The hardest part of improving your health isn’t giving up a vice or changing your diet — it’s waiting to see results. You can spend weeks committed to a new diet or exercise plan before the scale budges or your endurance increases. In the meantime, you’re getting discouraged and wondering if you should give up. Don’t throw in the towel just yet! While you wait for your hard work to pay off, keep your morale up with these five easy health changes with fast results.
Review Your Health Insurance Policy
This isn’t a fun project, but it’s an important one. Health benefits can change from year to year even if your insurance policy stays the same. So, review your insurance plan and switch plans if you’re not happy with the coverage you have.
If you’re under 65, you can choose between employer-sponsored coverage, the health insurance marketplace, or private insurance plans. If you’re over 65, your options are Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. If you want benefits like dental and vision care and fitness perks, opt for a Medicare Advantage plan like the plans offered by Humana.
Once you’re covered by insurance, use it! If you’re not seeing your doctor for preventive care, you’re wasting your insurance premiums and letting your health suffer.
Go to Bed Earlier
You won’t make up for a sleep deficit in one night. However, going to bed early is the first step toward better sleep hygiene. To avoid tossing and turning, plan an active day so you’re plenty tired come bedtime. When it’s time for sleep, turn the lights off and keep your phone and computer far away — using electronics in bed is a recipe for a restless night.
Declutter and Deep Clean Your House
Have you noticed that when your home is in disarray, your mind feels messy too? A disorganized environment makes it harder to focus and maintain a positive attitude.
Instead of letting your home take over your brain, spend a weekend decluttering and deep cleaning. If you have a lot of messes and not a lot of time, outsource the deep cleaning. A one-time cleaning service is surprisingly affordable in Dallas, with most homeowners spending between $115 and $216 on a one-time house cleaning.
Stock Your Pantry
If you reach for junk food every time you open your pantry, it could be because that’s what you see. Instead of letting healthy ingredients languish in the back of the pantry while snack foods are on full display, organize your pantry so it’s easy to make healthy food choices.
Store unhealthy foods where they’re out of sight, out of mind. Then, restock your cupboards with healthy staples like nuts, whole grains, beans, canned fish, and seasonings. Use clear storage containers or glass jars to keep everything organized and accessible so you can plan a nutritious dinner at a simple glance.
Learn to Meditate
Meditation sounds foreign and new-agey if you’ve never tried it, but once you do, you’ll be hooked! Meditation is simple, yet amazingly effective. When you take time to breathe deeply and clear your mind, your stress levels plummet and you feel calmer and more capable. There are many ways to meditate, but the simplest for beginners is mindfulness meditation.
When just starting your journey to better health, motivation is the most important tool you have. If you give up because you’re not seeing results fast enough, you’ll never reach your greatest health goals. Instead of letting your commitment waver, use easy changes like these to boost your motivation and keep working toward a healthier you.
