If you’ve never heard of the term ‘hack’ before, it’s like a tip that makes life that little bit easier. Lifestyle hacks (which become daily habits!), in my opinion, are essential as they enable you to function at your best and to take on everything that life has to throw at you!
Lifestyle tips, or short-cuts, help you to save time and feel good, giving you the confidence to take on the world (ahem.. or day at work!).
Sometimes hacks aren’t obvious and so today I thought I share with you my personal lifestyle hacks which you may or may not know that I do ritually (I may have hinted at the odd one in pervious blog posts or videos though!).. either way, I really hope that they help you to achieve a healthier and happy life!
- 1) I use an activity monitor to keep me active throughout the day – If you watch my YouTube videos, or read my review blog posts then you’ll know that I’m a massive fan of the Misfit Shine, which is an activity monitor (like a posh pedometer!). Wearing a Misfit means that ‘being more active’ or ‘sitting less’ is always on my mind – I now (Monday to Friday) workout before work (the higher the intensity of workout, the more ‘points’ you get), park my car in the furthest spot away from work, take a walk on my lunch and try not to sit down too much on an evening. I love the fact that you can link up with your friends who also wear a Misfit and you can then try to beat each other!! So if you want to up your activity (for your health or to burn a few extra calories!) get moving throughout the day.. and if you need an incentive to do so then get yourself an activity monitor.
- 2) I make my lunch the night before (2 days at a time!) – When it comes to my Monday through Friday lunches I always a) make them at home the night before and b) prepare them two at time. I usually load my tupperwear boxes with plenty of salad and a protein such as chicken, tuna or cottage cheese, a dressing such as olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and black pepper and then eat it with crackers or rye bread. This saves so much time and money and it means that I’ll be getting 2 of my 5 a day in one go! Check out my healthy lunch ideas blog post for inspiration or for a ‘lazy option’ take in a fresh soup loaded with beans or lentils for added protein and fibre.
- 3) I make sure to eat ‘superfoods’ with every meal – I serve salad or vegetables with every main meal and always include fruit at my breakfast (bananas and frozen berries on porridge or a frozen banana in a smoothie – as well as spinach!). I am currently LOVING roasted mediteranean veggies (I have Piccolo cherry tomatoes, peppers, onions and mushrooms) as well as baked sliced aubergine with a little sea salt (& tomato ketchup!) – yum! If you ‘eat a rainbow’ of different foods then you’re going to be getting a wide variety of nutrients to keep your body in tip top condition. And for the ultimate super-foods veggie salad, check out this recipe!
- 4) I stay hydrated at all times – I always keep a water bottle with me during the day and stay hydrated with herbal and green teas (plus the odd cheeky coffee and black tea such as Chai or Earl Grey!). Keeping hydrated means that I’m able to concentrate better at work, I’m more in tune with my true hunger signals and I avoid getting those nasty dehydration headaches! I always start my day with a glass of warm water (with lemon if I have it) and then aim for my wee to be a pale straw colour (!).
- 5) I aim for at least 7 hours of sleep a night – This is an essential lifestyle hack for me as without enough sleep I simply cannot function; I lose the motivation to eat healthily and workout and just generally feel a bit ‘blah’ which isn’t great when you’re trying to get stuff done! Ideally I would love 8 hours sleep a night but typically fall asleep around 11pm and set my alarm for 6am.. I always get my 8 hours on a weekend though!
Do you have any healthy lifestyle hacks?! If so, I would love to hear them!
*Thank you to First Utility who had this logo designed for me! You can check out their lifestyle DIY hacks [here].
