Since going vegan at the start of the month, I’ve been on a little bit of a health kick and really enjoying it. So, I wanted to share some of the small ways I’m trying to create and transition into a healthier lifestyle without actually feeling like I’m completely altering my entire life. Let’s stop rambling now and get into some little ways I’ve been improving my health!
Stop Smoking!
I know stopping smoking isn’t exactly a ‘little’ thing, but there are lots of ways to make it easier! Of course there are all the usual things like nicotine gum or nicotine patches, but you can also go a little more modern and pick up an e cig so that you can break the habit slowly while saving money on buying normal tobacco products. Slowly replacing your usual cigarettes with an e cig is healthier already so its okay to take a little bit of time to start decreasing usage with that too so that you can really get out of the habit of smoking.
Exercise more!
Again, it might not seem like a ‘little’ thing, but there are so many ways you can think of to add just a little bit more into your life. Anything from taking the stairs instead of the lift to a 10 minute work out video on youtube all adds up to help your health! It doesn’t have to be sudden gym visits, you can start small and at home and the gym can come later or not at all. It’s all about finding what you can fit into your life that actually helps and doesn’t just exhaust you.
Eat Better!
Now, this is really a much smaller thing than a lot of people think. It’s not all about not eating cake or chocolate or pizza or any of those other things, its about making healthier choices of what you’re eating and a little bit of portion control. Ordering a pizza? Get an extra veggie on it, eat half of what you’d usually have and save the rest for tomorrows lunch! If you want cake go for the vegan one or find one of the zillion recipes online that incorporate vegetables into a chocolate cake. It sounds crazy I know but my mum often used to make a chocolate cake with carrots, zucchini, butternut squash and cucumber and I had no clue as a kid!
Love more!
I know this isn’t the same as the others, but I feel like your mental health really relates to how well you’re able to incorporate the other things into your life. I find the easiest way to be happy (or at least happier, lets face it this isn’t a cure for any mental health issues) is to love more, and I don’t mean you need to go out and find a partner. You parents, siblings, friends, whoever, all play a part in your life and having good people around you makes the world seem a lot nicer and a lot less scary.
-Dana
Carry on Beautiful! 