Skip Those Expensive Trends in Favor of These Affordable Head-to-Toe Health Tips

While targeting specific muscle groups can help achieve significant gains, it’s not the only aspect of health you should focus on. Whether you’re hoping to drop weight or want to improve your lifestyle, it’s crucial to look at the bigger picture. Here are simple, budget-friendly strategies for getting you healthier from head to toe.

Use Tools to Stay on Top of Healthy Habits

Fitness trackers and smartwatches are everywhere these days, and for a good reason. Trackers can show you calories burned, heart rate trends, and more. Whether you choose a Samsung, Apple, or Fitbit device, you can find an affordable watch at a discounted price if you know where to look.

Don’t overspend on your tech devices—but you should consider them if you need a healthy boost to keep you on track. Plus, many fitness watches and trackers sync with multiple apps—from exercise diaries to calorie counters.

With everything linked up, you’ll never forget a workout again. Of course, a new gadget is also excellent inspiration for sticking with your exercise routine. In fact, Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that using a fitness tracker seems to give people motivation, whether they’re setting step goals or more rigorous milestones. You can join online communities, too, which creates competition—in a healthy way.

Track Your Calorie Intake for Optimal Results

No matter what type of eating plan you’re following, you know that what goes in your mouth matters. But it doesn’t take expensive packaged products to achieve the fitness goals you have in mind. Experts note that establishing a calorie deficit is a reliable way to lose weight and build muscle.

A calorie deficit just means using more calories than you take in. The general recommendation, says Men’s Health, is a 500-calorie deficit. As far as tracking your intake and outgoing energy? Food diaries can help you recognize where you’re spending your calories—and cut back.

You can use an old-fashioned pen and paper to track your numbers, but there are affordable digital options, too. Calorie counting applications like the Fitbit companion app, HealthyOut, MyFitnessPal, and Rise all have similar functionality. With your smartphone, you can calculate the macronutrients in your meals, plan out healthy plates, and look up foods you’re not sure about before you indulge.

Get Motivated by Using Non-Food Rewards

Motivation can become a struggle no matter how many weight loss or fitness successes you’ve had. And if you’re just starting out on your wellness journey, it can feel daunting to even begin.

Making your diet and exercise part of daily life—creating a habit—is one way to help things stick. Keeping up motivation can help, too. One researcher devised a study that found people are more motivated by either loss-framed or gain-framed messages based on their emotional state.

In short, if picturing yourself being ripped and healthy motivates you, use that to spur your workout energy. If picturing yourself sick and unhealthy scares you, use that energy as motivation. Or, promise yourself something that’s both nice and budget-friendly—a reality TV binge or new running shoes—when you reach your goal.

Remove Negativity from the Home

Diet and exercise are vital to achieve and maintain good health, but you should also consider improving the health of your home, too. Your well-being can be negatively affected by any existing negative energy in the home, so make sure that you get those bad vibes out and let only the good ones in. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on this—you can create a purifying mixture with ingredients you already have, such as lemons, white vinegar, and sea salt. Apply the mixture to your windows and doors, and start welcoming in more positive energy.

It can take a lot of repetition to ingrain the instinct to get healthy into your life. So, start by being consistent with your workout timing and diet efforts. Then, focus on clearing bad energy from your home. You can also check out some In no time at all, you’ll start to see changes taking place—all without spending a ton of money.

Photo via Pixabay

Thanks to an amazing friend Jennifer McGregor who has prepared this article.