The Busy Girl’s Guide to Staying Healthy

I’ve learned that you have to take your health one day at a time. That means that you don’t worry about your health six months or six years down the road. And you don’t wreck your health today thinking you can rebuild it in some future tomorrow.

Daily health maintenance is the way to go–and it doesn’t have to be hard. You may lead a busy life, but if you work a few simple habits into the fabric of your day, you can can enjoy a healthy normal. When sickness hits, you can pull out all the stops and go crazy with your natural remedies. But day-to-day? Find your maintenance mode and stick with it.

Here’s mine:

1. Drink LOTS of water

A recent article in the Daily Mail inspired me to step my sipping up a notch. I launch into the day by drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning, before I have my coffee. Then throughout the day I try to refill my water glass at least every couple of hours.

If you’re having trouble getting in enough water, one of the first steps is to cut back on your drink options. Besides water, I usually only drink coffee and a glass of milk. Some evenings we have tea, beer, or a new drink recipe that I’ve come up with. We don’t keep soda or juice around, so there’s never a choice between those or water.

2. Have a healthy breakfast

I’m an avid fan of breakfast. In fact, we served breakfast foods for our morning wedding reception! Our go-to breakfast food around here is some form of eggs. We also have yogurt with berries, grits and sardines, or grapefruit. We’ve even found lots of ways to work vegetables into our breakfast!

3. Maintain good posture

I spend a lot of my day at the kitchen table, and it’s all-to-easy to hunch or sit lop-sided. When I sit up straight I can breathe easier, I avoid aches and pains, and I’m more productive!

4. Enjoy a glass of raw milk

I love that raw milk contains every single vitamin–both water-soluble and fat-soluble–in the exact proportions necessary for your body to assimilate them! Raw milk is filling–one glass makes a delicious snack, or rounds out lunch. Read more about why we drink raw milk HERE.

5. Hug a pet

Hasn’t this been “scientifically” proven? Having a pet makes you happier, live longer, have a better immune system, etc, etc, go buy a cat. I think that’s what the study said. Anyway, I like to test this one empirically each and every day by taking a cat break. If you’re not sure if you have a cat on hand to hug, I would suggest looking in paper bags. I often find one hanging out in those.

6. Take a short walk

Every day that it’s not pouring rain, we get out and walk. Usually just on the trail by our apartment; sometimes further afield on weekends. I treasure this time. We move, we breathe, we soak in beauty, we talk.

7. Relax

This is hard for someone who sets her own work hours. And I’ve been told it’s really tough for moms, too. Thank goodness for a husband that makes me take a break! He knows that time to read Real Simple, hang out with a friend, or take a bath helps me to relieve stress.

8. Eat your cod liver oil

I’ve written about the health benefits of cod liver oil before. Popping a capsule with dinner is the easiest thing in the world (as long as we remember to do so!), and it doesn’t taste fishy. This is the brand we currently take.

9. Get 7-9 hours of sleep

Protect your sleep. Amazing things happen when you drift off to dreamland. Our memories are cemented and filed away, our tissues and muscles get repaired, and our hormones regulate body functions to get us ready for a new day. Depending on my day time habits, however, sleep doesn’t always come quickly. When I have trouble sleeping, I know it’s time to try one of these 20 ways to induce sleep naturally.

When I work each of these 9 things into my day, I feel tops. What keeps you healthy in your busy life?

A few things I’d like to incorporate more regularly: Smoothies, oil pulling, and simple stretches.

Want more “Busy Girl’s Guides”? Check out The Busy Girl’s Guide to Keeping the Home!