Have those New Year’s resolutions long since fallen by the wayside? Do you get discouraged thinking about how long it takes to lose weight? Is the thought of exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week enough to make you want to crawl back into bed? We get it. Making lifestyle changes can be hard! It takes time, commitment, and a willingness to be a little patient in order to see results. And while we’re all for big lifestyle changes (they really do help boost health), we also know that small steps can get you moving forward to better health.
Why small steps? Think back to the last time you decided to lose weight, eat better, or exercise more. Did you cut out all of your favorite foods? Did you join a gym to end up only going once or twice? Did you have all good intentions, but it just didn’t happen? Don’t worry, this happens to almost everyone. When we try to make too many changes at once, it can be overwhelming and way too difficult to maintain for any length of time. Making small changes or taking small steps, on the other hand, is much easier to do — and keep doing, too. These small changes can eventually turn into habits that you keep doing, pretty much without thinking about it.
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Curious? Check out the following suggestions. These each take about five minutes (we can all find five minutes at some point during the day). And that’s the way to get started. Choose at least one from the list below to try today and every day for the rest of the week. If that goes well, next week, try someone else, or build on to what you’re already doing. Before you know it, you’ll have a new habit going on!
Eating healthy
- Start off the day with a high-fiber cereal. Choose cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving (check out the Nutrition Facts Label).
- Drink a glass of water. Take your time and sip it slowly.
- Plan out your meals for the week.
- Prep some raw veggies — for example, carrots, celery, cucumber, pepper.
- Eat some raw veggies!
- Include a protein food at each of your meals (think eggs, poultry, seafood, lean meat, tofu, beans).
- Make yourself a cup of green tea to boost your brain function and protect your heart health.
- Choose one new healthy recipe to try this week. Check out some ideas here.
- Grab a small handful of nuts to help lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
- Rearrange your cupboard or pantry. Make sure healthy choices are towards the front. Or move less healthy foods to another cupboard.
Being active
- Get up and move every 20 or 30 minutes for five minutes. It doesn’t matter what you do: march in place, dance, climb stairs, or do some stretching.
- Only have a minute or two? Move! Studies show that even just one minute of intense exercise helps your heart and improves bone health.
- While watching television, make a point to do some kind of activity during commercials.
- Go for a quick stroll outside.
- Grab a duster and clean off those dusty surfaces.
- Sweep or vacuum your floor for five minutes.
- Do a few squats while you wait for your coffee or tea to brew.
- Do some standing push-ups against a wall or as you hold onto your kitchen counter.
- Test out your balance. Stand on one leg for 30 seconds, then switch legs.
Lowering stress
- Make a list of things that bring you joy — even the simplest things count!
- Listen to music.
- Go for a quick stroll to help you gather your thoughts.
- Try counting to 10 and then count back down again.
- Clear up clutter, whether it’s your desk, your sock drawer, or your bathroom cabinet.
- Watch a funny video to give yourself a good laugh.
- Take some deep breaths. Close your eyes, take a deep breath while you count to four, pause, and then slowly breathe out for a count of six. Do this breathing exercise three or four times.
- Read a few pages of a book or read a favorite poem.
- Start a gratitude journal. Spend five minutes a day writing about something for which you are grateful.
You probably can come up with other small steps, so think about what those might be and add them to the list. In fact, why not create your own personalized “small changes in five minutes”?
Want to learn about other steps that can help improve your health in just five minutes? Read “Take Five for Better Health” and “The Power of Five for Health.”
