You want to improve your health, but you’re not looking forward to those intense workouts. The good news is you can improve your fitness and overall health without spending sweaty, breathless hours exercising every week to reach your goal. In fact, light exercise is only part of the strategy.
The better approach is to make small lifestyle changes that shift your habits into lasting improvements in your overall health. Once they become habits, you’ll do them without thinking too much about your actions, and maintaining your new healthy self will be easier than you think. So, let’s look at some small changes you can make to improve your health and well-being without loathing your workouts and turning you away from exercise forever.
Tweak Your Eating Habits
Good eating habits and a balanced diet will go a long way toward improving your health, giving you energy, and lifting your mood. Whole grains, veggies, fruits, and other complex carbohydrates give your body energy. They can also trigger serotonin, which can help you feel happier and more relaxed. Healthy fats from foods such as avocados, nuts, olive oil, and fatty fish help with brain functions and reduce inflammation. Dark chocolate, nuts, leafy greens, and bananas contain magnesium, which helps reduce stress and anxiety.
On the other hand, processed sugars in sweets, sodas, and white bread can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes that can lead to mood swings. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose may interfere with brain functions and affect mood. Highly processed foods such as fast food, chips, and other snacks can cause inflammation in the body.
This doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite foods. Depriving yourself only leads to cravings. Instead, you can incorporate them into your diet and eat your favorite foods in moderation so that you can enjoy them occasionally. What you eat significantly impacts your health more than how much you exercise. Making minor tweaks can boost your energy and help you manage your weight without dieting or exercising more.
If you’re not sure where to start, create a food journal and track what you eat every day. In fact, you don’t have to make any changes right away. You’re learning about what you usually eat and finding areas where you could tweak your meals and snacks.
What Changes Should You Make?
With all the advice out there, most diets want you to follow their prescribed foods and meal plans. Those diets may work, but you might be miserable following them because they may not include any of your favorite meals or snacks. You may want to try something else if you’re constantly hungry and craving certain foods. However, if you’re on a strict diet prescribed by your doctor or another health professional, you should discuss it with them before making any changes.
For those who aren’t, instead of upending your entire eating pattern, aim to include some of these changes in your meal and snack planning, which will go a long way toward improving your health.
Eat Enough Protein
Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, decreasing hunger throughout the day, and stabilizing blood sugar levels. A good rule of thumb is to consume between 0.8 to 1.2g of protein per kilogram or 0.36 to 0.54g per pound of body weight for those under 50. For those over 50, 1.2 to 1.6g of protein per kilogram or 0.54 to 0.72g per pound of body weight. If you exercise, you should be on the higher side of those ranges. Let’s look at some examples of high-protein foods:
| Lean Meats | Other Sources |
|---|---|
| Bison | Chickpeas |
| Chicken breast (skinless) | Cottage Cheese |
| Duck breast (skinless) | Eggs & Egg Whites |
| Lean Beef (Sirloin and Tenderloin) | Fish (Salmon, Tuna, Cod, Shrimp) |
| Pork tenderloin | Greek Yogurt |
| Turkey breast | Lentils & Beans |
| Venison (Deer) | Nuts and Seeds |
| Soybeans | |
| Tofu |
Eat More Fiber-Rich Foods
Fiber helps digestion, supports gut health, makes you feel full longer, and regulates blood sugar. Unfortunately, on average, American adults eat only 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day. Ideally, women should aim for 25g, and men should aim for 38g every day,
Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources of fiber. Here is a list of some foods you should consider adding to your diet.
| Fruits Apples with Skins Bananas Oranges Pears Raspberries | Legumes (Fiber & Protein) Black Beans Chickpeas Green Peas Kidney Beans Lentils |
| Nuts and Seeds Almonds Chia Seeds Flaxseeds Pistachios Sunflower Seeds | Vegetables Artichokes Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Carrots Spinach |
| Whole Grains Barley Brown Rice Oats (Rolled or Steel-Cut) Quinoa Whole Wheat Bread |
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated allows your body to function properly. Water helps regulate your metabolic processes, balance electrolytes, and aids digestion. It also maintains an optimal body temperature and is a lubricant for your internal organs and joints. Conversely, dehydration can interfere with your body’s ability to regulate.
Unfortunately, most people do not consistently rehydrate. As a result, many people might be dehydrated and not realize it. You should try to drink 64 oz (about 2 L) of water daily. However, you should consider your specific needs. Factors such as body weight, pregnancy, assigned sex at birth, activity level, and diet can affect how much water you need. If you don’t like plain water, there are alternative ways to hydrate.
- Coconut Water – unsweetened coconut water is rich in potassium and magnesium
- Infused Water – water with fresh fruits, herbs, or vegetables to enhance the taste
- Herbal Teas – both cold and hot teas can be an excellent caffeine-free alternative to plain water
- Hydrating Fruits and Vegetables – Watermelon, cucumbers, oranges, strawberries, and celery are mostly made up of water
Avoid drinks high in sugar, such as fruit juice or soda. Plain coffee or tea can help keep you hydrated, but they contain caffeine. Try to minimize your caffeine intake and substitute it with something else throughout the day.
Reduce Processed Foods
Ultra-processed foods such as chips, fast food, sodas, sugary drinks, and snacks often contain high amounts of unhealthy fats, sugar, sodium, and artificial additives and have low nutritional value. They are usually high in calories and are the source of mindless snacking and weight gain. Because of these factors, they are linked to various health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Eating less of these foods will go a long way toward improving your health.
If donuts and french fries are some of your favorite foods, you don’t have to eliminate them unless you’re under strict dietary guidelines from your doctor or healthcare provider. You can still enjoy your favorite snacks and processed foods by consuming them occasionally instead of frequently.
Move More
You can improve your health without workouts by simply incorporating more movement throughout your day. Other than exercise, there are many ways to move more.
For example, try taking a 5 to 10-minute walk break during the day or after lunch. In fact, a short brisk walk can help regulate your blood sugar levels, improve your mood, and boost your energy to tackle the rest of the day. Try to take more breaks to stretch and walk around, especially if you sit a lot. Strive for over 5,000 steps a day. That sounds like a lot, but steps can add up quickly if you do things like parking farther away, taking the stairs, or pacing while on the phone.
Try using a standing desk and alternate between sitting and standing. This will help prevent stiffness and burn more calories. If a standing desk isn’t an option, stretch to keep your muscles flexible. Stretching can help improve circulation, relieve stress, and improve your mood. If you want to incorporate more flexibility, consider trying yoga.
Fidgeting, tapping your foot, swiveling in your chair, and standing up during calls all count as getting more movement into your day. You could even sneak calf raises while brushing your teeth or squats while your coffee brews. Every little bit counts.
Optimize Your Sleep
Sleep is more than lying unconscious while your body rests. Your body needs sleep, like air to breathe and food to function. Sleep affects almost every system in your body. Specifically, sleep helps repair and maintain your organs, immunity, mood, and metabolism.
Sleep helps maintain pathways in your brain to learn and create new memories. It also affects how well neurons communicate with each other and removes toxins that can build up while you’re awake. Good sleep is just as important as diet and exercise.
Without enough sleep, you will not function properly both mentally and physically. The lack of sleep can also affect how you feel during the day. You may notice slower thinking, reduced attention span, lack of energy, a change in mood, memory issues, and poor decision-making. Unfortunately, these symptoms can become worse depending on how long you have been sleep-deprived.
Therefore, improving the quality of your sleep is essential for your overall health. Unfortunately, sleep suffers first when choosing between sleep and work, fun activities, or other obligations. However, the best course of action is to make sleep a priority.
Try to get sunlight exposure to support a healthy circadian rhythm that helps you stay awake and alert during the day and sleepy at night. Also, try to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day, even on weekends. Stability helps avoid fluctuations in your sleeping pattern and provides a predictable pattern for your body’s rhythm. Setting boundaries in your work and social life can help you set aside enough time to get the rest you need. Avoid alcohol and caffeine closer to bedtime as they can make it more difficult to fall or stay asleep. A consistent bedtime routine prepares your body for rest and improves your chances of sleeping well.
Make Exercise Easier And Enjoyable
Exercise doesn’t have to be intense or grueling all the time to be effective in improving your strength, endurance, and flexibility. In fact, if you go all out every time you exercise, you’ll increase your risk of boredom, burnout, and injury.
So, instead of doing exercises you dislike, find activities that raise your heart rate and are fun.
If traditional workouts like walking, running, or cycling aren’t for you, try dancing, swimming, or yoga. Even gardening, vacuuming, and mowing the lawn can be fun for some. Those activities count as exercise. Resistance bands and bodyweight exercises are excellent alternatives if lifting weights isn’t your thing.
You aren’t required to exercise for 45 minutes or more for it to count—even a quick 10-minute walk or run counts. Your goal should be to move every day for at least 30 minutes, but some movement is better than none. More importantly, staying consistent with casual activity is better than sporadic high-intensity workouts.
For beginners, starting small and working on consistency over intensity is key. You’ll naturally push yourself a little harder or longer as you get used to your workouts. However, always listen to your body. If you feel worn out or have pain or soreness that’s not going away, take a day off to rest and recover.
The Takeaway
Improving your health doesn’t require intense workouts every day of the week. Instead, make small, sustainable changes in your diet, movement, and sleep to gradually nudge yourself to a healthier you. As a result, you can feel better, have more energy, and improve your overall health and well-being without having to push yourself through intense workouts. There is no magic pill. A healthy lifestyle takes time and patience. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Start small and go from there.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your workouts, weight, mood, calories, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
