Are you super busy with your projects and work, but still would like to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle? I got you covered!
When I started my journey in business, I hardly did anything else than – work. And while this worked out fine for me for some time, I pretty quickly realized that in order to be successful in the long run, I had to take care of myself and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
In this blog post, I want to highlight the top 5 tips that have helped me be healthier, more energized, and happier while working full-time over the past years.
#1 Fix your sleep schedule
If you are a night-active person like me, you know about the challenges to fix and maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Especially as a freelancer or entrepreneur and not having a traditional 9/5 job, getting enough sleep can be a real challenge.
One of my number one tips is to go to bed before 11pm and get 7-8 hours of sleep. I don’t mean to sound like your mum lol, but there’s quite a couple of good reasons why you shouldn’t stay up late.
Have you ever noticed that you get a “second wind” in the evening after around 11 pm? That’s because your body is designed to have a wave of cortisol that rises around that time. That rise in cortisol can make it difficult to settle down for a while. Higher levels of cortisol can make it difficult for your body to relax. Besides, it can be harder to lose weight (too high levels of Cortisol can cause abdominal weight gain (belly fat)).
So, in order to avoid your cortisol level from increasing (and probably lose weight)– go to bed before 11 pm. Once we have come to accept the importance of sleep, there still is to be figured out how to fall asleep. This in itself can be difficult, when you have a million different things on your mind.
What has been a real game-changer for me in this regard is using a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets weigh between 5 to 30 pounds. The pressure from the extra weight mimics a therapeutic technique called deep pressure stimulation. A weighted blanket does not only help you fall asleep faster and deeper. It also helps lessen anxiety, relieve pain, and improve your mood. So consider trying one, especially in case you are suffering from insomnia and/or anxiety.
#2 Drink enough water
This one had to be on here, right? And although we all have been told so many times, how important water for our body is, we often forget to consume enough of it. Our body is composed of 60% water. Drinking water helps maintain the balance of our body fluids. This in turn helps us improve digestion, blood circulation, and transportation of nutrients. Besides, the more hydrated you stay, the fewer wrinkles and fine lines you’ll see.
When I am working out of home, this water bottle has been helping me to drink more water. It’s 25 ounces and includes a fruit infuser. I have one bottle in the morning and one in the afternoon. I also drink a glass of cold water at breakfast, with lunch, and at dinner.
When I am working from home, I usually fill up my clear glass drinks dispenser. Additionally, I add some cucumber, lemon, ginger, and orange. I have made it a rule that by the end of each day, the glass needs to be empty. I also love using it when I have guests by the way, so everyone stays hydrated.
#3 But first, (NOT!) coffee
As an absolute coffee lover, I am not going to suggest cutting out coffee from your diet. However, I strongly recommend not starting your day with a cup of coffee, especially on an empty stomach. Don’t worry if that’s what you currently do, I have been doing the same for a very long time :p However, what I do instead is cold-pressed juicing. This has truly helped me maintain a healthier lifestyle.
I am starting and ending my day with a glass of cold-pressed, self-made juice. This is the best thing you can do for yourself. The reason I am juicing is that, whatever you eat or drink first in the morning, goes right away into your bloodstream.
Moreover, when your stomach is empty, the absorption of vitamins and nutrients from juice is the most effective. Juicing also truly cleanses the body by sucking toxicity out from your cells. You literally feel the energy flowing through your veins in minutes 🙂 My favorite ingredients are carrots, cucumber, celery, fresh lemon, ginger, beetroot, and oranges. Once I cold-pressed my glass of juice in the morning with my slow juicer, I wait for about 20 minutes, and then I’ll have coffee and a croissant.
#4 Try organic
I know this one is on everyone’s lips lately. Also, it is not easy to change your habits and lifestyle to „organic“ from one day to another. I am a big promoter of ‚everything in moderation‘. Therefore, I’d always recommend taking things step by step. Try to replace some of your ’not so organic‘ habits with ‚more organic ones‘, without feeling any pressure of changing your entire routine.
But why organic at all? Removing pesticides, chemicals, and genetically modified foods has great benefits. It will help fuel your body with the nutrients it needs. When I started changing my lifestyle to a more organic one, I noticed better energy levels, better sleep, and weight loss (even if I wasn’t aiming for that). Here are some of the things I changed:
Food & Cosmetics
The wake-up call for me was when reading an article about chemicals in cosmetics, which are considered hormone disruptors. Hormone disruptors can affect how estrogen and other hormones act in the body, by blocking them or mimicking them. This throws off the body’s hormonal balance. Estrogen can make hormone-receptor-positive cancer develop and grow. That’s why many women choose to limit their exposure to these chemicals that can act like estrogen. And this is just one of many side effects.
So what I have been doing is replace some (not all) of my synthetic cosmetic products and makeup with more natural and healthier alternatives. For my morning and evening routine, I am for instance using 100% organic argan and jojoba oil. This is a great replacement for facial moisturizer. For my make-up routine, I often only use mineral instead of liquid makeup. It is more healthy and also better for your skin. I also started using fluoride and sulfate-free toothpaste.
Food-wise, I try to not consume processed foods and cook fresh on a daily basis. Additionally, I try to include natural supplements and superfoods to my diet.
#5 Exercise in moderation
To wrap up these 4 tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you definitely should include moderate exercise. Try to work out weekly for at least 3-4 times (and maybe sneak in some daily stretches or yoga). I personally prefer to go to my local gym and attend group courses, as it motivates me the most. During Covid-19 however, I regularly worked out with this Stay Home Workout Plan online. So if you are more the ‚home workout‘ kind of person, definitely check it out.
I hope this post has been useful and that you can use some of the tips to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle as well!
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