Today, I’m privileged to have Bridget Sandorford share some practical ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

On my own health journey, my baby step is drinking 64 oz. of water each day. With baby steps, I am seeing baby changes which is so encouraging.

I love how Bridget realizes that we have short bits of time and offers small changes from meals to sleep to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you, Bridget, for sharing these techniques.Though I don’t have a treadmill desk (which really intrigues me), I love the cooking in bulk suggestion. 

As you continue on your health journey, I hope you find some encouragement as you read Bridget’s perspective on taking baby steps to achieve a healthy lifestyle. ~ Tracy

Taking Baby Steps to Achieve a Healthy Lifestyle

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Getting healthy can be a lot of work. You have to shop for fresh ingredients (which may mean several trips to the store in a week), cook up fresh meals (no take out), and then find time to get to the gym.

When you have a busy lifestyle (like most of us do), it can be hard to find 10 minutes to go for a short walk around the block, let alone an hour to do cardio and weight training. Cooking usually involves heating something up in the microwave or picking up the phone to place an order.

However, getting healthy has to be a priority, no matter how busy your schedule is. Otherwise, you put yourself at risk of developing chronic health conditions and even disease.

You jeopardize the quality of life you can expect to have. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to get healthy that will fit in with even the busiest of schedules. Here are a few ideas for how you can take baby steps to achieve a healthy lifestyle:

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Cook in Bulk

You may not have time to cook dinner every night, but you can likely set aside a couple of hours on the weekend to make a couple of big batches that can be portioned into individual meals. You can make foods like soups, stews, pastas, rice, stir fries, roasts, and more.

After a couple of hours of prep time, you will have a lot of food that you can portion out and put in the refrigerator or the freezer for use later in the week. Then you just have to pop them in the microwave when you come home from a long day at work. You’ll be sure to always have healthy meals ready to go instead of being tempted by take out.

Order Meals

Takeout food is often loaded with unhealthy fats, sugars, and additives. Plus, it’s usually about 2 or 3 times the size of a normal portion and has far too many calories. However, if you just don’t have the time to cook, ordering takeout is often the only option you have.

Instead of ordering takeout, order your meals from a delivery service. You can get quality, ready-to-eat foods that only have to be warmed up. Services usually are based on weekly or monthly menu plans, but you can likely customize your plan to fit your needs.

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Add More Activity in Your Daily Routine

You don’t have to go to the gym to get your body moving. You’ve heard it before, but now it’s time to start actually doing it: take the stairs (yes, even up those four flights), park at the end of the lot, walk to the bathroom that’s farthest from your desk.

If it’s possible, you can even install a standing desk in your office so that you can get off your butt and burn more calories. If you work from home, you might even consider setting up a treadmill desk. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Combine Exercise with Socializing

An easy way to squeeze in more exercise without taking more time out of your schedule is to combine it with something else you would have been doing anyway, such as spending time with family and friends.

Instead of sitting around chatting after you meet your friend for lunch, go for a walk while you talk. Instead of meeting for drinks, meet up for a tennis match. Instead of going to a family movie night, go for a family skate night. Whatever you do, you’ll be having fun together, and you’ll be getting more exercise.

Find Ways to Release Stress

Stress is a silent killer. Too much stress over too long a period can start to cause serious health problems, even disease. You will dramatically improve your health by simply finding ways to reduce stress in your life. You don’t have to set aside an hour for meditation (which would likely just cause you more stress by limiting your time even more).

There are many exercises you can do right at your desk that take no more than 5 minutes, such as visualization and focused breathing. Anything that makes you laugh or feel good will also help, and it takes no time at all to tell a joke.

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Get More Sleep

One of the first things that most people sacrifice in their quest to fit tasks into their limited hours in the day is sleep. Yet sleep is one of the most important things for your health.

Studies have shown again and again that getting less than 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night can have devastating consequences for your health. Getting at least 7 hours, if not 8, should be your goal each night.

If you think that you just can’t make the time for sleep, consider this: Not only will getting more sleep improve your health, but it will also help you to have more energy and to focus more easily; therefore, getting more done more quickly and saving you time overall.

Your health should be your priority. Yet when you are faced with a busy schedule, it often gets sacrificed with a poor diet, inactivity, high stress, and lack of sleep.

You don’t have to overhaul your lifestyle overnight, but it is important to start making changes that can help you to protect your health. These baby steps can help.

Bridget Sandorford is a freelance blog and culinary writer, where recently she’s been researching cooking school online. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.