By Coach Sara
Five minimalist steps to staying healthy.
Minimalism is a movement that started with visual arts and music post World War II but it expanded to different forms such as design, architecture, fashion, and lately to personal lives – from uncluttering living spaces and giving up on old unfinished projects to paying outstanding debts and throwing away incomplete to-do lists.
The minimalist philosophy advocates for getting rid of things that take up unnecessary space and energy and keep close those that matter. It is using and owning as simple, essential and few items as possible.
I’ve stumbled upon the minimalist lifestyle a few months ago after listening to a TED talk called “A Rich Life with Less Stuff” by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, both known as The Minimalists. This video and other blogs such as Becoming Minimalist, Be More with Less, Project 333 and Zen habits inspired me to simplify and organize. But minimalism is more than organizing a kitchen drawer or learning how to fold a t-shirt in 10 seconds.
As a health coach, health and fitness are the two important aspects of my minimalist lifestyle. I want to live a meaningful and mindful life so I simplified my health and fitness plans and uncluttered everything that supported my bad habits.
Here are my top five steps you can apply today towards a healthy minimalist lifestyle.
- Go Back to Basics
Yes I understand, nutrition information can be very confusing; do sugar substitutes cause weight gain? Are animal fats good for us now? And what’s up with all those kales and quinoas? One thing you need to understand about nutrition information: the majority of it is controlled and manipulated by the food industry. Simplify your diet plan and stick with the basics; yay veggies, nay sugars.
- Less Is More
Read the food labels, if the ingredients are more than five and if you don’t recognize one of them, don’t buy it.
- Develop a Routine
And schedule things around this routine. Most of us are not training for a skating championship, now lets be realistic here. Start with the absolute minimum (it can be as simple as following your gym on Instagram) then build on that small step.
- Spend Less Time Cooking
Maybe your dream is to become the Saudi Martha Stewart but ain’t nobody got time for that, right? Keep those fancy, complicated recipes for special occasions and go for simple recipes with few ingredients and easy cooking methods.
- Crowd Out
Instead of resisting the bad habits, focus on the positive. Eat simple, move everyday and be patient until one day you won’t have room for any old, unhealthy ways.
