Today’s guest article – How to Live Healthily in a World Where Others Don’t – comes courtesy of Harper Reid, a freelance health writer based in New Zealand. She offers effective tips for establishing solid habits that make your own health needs a top priority.

Check out some of her other work.

How to Live Healthily in a World Where Others Don’t

In theory, healthy living practices should be easy in today’s world – we have access to all kinds of information about what our bodies need, and a vast array of food choices for all kinds of dietary requirements.

However, our connected world is also full of fast food advertisements, rocketing obesity rates, and restaurants of every cuisine you can name, meaning that it can be difficult to stay healthy. Try the following tips for maintaining healthy lifestyle habits in a world where others don’t.

Make meal plans

One of the easiest ways to make sure you’re getting all your nutrients is to plan your meals for the week ahead of time. Make a series of healthy meals plans and hearty recipes (there are apps that can help you with recipes tailored to your preferences and dietary requirements if you’re not feeling too creative), buy your groceries at the weekend, and prepare anything that can be prepared in advance. Knowing what you’ll be eating each day of the week ensures that not only do you not have to waste time planning your meals as they happen but that you are less likely to allow yourself to grab a burger for lunch. You won’t be thinking about fast food as much in the first place if you already know that it’s not an option, and you’ll probably be saving yourself a fair bit of cash, too!

Plan ahead when socialising

Food is one of the biggest parts of social life, and it’s all too easy to say yes to a bowl of fries or a calorie-laden dessert when you’re dining out with friends or family. Planning ahead, even if it’s just viewing your chosen restaurant’s menu online in advance of your lunch or dinner and deciding what you’ll order, can help greatly in enabling you to say no to unnecessary extras and sticking to healthy choices.

Exercise

Ensure that exercising is easy

Perhaps it comes naturally to you to exercise every day without fail – or perhaps, like many of us, you have trouble convincing yourself to drive to the gym after a hard day of work. You might like to purchase a bicycle if your office is in cycling distance from your home or, if space allows, you may even like to set up your own home gym to cut out the commute and make exercising easy. A home gym can be as simple as furnishing a spare room or garage with your favourite gym gear, and it can serve as a great motivator – you’ll be out of excuses if the gym is just two steps away!

Activities

Encourage your friends and family to join you

You probably don’t want to come across as too pushy, but there are still ways that you can encourage your friends and family to join you in your healthy way of living. If you invite them over for a meal, choose something healthy to cook. Suggest walks or other forms of exercise as activities to partake in when you catch up. Your peers are much more likely to change their own habits if they see the positive effects that healthy living has had on you, rather than if they’re told what they’re doing wrong. Hopefully, you’ll also be able to gain a new workout buddy or a friend to swap recipes with!

Living a healthy life can feel difficult at times, especially when others around us seem to be eating unhealthy food or partaking in unhealthy habits without any consequences. Remind yourself that you’re making the best choices for your body and your life, and you’ll be sure to succeed!

Image Sources:

Planning by Tirachard Kumtanom via Pexels.com under CC0 licence

Menu via Pexels.com under CC0 licence

Exercise by Cyril Saulnier via Unsplash.com under licence

Activities via Pexels.com under CC0 licence