Happy March! Brighter days are ahead and I hope you’re gearing up for spring! I know I’m really looking forward to doing some yard work!

Being a fitness & nutrition professional for several years now, I’ve helped 100s of people with their health goals. It’s been a true honor and I know this is my life long career. My passion is to help as many people as possible without requiring a major lifestyle overhaul. It’s rare when someone 1. wants to change everything about their lifestyle 2. have success with their goals when they do make major lifestyle changes.

So, what are some ridiculously low commitment ways to hack this whole “healthy lifestyle” thing?

Here are my top 5 for you:

1. Walk more

Duh, this has to be the first one because this is after all THE Celebrate Every STEP newsletter. But seriously, I’ve been preaching this for years on social media and I’m still surprised to see that a lot of people are still averaging 2,000 steps a day or less. If you’re getting around 2,000 steps a day on average or you know that you’re just not walking around a lot throughout the day i.e. you might have a very sedentary life or job, then this is not healthy!

Getting in more steps is one of the simplest ways you can significantly improve your health. For very little output, you get a huge return on investment. How can this be extremely simple?

Set an alarm on your phone to get up and walk around for 5 – 10 mins three times a day. It can go off at 12pm, 3pm and then 6pm. WHENEVER works best for you. And you don’t even have to go outside if you can’t or don’t want to.

Park farther away, take the stairs, take more trips to carry your groceries, pace while you scroll social media, or set a non-negotiable goal to walk a mile in the morning #MorningMile 😉 There are tons of extremely simple ways you can increase your step count!

Set a realistic goal. I don’t think everyone should try to take 10,000 steps a day, but the science is clear that everyone should aim for at least 6,000 steps a day for overall health and morality. If you are averaging 2,000 or less a day, start by increasing that to 4,000 then once you feel good with that, increase to 6,000. Everyone has a smartphone. You can use a pedometer on your phone if you don’t have a smart/fitness watch.

2. Cook at home more

You probably thought I was going to say, increase protein intake! Which, yes, that is super duper important, but I wanted to keep in mind that I titled this, Extremely Simple Health Hacks, so I wanted to take this a step even further into simplicity!

A couple of years ago, I was at my yearly well woman where I asked my doctor, what is one thing you tell women to do when they come here and say that they feel as if they can’t lose those last 5 – 10 lbs of stubborn body fat. First she said, they MUST strength train and stop doing cardio, which of course, I loved that she said that! But what she said next really stuck with me. She said, if everyone could eat out less and just cook more from home that would significantly improve their health.

My job is to help people learn more about nutrition and make better choices, one step at a time and this perspective really helped me simplify my approach even more. Instead of trying to get my clients to follow their meal guides exactly, I try to encourage them to just make more food at home than not. Anything you make from home will be healthier than ordering Doordash or Ubereats. Even a frozen pizza could be healthier than most options on take out.

3. Prioritize Sleep

Sleep is a pillar for health. Slightly increasing your sleep quality or quantity can really add up over time for improved overall health. Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep and it’s really important you figure out what is optimal for you and it should fall in the range between about 7 – 10 hours a night. Some very easy ways to make sleep more of a priority in your life is setting a bedtime alarm. This little hack can change your life! Most of us have morning alarms, but what about an alarm to get to bed? I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and its been a game changer for me. Once it goes off, the entire household now knows that it’s time for bed. I would love to encourage you to set a recurring alarm to go off about 30 minutes before your current usual bedtime. 

4. De-stress

Stress can really harm our health. Some stress is good. You should be worried about some things, like… paying your bills, but if you’re feeling constantly overwhelmed that can have negative impacts on your health. Some small ways to really destress are doing some deep breathing for 5 mins while you’re multitasking. Habit stacking is a really great tool! Remember to take some deep breaths while you’re taking a shower, checking your mail, driving to work, 5 mins before bed, or right after you eat a meal. This way you don’t have to stress about destress… just pair a couple of minutes of deep breathing with something you already need to do. This might be TMI, and foreshadowing, but I stopped taking my phone with me into the bathroom and I use that time to focus on breathing and relaxing (which we should all be doing, anyways). I know you at least have to use the bathroom so take that time to inhale in fully and exhale slowly.

5. Reduce Screen Time

Last year, I read the book; Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and it led me to not want to post on social media ever again. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but this last year I’ve really reduced my screen time. Mental health is also health. There is no doubt that we are in a world where we are more connected than ever but we are more lonely than ever. I would love to encourage you to reduce your screen time, especially if you’re struggling in your mental health. Some extremely simple ways you can do that are: 

• Outsmart your smartphone.
  • All our phones have the capability to turn off certain apps during specific times. Every weekday at 5pm, my “disconnect” mode turns on where all my social media apps turn off. This happens automatically and I don’t use any of those apps.
• Give your phone a rest day.
  • Another extremely simple hack to reduce your screen time is using a “disconnect” mode for an entire day.
• Set “screen-free” zones
  • No phones at the dinner table, no social media or texting while driving or riding in the car, no phones in the bathroom or bedroom (use a classic alarm clock).
• Replace screen time with an activity
  • Go for a walk ;), complete a project, make a homemade meal, etc.
  • Read a physical book.
• Keep your phone out of reach.
  • Sometimes, I will purposely leave my phone upstairs charging or in my purse, put it in a drawer while eating dinner with your family, etc. so I’m not reaching out for often.

After all these extremely simple health hacks, if you’re still thinking you don’t have time for any one of these than I’d love to invite you into some tough love. If you have time for Netflix and scrolling TikTok or instagram, then it might be time to reevaluate your priorities. My last encouragement to you is: Pick one. Choose a single hack that you want to change and give that one thing 80% effort.

Conclusion:These “low commitment” health hacks are easy to integrate into daily life:

1. Walk more: Increase your daily steps to improve health, aiming for at least 6,000 steps. Simple tips include setting alarms to walk, parking farther away, or pacing while using your phone.
2. Cook at home: Preparing meals at home is healthier than eating out. Even simple home-cooked meals are often better than takeout options.
3. Prioritize sleep: Getting 7-10 hours of sleep is crucial. Setting a bedtime alarm 30 minutes before your usual bedtime can help you wind down.
4. Destress: Practice deep breathing for a few minutes throughout the day, like while driving or in the shower, to manage stress.
5. Reduce screen time: Cutting down on screen time can improve mental health. Tips include using phone features to limit app usage, having screen-free zones, and replacing screen time with other activities like walking or reading.

Pick one of these hacks and commit to it with 80% effort, if you’ve got time to scroll and watch Netflix, there’s time for these simple health habits.