Build the discipline to live a healthy lifestyle step by step – start with these good 5-minute daily habits to get fit!
If you’re looking for different ways to get in shape or lose weight, but you don’t have loads of free time or you just feel overwhelmed by the whole idea, don’t worry! Firstly, props to you for wanting to improve yourself. Secondly, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you need to build your foundation first, like with every other thing in the world.
Little by little, you can start off with quick, 5-minute habits, which will help you build discipline and make you feel better. Gradually, you can increase the time spent doing them as well as explore other fun and more time-consuming activities.
But for now, try implementing some of these healthy habits into your daily routine!
1. Stretch in the morning
After you’ve woken up and brushed your teeth, set a timer for 5 minutes and just stretch your body slowly. You can do it on the floor if you’ve got a carpet or yoga mat or just even in your bed. Even the most basic movements can improve your health. Stretching can improve lower back pain (source), increase blood flow and range of mobility (source) and keep your muscles healthy and fit. Just remember – take it slow, no need to rush into this and end up hurting yourself.
2. Have a smoothie for breakfast
Next on our list of healthy 5-minute habits to get fit is making a breakfast smoothie! Fruits and vegetables are full of fiber and delicious. So, grab whichever ones you like, some almond or coconut milk, some greens to up your vegetable intake and blend everything up!
Smoothies are so diverse and you can always adjust them to your taste. Furthermore, they’re not too heavy, but can still keep you full and are full of antioxidants and essential nutrients. When it comes to losing weight, remember that dietary fiber can also help with weight loss and prevent obesity (source), so go ahead and make those morning smoothies!
3. Cut up Fresh veggies to have with lunch
Whatever it is you’re eating for lunch, you can always eat some vegetables as a side. Even if it’s just a cut-up cucumber – it’ll add some crunchiness and freshness to your meal while also providing your body with nutrients. You could even dip it in some hummus!
Or, you could just make a quick salad to go with your lunch – cucumbers, arugula, tomato and some feta cheese on top doesn’t even take 5 minutes to prepare. Bulking up your meals with nutrient-dense low-calorie veggies is one of the best healthy habits that can help you get fit.
So, what are you waiting for? Chop those veggies up!
4. Have a big water bottle
Go out to your local supermarket or just browse online for a nice, big bottle. It’s best if it’s made from glass or stainless steel. Once you’ve chosen, you can put some stickers on it, draw or paint on it, whatever you want to – as long as you like how it looks!
So, once you wake up, the first thing you’ll do is fill it up to the brim. And throughout the day, when you look over at your cute, huge water bottle you’ll be more tempted to drink water.
As we all know, we can’t live without water. You can get headaches, fatigue, and a bunch of other unpleasant things if you don’t drink enough water a day. So, drink up!
5. Set an alarm an hour before you go to bed
You might be thinking “why would I need an alarm before bed?”. Well, the reason this is on the list of the 5-minute healthy habits to start, is your sleep schedule. The ring on your phone will let you know you’ve got just an hour before you go to sleep. In general, this means you should stop using your phone or any other electronics and go into bedtime mode.
It’s proven that the use of electronics right before bed negatively impacts your quality of sleep (source). And as we all know, lack of sleep in turn can greatly disturb our health and can even contribute to weight gain (source).
If you’re tired, you’re more likely to be sore, irritated, and hungry. Sleep is important and sadly, quite often neglected.
6. Set alarms for intermittent fasting
Many alarms right? But if you’ve got a problem with overeating and just constantly thinking about food, intermittent fasting can be the way to go. That’s why setting a daily notification for it is one of the best healthy habits when you want to get fit.
But what is intermittent fasting? Well, the term stands for voluntary fasting for certain periods of time. Meaning, no food and sometimes no drinks throughout certain hours of the day. Usually, that’s 16 hours of no food and 8 hours of eating your meals for the day. There’s no counting calories, you just feed your body throughout the eating window and let it rest during the other 16 hours.
Intermittent fasting comes with amazing health benefits and can help prevent chronic illness, help with weight loss and improve your metabolism. (source)
There are different schedules for intermittent fasting, and you should start off easy. However, remember that it is not for everyone – especially if you have problems with blood sugar control or disordered eating. It’s best to consult your doctor if you have these or other conditions before you start with intermittent fasting.
7. Be Mindful
As simple as it sounds, many people seem to forget about this – just being themselves, being kind and connecting with others. It takes no more than a minute to compliment someone, send a text to a friend you haven’t caught up with in a while, or ring up your mom and ask her how she’s doing.
You’ve got to find joy in little things and pay attention to details. Go pet your dog for 5 minutes, just lay down, open your window and listen to the outside noises – birds, children playing, the wind, the sea.
These small healthy habits will bring more peace into your life, elevate your mood and reduce anxiety and even inflammation naturally (source). Most importantly, they show that life is not about, pushing rushing and achieving extraordinary things. It’s about the little things. Those things make it special.
More Healthy Habits To Start
Well, we’ve come to the end of our list of 5-minute healthy habits to get fit and healthy! I hope you found some new ideas and inspiration to change your daily routine for the better.
Leave a Reply