19 Healthier Lifestyle Ideas For Busy Women

How To Live A Healthier Lifestyle

So much is happening in the world around you and it’s no wonder that life feels hard sometimes.  Making the decision to have a healthier lifestyle seems simple enough on the surface.

Then, add in family, relationships, work, pets, your home, and all the other things competing for your time and suddenly it’s not so easy. As a busy woman so many different things are competing for your time.

It’s easy to reach a place where you feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Finding time for you isn’t always easy.

If you’re looking for some simple ideas (or healthy habits) to live a healthier lifestyle as a busy woman, you’re in the right place.

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Healthy Mindset Shift

Your approach to your health as a whole is one thing that you, and only you, can truly impact.

Make a shift to having a healthy mindset by prioritizing your body, mind and spirit.

Every part of you is important to the bottom line of what you will look back on.  You will either look back and either feel great about it or play the “what if” game.

If you’re anything like me, you know how this goes.

You tell yourself, “I’m going to do better” “I have to make better choices” and you do great… for a while and then… well, you just stop.

We all hear about those who fall into the trap of living an unhealthy lifestyle, making poor food and exercise choices along with any number of bad life decisions. 

I’m talking about life altering realizations.  A health scare or life choice has landed them in a really bad place. 

Then they realize… something has to change.

What if you chose to make those changes and a commitment to living a healthy life before you hit that proverbial wall?

What are you waiting for?  Start living your best life today!

Define What Healthy Looks Like To You

It all starts with defining what healthy looks like to you.

What are your health goals?  Where do you want to be in a month, a year or even 5 years? There is no “one size fits all” solution.

Your life, daily routine and goals are unique to you.

You and only you can define what right looks like and that will likely change over time.  

The important thing is to start somewhere.  Take a few minutes and write down all the words that come to mind when you close your eyes and envision a healthy you.

Keep in mind that being healthy doesn’t just have to do with your food and fitness goals.  Yes, they’re a part of it (an important part) but that’s not it.

There are many aspects of your health that play a critical role in health.

How you interact with others, what your relationships are like (not just romantic), your spiritual health and generally feeling satisfied with life all play a role.

Live A Healthier Lifestyle By Choice

Above all else, remember this is your life.  These are your choices to make.

There are so many competing thoughts and responsibilities that LOVE to lure you into the trap of feeling guilty.  

Don’t allow yourself to feel guilty for taking care of yourself.

Try telling yourself these positive affirmations for healthy living.

Positive Affirmations For Healthy Living

• I deserve to look and feel my best.
• My health is worth my time and attention.
• Eating healthy is a choice I make happily.
• Saying no to unhealthy habits makes me feel strong.
• I love myself enough to make my health a priority.
• Cooking healthy meals makes me feel amazing!
• I am proud to be a positive influence on others with healthy choices for myself.
• My life is worth the time and effort to be healthy!

Positive affirmations are an important part of everyday life.

Don’t allow negative thoughts to creep into your mind and slowly make you believe you believe them.

Living A Healthier Lifestyle & Parenting

To all the parents out there… this section is for you!  Your kids are learning how to live their best life as they watch and learn from you everyday.

They see you when you struggle, when you succeed and how you prioritize the responsibilities in your life.

Your kids aren’t just learning from you when you’re in “let me show you how” mode. 

Teach them to take care of themselves by modeling how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Truly make healthy life choices and don’t be afraid to talk about your missteps.  They will learn from those too!

Even if you don’t have kids, the people around you see the choices you make.  Should what they think drive the decisions you make?  No, definitely not.

But, if you believe in being a productive member of society and the value it brings, everyone has the same responsibility… to live their best life.

19 Healthy Habits For A Healthy Lifestyle

1. Stop Thinking & Start Doing

• Living a healthy lifestyle is all about actually doing the things that provide the best care for your body, mind and spirit.  Thinking about them is great but if you aren’t actually doing anything about it, are you really impacting your health at all?

2. Avoid Pre-packaged Foods

• So many people have NO IDEA that there are ingredients used in pre-packaged food that are designed to be addictive.  Your body can’t process them and eating these foods is the equivalent of eating plastic!  
• Many pre-packaged foods create addictive-like reactions, including intense cravings, a loss of control, and an inability to cut back. When you’re trying to be more healthy and you eat pre-packages foods it’s a form of self-sabotage and you probably had no idea!
• If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be eating it…

3. Shop The Perimeter Of Your Market or Grocery Store

• When you’re out shopping next time, try to stick to the outermost perimeter of your grocer’s aisles.

• The healthier and less addictive foods tend to be on the outermost edges of the store.  Stick to the perimeter of the market to avoid temptation. Just watch out for the freezer section.

4. Use More Fresh Herbs And Seasonings In Place Of Condiments

• Take a week and try creating recipes that are full of flavor from herbs and seasonings rather than using a ton of condiments.
• If you have a condiment that you don’t want to give up, look at the ingredients on the label.

5. Pay Attention To The First Ingredient On The List

• Did you know that the ingredients in any pre packaged edible are listed in the order of predominance?  
  • In other words, if high fructose corn syrup is first… it’s the most prominent ingredient in that item (and also one of the most addictive).

6. Avoid Fast Food

• Fast food seems like a great solution if you’re in a hurry.  Problem being, it’s full of horrible fats and sugars that your body can’t process well.
• If you find yourself in a pinch be sure you’ve done your research and are making healthier choices by picking a restaurant that sources their food ethically and avoids MSG as much as possible.
• Avoid fried foods at all costs… envision your arteries clogging up as you picture yourself eating whatever food is tempting you.

7. Learn To Love Cooking

• If you don’t enjoy cooking this can feel overwhelming.  Consider that the reason you enjoy eating out is because of the addictive nature of the foods you get there.
• Cooking is therapeutic and you appreciate what you eat more when you took the time to plan for and make it.

8. Experiment With New Recipes

• Find recipes that mimic your favorites so you enjoy what you are making.  There is a healthy option for just about everything out there!
• Pinterest is my go-to for healthy recipes!

9. Use A Meal Planner

• The #1 biggest trap to eating out is failure to plan.  Use a meal planner to be sure you have healthy recipes that you are excited to eat planned.
• Plan your menu at the end of the week for the following week and use a grocery list to do your shopping.  Stick to the list!

10. Increase Your Steps

• If you have a cell phone, you have a step counter.  Be sure it’s in your pocket as you go through your day.
• The goal for daily steps should be between 8,000 and 10,000 steps.
• If you’re way below that just increase your steps steadily over time.  Being up and moving a bit more throughout the day and evening will make a big difference!

11. Incorporate Exercise In Your Weekly Routine

• If you aren’t already working out on a regular basis you probably just rolled your eyes a little bit (or a lot).  Unfortunately, there’s no substitute for good ol’ fashioned exercise.
• If traditional workouts aren’t your thing try searching your streaming provider’s workout options.  Most have several yoga, pilates and various other workout options for you to try out.

12. Leave Home Prepared

• Whatever you do, don’t leave the house without water and healthy snacks!
• Try packing a small container of raw almonds, carrot sticks, an apple, dried fruit or almond crackers.

13. Drink More Water

• WAY too many people consume a ton of calories through drinks.  Sugary drinks are one of the worst offenders in using addictive chemicals.
• Let’s be real… your drink shouldn’t be a miracle cleaner for your toilet.  If Coke can clean a toilet better than a scrub brush… What is it doing to your stomach?
• Drink more water.

14. Decrease Sugar Intake

• Generally speaking try to decrease your sugar intake to natural sugars.
• Fruits are a great way to take in healthy sugars that serve a purpose in your body!

15. Watch A Healthy Lifestyle Documentary

• There are a TON (and I mean a ton) of documentaries out there that highlight much of what I have shared in this post.
• Nothing helps make a new practice a habit better than truly being educated on the reality of what goes into the food you are buying.
• My favorite, and go-to for newbies to healthy living commitments is What The Health (available on Netflix when this post is written)

16. Follow Healthy Mindset Coaches on Social Media

• Your social media feed is consistently bogged down with any number of things.  Be sure your feed includes reminders, ideas and tips on how to stay healthy!
• You are much more likely to stick with it if you incorporate healthy lifestyle choices in all aspects of your life.
• Don’t forget to follow me for updates and more posts like this.

17. Practice Mindfulness

• According to Oxford Languages, mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
• Mindfulness, as it applies to a healthy lifestyle, is truly about understanding why you make the choices you do and how it makes you feel.  If you don’t take the time to be mindful about your health, new routines you incorporate may never become healthy habits.

18. Use A Productivity Planner To Stay On Track

• Using a productivity planner as a tool for your commitment to good health provides personal accountability.
• You can plan your time so it aligns with your health goals and it keeps you on track.
• This is my favorite Productivity Planner!

19. Stick With It

• Whatever you do, remember you are human.  You are going to make mistakes, slip up and indulge from time to time.
• When you fall off track just jump back on with zero judgement.  Your health is nothing to play games with.

Commit To A Healthy Life

Use these 19 tips for a healthy lifestyle to look and feel great about yourself.

Nothing feels better than knowing you had goals, you stuck to them and you saw success!

Don’t be ashamed or guilted away from living a healthy lifestyle and having a healthy mindset.

Self Care, Productivity, Personal Growth and Healthy Mindset Coach

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Be sure to comment below on your struggles with weight loss, healthy choices and what works for you!

Let’s encourage each other to continue to strive for a healthier lifestyle!

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This post was all about how to live a healthier lifestyle with a healthy mindset.  Use these 19 healthy habits to live an intentional life with purpose.