Even if you don’t have hours to improve yourself physically, mentally, and relationally, there is still something you can do. The thing is, Change doesn’t need to be big to count. It can be as small as not doing something and can still have a tremendous effect on your life.
For instance, you start your day by meditating for a few minutes. This simple change will take 10 minutes at most, however, you will feel rooted throughout the day. The more consistent you are with this practice, the more control you will have over yourself.
Your mental strength increases exponentially. You will no longer feel stressed out. Your mental clarity will improve.
Similarly, most lifestyle changes mentioned below require minimal effort, however, if done consistently, they will have a positive effect on your life. If you feel that you’re not living your best life, physically, mentally, relationally, or otherwise, adopt these changes and see how they alter your life for the best:
1. Drink 650 ml of Water Right After Waking Up
According to experts, you should drink at least 650 mL (3 cups) of water right after waking up since 6-8 hours of sleep is a long time to go without consuming water.
Drinking water after waking up will reduce your hunger & cravings and help stimulate bowel movements. However, you should slowly build up your tolerance to drinking this much water day by day!
2. Drink at Least 2-3 Liters of Water Every Day
According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the adequate daily fluid intake is:
- For men, 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids daily
- For women, 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids daily
The easiest way to make this happen: Just carry a water bottle with you at all times. Not only it will serve as a visual reminder to drink more water, you will also have constant access to water even if you are working.
You can get a water bottle with a motivational time marker from amazon.
3. No More Alcohol, Sugary Drinks, Soda, etc
This is not even a discussion. If you want to maintain physical and mental health, you need to stay away from alcohol, sugary drinks, soda, etc. Here are a few facts to remind you why you need to stay away from alcohol & sugary drinks:
- Vodka is the alcohol with the lowest calories, 100 calories per shot
- Sugar drinks have no nutritional value but are full of calories
- Few long-term side effects of alcohol: Weight gain, depression, heart problems, cirrhosis, cancer, etc
- Few long-term side effects of eating junk food: Weight gain, depression, dental problems, heart problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, etc
4. Avoid Smoking or If You Smoke, Take Your First Step Today to Quit Smoking
Smoking is the worst habit you can have. Our cinema glorifies it, however, the reality is grim. There are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which around 250 are known to be harmful, and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.
The best thing you can do is stay away from smoking and if you smoke, quit it. To quit smoking, I would recommend you to seek professional help. Losing it on your own will waste a lot of your time and energy.
5. Avoid Junk Food or Consume it No More Than Once a Month
I get it, there are too many things to try, and you just don’t want to miss out on life.
The good thing is junk food is not as dangerous as smoking or alcohol. So, you can enjoy it and take care of your health at the same time, however, you need to follow a strict routine.
Best Bet: Consume junk food once a month and make sure you train properly the next day to burn the excess calories. It’s unlikely that junk food will alter the course of your health this way.
Moreover, you don’t have to quit junk food.
6. Consume at Least 2 Cups of Fruits Daily
Consuming 2 cups of fruits will help you meet your daily nutritional requirement. Moreover, eating fruits will assist in weight loss as fruits are very high in water and fiber, which makes them incredibly filling.
7. Avoid Consuming Too Much Processed Food
Processed foods are low in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, high in refined carbs, sugar, fructose corn syrup, and contain lots of artificial ingredients.
If you consume processed food, you will not feel satiated and end up eating more calories than you should. Moreover, consuming too much-processed food will lead to serious health issues like nutritional deficiencies, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
8. Eat More Vegetables
Just like fruits, vegetables will help you meet your daily nutritional requirement and help you with weight loss, as vegetables are rich in nutrients and fiber. Consuming vegetables periodically can lower your blood pressure, reduce the risk of stroke., eye and digestive problems, etc.
9. Exercise For at Least 10 Minutes Daily
Here’s a 10-minute exercise routine you can use:
- Jumping Jacks: 2-minutes
- Rest: 30-seconds
- Jump Rope: 2-minutes
- Rest: 30-seconds
- Bicep Curls: 1-minute
- Rest: 30-seconds
- Shoulder Press: 1-minute
- Rest: 30-seconds
- Squats: 1-minute
- Rest: 30-Seconds
- Burpees: 30-seconds
This workout is great for burning calories and building lean muscles. However, keep a few things in mind while performing this workout routine:
- Avoid taking more than 30-seconds rest between the exercises.
- You have to perform as many reps as you can for each exercise. Moreover, if you decide to perform this workout routine consistently, you should train in such a way that the number of reps you perform for each exercise under the same duration increase with time.
- Even if you are busy, you should try to perform this workout or any other workout routine at least 3-4 times a week.
10. Go on a Run at Least Once a Week
Don’t run because it will help you lose weight, run because it’s fun. I used to look at running as a waste of time. Only when I build enough stamina to run without getting extremely exhausted, I realized how fun this exercise is.
Runner’s high is real and is better than Netflix.
11. Start Journaling
This is one of the most potent self-improvement habits you can develop. Moreover, it doesn’t take much time, and there are not many rules to it.
At first, it may pose a challenge since you may need to sort your life, but in time, it will serve as an anchor, keeping you mentally stable even in the worst of times.
12. Go Out With Friends
Going out with friends is as important as eating clean food. Disregard the hustling mentality that you don’t need friends. Everyone needs friends. Going out with them is also very important. You don’t have to go out every day, but you should try to spend some time with your friends at least once every two weeks.
13. Practice Transcendental Meditation
If you are looking for a meditation method that is effortless but has numerous health benefits, try transcendental meditation. Here’s an article on How to do Transcendental Meditation.
14. If you are Learning Something New Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help
Apart from what you think, chances are people around you would love to help you out only if you ask for help. Asking for someones help will not make you look weird, weak, or dumb, rather it will make you look down to earth and someone who is trying to change and become better.
15. Take Multivitamins
If you are eating a limited diet or have a poor appetite, If you are eating less than usual for some time or if you have a condition that reduces your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, or if you don’t consume a balanced diet, you should consider taking multivitamins to ensure that you don’t develop nutritional deficiencies.
Consult a physician to know more about it. If you have lowered your calorie intake to lose weight, this article on vitamins and supplements for weight loss can help.
16. Keep Your Room/House Clean
This lifestyle change is linked to your mental health. This may seem unnecessary to some extent, but this will impact your life as much as meditation. By keeping your room/house clean, you will create the perfect environment for growth and peace.
17. Don’t Skip Meals to Lose Weight
If you are trying to lose weight or maintain weight, don’t try to make it happen by skipping your meals. At first, you may lose weight, but with time, this habit will negatively influence your metabolism and result in weight gain.
Moreover, If you return to your usual amount of food after skipping meals for a few days, not only you will gain weight, you will also feel a lack of energy.
Moreover, skipping meals will negatively impact your health and lead to nutritional deficiencies. To maintain your weight, try exercise, and if you are trying to lose weight, try a combination of diet and exercise.
18. Try Ketogenic Diet
If you need to lose a lot of weight, try the keto diet.
For those who don’t know what keto is, It’s a diet plan that focuses on foods that contain a lot of fats, an adequate amount of protein, and very few carbohydrates.
Millions of people have tried the keto diet and shared their keto journey on Instagram with unbelievable before and after transformation photos. In 2020, I too lost 24+ lbs in 47 days.
However, keto is complicated and requires a lot of planning. You should consider following keto under the guidance of your nutritionist. You can also get a custom keto diet meal plan from here.
This diet plan will also be tailored to your weight loss goals, training routine, and nutritional requirements and will be created based on the expertise of certified nutritionists, personal trainers, and chefs.
19. Sneak a Trip Every 3 Months
If you sit and think about the reason why you should travel, you will find plenty, however, the same goes for not going anywhere. The truth is until you travel a lot or go somewhere you never went before, you will never realize the benefits of going there.
It’s like you have to take a leap of faith first.
Rationally, you will never find a perfect time to travel. The best thing you can do is go and not think of the benefit or loss. Just go. You will find something worth the trouble.
20. Take Care of Your Oral Health
It doesn’t take much to take care of your oral health. Here are a few things you need to take care of your oral health:
- Brush your teeth twice a day
- Floss every night
- Eat a well-balanced diet
- Avoid smoking
- Avoid too much sugar
- Use prodentim (Blend of 3.5 billion probiotics and nutrients, specially designed to repopulate your mouth with good bacteria)
21. Do Something Fun Every Single Day
This is what I do every Sunday: I have a list of things that are fun to do (Some are in my budget, some are currently beyond). Every Sunday, I try to do at least 2-3 of them, and this has changed my life.
I no longer feel spent or drained. Rather, I look forward to my weeks. Try this, you will feel great. Moreover, create the list yourself. Think about what you want to do or try and if it’s fun enough, add it to the list.
22. Practice Gratitude
Think about three things in your life that you feel thankful for. Things that if weren’t present in your life, your life would have been empty. Now thank the universe or the gads for this blessing.
23. Read Daily Even If You Have to Force Yourself
Reading a good book is one of the best mental exercises you can do. Moreover, you don’t need to read a lot to reap the benefits, even a single page is enough.
24. Active vs Passive Viewing
Restrict your consumption of Social Media, Youtube videos, and Netflix by actively deciding what you are going to watch and for how long. Don’t passively consume content from these platforms (social media, youtube, netflix, etc).
25. Go After What You Want! Be Bold, Stand For What You Want & Believe and Don’t Take No For an Answer
The primary reason for sadness for most people is not that their life is tough or they have too many problems. The reason for sadness for most people is that they are too much submissive, to the point that they don’t even stand for what they want or what they deserve or believe in.
What this does is, It creates a negative pattern of situations & results in their life. They do the things they don’t like, live the way they don’t like, and live it with someone they dread. So, if you want something or believe in something, stand for it even if you are afraid.
It’s okay to be afraid, but it’s not okay to abandon what you what or believe.
If you want to change your life, I would recommend you to seek professional help. Doing it yourself will waste a lot of your time and energy.
Conclusion
Most of these changes are simple and require minimal effort. However, they can change your life positively. To make it easier, start with the easiest of these lifestyle changes and see how they impact your life. If the result is up to your satisfaction, adopt some more.
Slowly introduce these lifestyle changes into your life. Don’t rush, and try to do everything at once. Take your time and slowly transform your life.
P.S Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article on 25 Minimal Lifestyle Changes, feel free to share it. Moreover, leave a question down below in the comment section if you have any.
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Rudra
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