Natural Healthy Living and 10 Easy Steps to Take Now

Introduction to Healthy Living

How often do we truly look at the products we use or the foods we eat? What sort of chemicals are we ingesting and putting into our living environment. Growing up I really never put any thought into healthy living. After all, how many young adults have the time or money to really put effort into a healthier you. I really did not start changing my life habits until a very dear family member of mine started having health issues.

I began researching and reading about everything I could find that could help reduce the toxic chemicals I used on a daily basis.  It surprised me when I started reading and understanding product labels of items I had been using since I was a child and what the ingredients actually included. I also was surprised when I realized that unhealthy ingredients were not just the products we use, but also in the foods we eat. Of course, I needed to look up ingredient names to understand what they truly were. This really is the very first step, to gain an understanding of what goes into products you purchase.

It did take me a bit to really understand what a transition I would need to make. Making the switch to a more natural lifestyle may not be a quick overnight switch, but it is worth working towards.  Not everyone wants to fully switch to all natural. Making the switch to healthy living can help to eliminate unhealthy chemicals and synthetic ingredients from your daily life. Whether you are at the beginning of your journey or right in the middle of your progress below are some great steps to keep in mind when kick starting your journey or to keep you on track.

1. Understand what is in your products
2. Eliminate what’s not really needed
3. Pay attention to what you eat
4. Find alternative more natural based products
5. Make your own products
6. Use what nature has given you
7. Reduce waste
8. Include nature in your life
9. Get moving and stay active
10. Meditate

Key Steps To Take For More Healthy Living

Understand what is in your products

Knowing what ingredients are in the products and food you are using is important so you can understand what changes you may want to make.

It may come as a surprise that the aloe vera gel you picked up at the local supermarket really has very little aloe in it and instead is pact full of all kinds of synthetic and fairly toxic chemicals. Items we use daily we typically take for granted, but when you are looking to make a more natural switch you start to see some of those toxic ingredients right at the top of the label list. It is worth taking the time to understand product labeling and the nomenclature of ingredients listed. Once you understand product labels and know the ingredients you should be avoiding it helps you to be able to determine what products are worth keeping and what can potentially be replaced.

I found it helpful to write a list of each product I use. Follow your standard routine for a few weeks and each time you pull out a product for use, marked it on the list. Included a list of foods you typically eat and purchase. Once you have completed the compilation, go through each product checking out the label and deduce if it really would work with your choice to go more natural. Most of the products I had owned were full of toxic ingredients and had only small amounts of the more natural preferred ingredients.

Make sure to look at all products you use day in and day out, below I have listed a few that come to mind, including:

• skincare and hair care products
• makeup may be included
• cleaning products
• perfumes
• air freshener
• food products

Eliminate what’s not really needed

It may seem pretty simple at a first glance. I am using this deodorant to reduce bodily odor; I am using this hair gel to keep my hair from frizzing, or I am eating this hamburger because I am hungry. However, think through what you actually need. Do you really need that $80 perfume, or the quick fast-food trip. We really do use a lot of products day in and day out that our bodies don’t actually need. This can be one of the toughest parts of switching to an all-natural lifestyle to support your healthy living. We have habits that can be hard to break.

Take a close look at what you are actually introducing into your life, what unhealthy food can you eliminate or minimize or what products do you really need. Use the list you just made and look through it. What can you cut out of your daily life. For some it may be easy, sure I can stop eating mac n cheese, but for others it may be more difficult to separate that product from your daily routine. Mark off products and foods you can do without. Try to stick with it. If you are finding it difficult to completely remove all unnecessary items, take it slow. Cut back a few things at a time, make it a habit to be healthy.

Pay attention to what you eat

Improve your healthy living by paying attendtion to what you eat. This is a similar concept with eliminating daily products you use. There are all sorts of unhealthy preservatives and additives to many of the foods we purchase. While some we cannot avoid entirely, there are ways to reduce our intake. Once again this involves looking at labels and understanding what the ingredients are. Doing a bit of research to know what ingredients to avoid is going to help you out in the long run.

Fast foods are of course ones to avoid as you have no visibility to what the ingredients are. Pack your own meals so you can keep track of what you are eating. Most canned and boxed items have a lot of preservatives so the food will not spoil. It may be beneficial to go fresh, or even frozen so you have a longer shelf life. You may be surprised to learn how many of the fresh foods you buy can be washed and frozen. Make sure to wash you fresh products well as even these may contain waxes and other preservatives to keep the fresh food shelf ready longer.

Another way to control what ingredients go into the food you ingest is make your meals from scratch. Yes, I know not everyone is a natural cook. Trust me when I say I had to warm up to this, especially with the time constraints my daily life limited me to. How easy is it to pop the chicken nuggets in the oven and within 10-20 minutes there is the meal. I found it helpful to use my days off or weekends to prepare several meals and then freeze them so they could easily be pulled out and eaten throughout the week.

Make it easier on yourself, wash your fresh products you plan to eat ahead of time. I did this during my days off so I could open the fridge and just pull out what I wanted when I was hungry. I prepared a rather large quantity of salad ahead of time and I just pulled out what I needed during my mealtimes. All of this helped cut back my daily meal prep time and allowed me to eat much healthier.

Find alternative more natural based products

After you have determined products, you wish to keep in your daily routing that may contain less than optimal ingredients, it is time to start looking for alternative replacements. There are a plethora of natural products out there that are meant to improve your healthy living. The trick is to find the products that are either all natural or as close as possible. This of course depends on your goal and how all natural you wish to go with your routine. This can be a bit tricky. Many labels proclaim to be green, environmentally friendly or all natural, but still contain some of the chemicals you are trying to avoid. This is why it is important to read and understand product labels and ingredients.

This can be a very big change. Start off small, replace a few items at a time. It may help to finish off the products you already have and then make the switch as you run out. Test out products for a time, allow your skin and hair to adjust to the change. Remember you have put on a lifetime of unnatural chemicals on your skin or hair. If one product does not work, try a different product. Don’t get frustrated not all products are made alike. Some may be geared for more oily skin or hair while others can help with dry skin. Shop around and researching products, pay attention to product reviews. This can help you get a better idea of what may work for you and what others have given the thumbs up.   

When cutting out toxic chemicals from your products fresh is better. Just keep in mind you may not be able to get away with completely cutting out all preservatives. Just like food can spoil so can all natural products.

Make your own products

Just like our food preparation discussion you can control what ingredients go into your products by making your own. A perk in doing this is that you can gear the product you make towards the purpose you need. If you have dry hair you can make a shampoo or conditioner that included ingredients to help this.

Making your own products can be a fun and rewarding hobby. There are many great DIY recipes online that you can reference. Don’t be intimidated to get started. If you still are worried you can take classes or watch how to videos. Most ingredients are readily available either over the shelf at the grocery store or you can purchase online.  You can also find great recipes that don’t require preservatives if you really are trying to avoid this. A few examples of this are making your own lotion bar in place of the standard store-bought lotion or switching that liquid soap for your home-made bar of soap. Of course, if you really do not wish to make your own product you can find all of these items purchasable. Don’t make it a chore make it fun and make it an adventure.

Checkout a fun and easy DIY lotion recipe just click on the picture below:

Use what nature has given you

We take for granite the ingredients nature has provided us. Everything from fresh herbs to vegetables, all are natural and can be chemical free. I have always been interested in herbal use, not only for culinary purposes but also for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. This is an area I was already reading and looking into before I decided to take a transition into a more natural living environment. Start looking into fresh vegetables and herbs and there uses. You can make so many natural items from your own back yard. This includes, teas, lotions, soap, hair care products, burn relief and much more. Many of us already know about how useful aloe vera plants can be but you can use so much more.

Start looking into it, there are so many wonderful uses plants can provide us. Including for making your own cleaning supplies. Let’s also not forget fresh fruits and vegetables and there health benefits. Start growing your own plants, start a garden and if you don’t have space I have always been able to grow most herbs, vegetables and small fruit trees in containers. A plus side here is you can control what pesticides are used on your fresh food. Don’t be concerned on space, I had a single very small balcony for years where I grew so many of my own herbs and vegetables, even if I was called a crazy plant lady. It is fun and always rewarding and helps cut down grocery shopping cost.

Improve Everyone’s Healthy living by Reducing Waste

While this may seem like a no brainer, yes reducing waste helps improve all our environments, this can take some thought. How can you reduce your waste? What can you do to cut back on waste? There are many ways to do this, take a look at what you use and think about how you can recycle or re-use an item. For example, stop using plastic disposable water bottles and start using a re-usable plastic bottle or bring your own re-usable bags for grocery shopping rather using the disposable plastic supermarket bags.

If you have a garden, even your food waste can be useful, by making your own compost. Playing our part in recycling can help minimize our impact on our surroundings. There are many ways you can make a change. Think it through I bet you find at least one thing you can change that can help improve your footprint on your environment and everyone else’s.

Check out my article on Take Care of Our Environment 10 Easy Ways You Can Contribute Now By Reducing Waste

Include nature in your life

This is a rather broad saying but really its simple. Get outside, walk, relax in nature or even garden. Whatever you choose, be more involved in the great outdoors.

Even if you are living in the largest city in the world, you can still improve your healthy living by going outside. Simply taking a stroll through a park, sitting out on your balcony, or walking home from work rather than driving home can help you spend more time with nature. You could also grow some plants in doors, just growing a flower indoors can have a lot of positive effects. You can choose to have an indoor herb garden which not only helps you bring nature into your life but also can help you with eating more naturally and if you are making your own product, you can use the herbs you grow in your product.

Spending time outdoors, in a green space or bringing nature into your environment can help you reduce stress, improve your mood, improve your health and it even helps us be more appreciative of what we have. Breathing in the fresh air or closing your eyes as the sun warms your face is a form of meditation as well. It helps you be more aware and mindful of your surroundings. Take some time and get yourself outside.

Get moving and stay active

Part of healthy living is to get moving and stay active. This goes without saying, exercise can improve your daily life. Taking care of your physical well-being is very important and healing. This not only improves your physical health, but it also improves your mental state. Exercise can help depression, improve self-esteem, reduce brain fog and helps to reduce stress. Daily exercise can enhance your immune system, reduce the risk of many debilitating diseases and it boosts your energy. Creating a daily routine is important. If you are not already doing so getting started on including more exercise in your life.

This can be a challenge especially with a hectic lifestyle. Daily time constraints can be a showstopper if you do not build in a bit of time you can commit to this. While experts have a daily recommended amount of time you should exercise, we are not all there yet. Finding the time and getting motivated can be a challenge.  Make a goal and work your way up to it. Start by walking, or jogging for 5-10 minutes, then build your way up to your goal. Keep building as you go even after your goal is met.

Make a routine of this, pick a good time that you can work out daily. If you cannot make it during your normal routine, try including it in other ways. For example, you have guests coming in and my house is a mess, well I have no time to work out right? Cleaning your house can be a great way to work out and get your heart pumping. Walking your dog or going for a walk through the park are also great ways to get moving and also help you get out and into nature. This may not be an overnight thing, don’t give up and keep pushing. You are doing this for your own health and your own well-being. Stay strong and push on.

Meditate

Reducing our hectic living and relieving stress is also a part of improving your lifestyle. Your mental health is as important as your physical well-being. We get so busy with our daily routine that we forget to take a step back and just breath. Make some time for this each day. Meditating helps reduce stress and allows you to pull your thoughts together after a chaotic day. Meditating helps you focus; it can help boost your patients and even your creativity. Your psychological well-being is really actually very important. None of us can function at our highest potential if we are not mentally ready. Taking the time you need to clear your mind.

There are many ways to meditate, this can also be a part of your routine of including nature in your life. If you are not sure how to get started, you can take classes, and watch videos that can help. Really all you need to do is find a place you can close your eyes, focus and just breath. You can go outside take a seat at a park bench or your own back yard and start in on your meditation. Breathing in the fresh air can help you get in a mediative state. You may prefer to find a dark quiet room, either way meditating is a great way to help your mental and physical well-being.

Final Thoughts On Healthy Living

There are many more great ways to improve your health and your environment. This is just a start. I am hoping if you are reading my article that you are thinking about taking that first step into living a healthier lifestyle and that this article can give you some inspiration.

I invite you to share your experience of changing to a more natural life and how it has improved your daily lifestyle.