Want Healthy Lifestyle Benefits Now? Think Minimalism

Why You Should Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Do you like to feel good? And I don’t mean just pretty good. I mean really great like your body and your mind are the healthiest they have ever been. Well, of course, you do. We all want that for ourselves and for those we love.

The problem is that most of us live a lifestyle that is anything but healthy. We work too much, we eat too much, we drink too much, and we are attached to our cell phones way too much. And that’s the problem. Everything in our lives nowadays is just too much.

As a culture, we have forgotten how to live the simpler, healthier lifestyle that so many before us enjoyed.

Perhaps it’s all of the advancements in medical care or the innovations in technology that have caused us to be this way. If we feel like we can do whatever we want to our bodies and a doctor can just fix it later, is that what is making us overindulge? Or if we feel like the newest technologies are just too cool to miss out on for a single second, is that what is making us obsessed with checking our notifications all day long?

And if we’re all going to die one day anyway, should we even try to be healthy now? Do we even want to put in all that effort?

It’s pretty obvious to see by looking around us that many people are not living the healthiest of lifestyles.

It’s common knowledge that fast food is bad for you, but there is almost always a line of cars out to the street when you pass a fast-food restaurant. I’ve never seen a line like that at a farm-to-table restaurant. And trust me, the food is so much better. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

And it’s common knowledge that smoking is bad for you, but there is a whole new generation coming up that thinks vaping is safe. Just think about it, we all learned in school that lungs breathe in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. I don’t remember them ever discussing inhaling candy-flavored chemicals in vapor form as another healthy function of lungs. That’s because it’s NOT!

The point is that we all make mistakes. I inhaled a lot of smoke back in college when smoking in bars and restaurants was the norm. And I drank way more than my fair share too. I had a really fun time doing it, to be honest.

But now that I’m older and wiser, I know just how important living a healthy lifestyle can be. And I realize that the biggest obstacle for most people is that everyone around you is making it look too hard to be healthy. It’s so overwhelming, it’s just easier to not even try.

Have you ever tried to look up a healthy recipe to cook and you realized that you’ve never heard of half the ingredients?

Or have you tried the latest fad diet only to discover that you are starving half the time, so you end up shoving a giant slice of cake in your face during a weak moment? The second I tell myself I’m on a diet is the second I start obsessively thinking about food all day long. You are not alone.

Worse yet, have you seen an ad for a new miracle weight loss pill that has death listed as a possible side effect in the fine print?

These are all ridiculous, but sadly they’re all true.

The only reason you need to start living a healthy lifestyle is that it makes you feel incredible. You look better, you sleep better, you just feel so much better. And adopting a minimalist approach to living a healthy lifestyle makes it easy. No mysterious ingredients, crash diets, or pills with awful side effects are necessary.

Healthy Lifestyle Benefits

There are so many great short-term and long-term benefits of committing to a healthy lifestyle through minimalism:

1. Clearer skin
2. Fuller, shinier hair
3. Stronger bones
4. Stronger teeth
5. Stronger muscles
6. Stronger nails
7. Stronger immune system
8. Healthier pregnancies
9. Improved mental health
10. Better sleep
11. Increases energy
12. Weight loss
13. Lower cholesterol
14. Lower blood pressure
15. Stabilizes blood sugar
16. Helps manage anxiety
17. Reduced cancer risk
18. Reduced heart attack risk
19. Reduced stroke risk
20. Improved memory
21. Improved gut health
22. Prevents injuries
23. Lessens or even eliminate symptoms of auto-immune disorders
24. Longer life span
25. Save money on medical expenses

Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Water

Staying hydrated is one of the most important parts of living a healthy lifestyle. Plus, there are so many great options to ensure that you are drinking enough water each day. Remember, the more minimal ingredients the better when it comes to choosing healthy beverages. Making sure you have access to filtered water is a great way to start. Adding in fruit like lemons, strawberries, pineapple, and even cucumbers makes water taste even better. And sparkling water is great when you are craving a little bubbly.

2. Whole Foods

You do not have to bounce from one fad diet to another as part of a minimalist healthy lifestyle approach. Your body works best when you nourish it with whole foods. A simple rule of thumb is if a product is highly processed and/or has a lot of ingredients in it, especially those you cannot pronounce, it is not going to be very healthy for you. I also like asking myself whether or not my great-grandparents would have recognized something as food. If the answer is no, there is a pretty good chance it is a highly processed product disguising itself as food. Stick to whole, unprocessed meats, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains and you will feel much better in no time.

In addition to eating mostly whole foods, I prefer to buy organic, non-genetically modified food whenever possible to limit my family’s intake of pesticides. Pesticides are designed to kill bugs or make them infertile, so what do you think may happen to you after ingesting them regularly for 20, 30, or 40 years? And genetically modified foods are often less nutritious than their heirloom plant counterparts. Yet another reason food is healthier in its most natural state.

3. Exercise

With a minimalist lifestyle, you do not need expensive gym memberships or equipment to get the exercise your body needs to stay healthy. There are plenty of options when it comes to being active. Minimalist exercises like hiking, biking, brisk walking, running, and yoga are fun, and they do not require a large financial commitment or storing a bunch of products.

4. Supplements

Have you looked at a supplement aisle recently? There are enough supplements available these days to make your head spin. Due to our more sedentary lifestyles, processed foods, and genetically modified produce, it is quite possible that we are all lacking certain vitamins and minerals that our bodies desperately need. But instead of buying random bottles and chugging supplements all day, a great minimalist approach to take is to consult with your doctor. Blood tests can easily confirm what you need specifically and then you can forget about all the rest. There’s always the possibility that you do not need supplements at all.

5. Moderation

Moderation is my favorite minimalist lifestyle hack and for good reason. Being a minimalist does not mean that you give up everything fun in life. If you are anything like me, when you are told you cannot have something, suddenly that is all you can think of. Instead, just use moderation when it comes to treating yourself to anything less than healthy. Moderation works great with your intact of alcohol, sugar, and sodium.

6. Relaxation

Relaxation is a vital part of staying healthy, and yet, it is grossly underrated in our society. You can easily increase the amount of relaxation you get by adopting a minimalist lifestyle. Learning to commit to fewer obligations, spending less time endlessly scrolling on social media, and refraining from over-scheduling activities leads to a significant amount of time you can slow down and rest. Minimalism is all about giving up the things that you do not benefit from in order to have more time and energy for the things that you do benefit from. Whether you are relaxing on the couch with your significant other watching a movie or laying in bed cuddling your baby, having a minimalist schedule allows you to find the time you once thought was non-existent.

7. Sleep

It is impossible to stay healthy physically or mentally when you are not getting enough sleep. And lack of sleep is often a byproduct of being overworked and overstressed. Choosing to lead a life of minimalism takes away a lot of worries that prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep in the first place. You no longer race from activity to activity without the downtime you need to shut your mind off, you no longer worry about debt piling up because you’re not spending more than you earn, and you no longer worry about the next bigger, better promotion because you’re content with where you are in life. Sleep comes naturally when you chose to live a simpler life. No pills are necessary.

8. Community

Having a sense of community is a huge contributor to being healthier and having a longer life span. People need human connection to thrive. But oftentimes, people continue to try to cultivate relationships that no longer work for them. Just because you have been friends with someone since childhood, does not mean you need to continue being friends with that person for the rest of your life. A minimalist approach to having a healthy sense of community is focusing your energy on relationships with a smaller group of people who encourage you, support you, and want the best for you. Having a simpler social life in which you surround yourself with good people is far more beneficial than obsessing over the number of so-called “friends” you have in person or online. Minimalism allows you to focus on deep relationships, not on numbers.

9. Mental Health

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. No one is happy all the time and it’s okay to admit that. However, taking a minimalist approach to life greatly reduces stress and anxiety and boosts your mental health. When you are still struggling, finding a doctor who supports you or a therapist who listens well and guides you are important steps to improving your life. Again, working on your mental health does not have to be complicated to be effective.

What is a Minimalist Lifestyle

A minimalist lifestyle is all about giving up the extra so you can focus on what truly matters to you. And your health is your most important asset, so it only makes sense to take a minimalist approach to maintain it.

You don’t need the bigger, better gadget, pill, or fad diet to stay healthy. Starting out with consuming clean food, hydrating, eliminating stress, and staying active all work wonders when it comes to your physical and mental health.

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How can minimalism help you live a healthier lifestyle? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.