy physical body. So here’s a step-by-step guide on living a healthier lifestyle on a tight budget:
1. Give time and attention, not money, to things.
Change the mindset that you need to buy from expensive grocers to be healthy. Likewise, destroy the idea that a wellness routine should involve fancy aromatherapy and big bottles of vitamins. Unlearn all the notions the media have fed you about health. Instead, focus on what you put on your plate rather than the prices of your meals. Focus on moving more rather than collecting essential oils, supplements, and vitamins.
Products aren’t magical cures to an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, they can worsen your health, because buying more products hurts your savings. And if your savings continue to decline, your stress and anxiety levels will rise.
So start with this change of mindset, and you’d find shifting to a healthier diet easier.
2. Improve your home’s environment.
Your home’s environment impacts your health more than you realize. If you live in a noisy home or neighborhood, you’d have trouble sleeping, concentrating, and reducing stress. Noise pollution affects your mood, making you more irritable, on edge, frustrated, or angry. So if you’re often feeling blue or agitated for no apparent reason, consider the noise around you; that could be the real culprit.
Ideally, you should live in a place where you can meditate without distractions. You don’t need a separate meditation room or a Zen garden to do it. Just sit comfortably in a quiet space for a few minutes. However, getting rid of distractions might be impossible if your surroundings are often plagued with noises outside of your control.
If this is your current reality, make it your goal to find an affordable house for sale located in a private neighborhood. This is the only major expense you’ll need to live a healthier lifestyle. With a home away from industrial and city noises, you can spruce up your space and make it a healing environment. You can open your windows without worrying about polluted air coming through. And moving forward, you may discover new hobbies, like raising plants, exercising, and cooking healthy meals. A healthy home environment makes you motivated to live healthily, too.
3. Stick to your grocery list and cook at home.
Avoid the temptation of buying fast food by having a fixed list of grocery items, and sticking to that list. But note that you may still get sidetracked at the grocery store. The unhealthy items are often located in the aisles you need to pass before reaching the meat and produce section. But that’s another reason to make a list. When you’re conscious of the items you need to buy, you can dull the temptation to pick up junk food.
And of course, sticking to a grocery list allows you to plan your daily meals, making cooking easier. You’d no longer spend time wondering what to eat and ordering takeout in the end because you can’t think of anything. Cooking at home is much cheaper, and lets you see what’s in your food. It can also make you discover ways to add flavor without too much salt, sugar, and preservatives.
4. Having a balanced diet is more important than eating organic food.
Another misconception the media tends to feed us is that we need to eat organic foods to be healthy. But that’s not entirely true. Sure, organic food can make your gut cleaner, but they’re not the only food that can do that. A balanced diet will also improve your gut health and nourish the rest of your body. So fill up with your go, grow, and glow foods, and don’t forget to drink lots of water. In addition, get at least thirty minutes of physical activity every day, and enough sleep every night.
These four things are really the only ones you need to do to live a healthier lifestyle. Gym memberships, yoga classes, and other wellness expenses aren’t necessary at all. As with the first tip, invest your time and attention to your health, not your money.
