How to be Healthy Even if You’re Too Lazy

Let’s face it. You aren’t going to be that person that tracks their food on MyFitnessPal or weighs their food on a scale for portion control. No matter how many articles you read on health and fitness, the actual doing part is just too time consuming or too hard to stick with.

When you walk in a grocery store, the last thing on your mind is meal prep. You’re just trying to get through the day without losing your phone. You can’t go a day without your coffee or weekends without your brunch. A restrictive diet with so many rules is enough to make you scream. It’s just easier to order Chinese, right?

I have written guides for how to meal prep and how to start the keto diet, but we’re not going to worry about all those steps right now. You’re looking to be healthy, but it just seems like there just isn’t enough time in the day. Here are some great lazy girl health tips that you try out today to be more healthy. And no, you don’t have to follow every single one!

Start small, Don’t overhaul

My first tip is a precautionary note. Start your healthy journey slowly. Rome wasn’t built in a day! Start by being healthy-ish. Pick a couple healthy recipes and substitute those in on weeknights.

Cook simple healthy recipes with 5 minimal ingredients or less

It’s easy to throw in the towel on a healthy lifestyle when you’ve had a long day at work. The last thing you want to do is cook some super complicated gluten-free thing with a side of something with wine in the sauce. Try this Pesto Chicken & Veggies for something simple that you can easily throw together. And, check out this cookbook dedicated to 5 ingredient recipes.

Learn how to make eggs

Fall in love with eggs. Specifically boiled eggs. When you are in-between episodes of your latest Netflix binge on Sunday night, make a dozen boiled eggs to keep you fed for the week.

1. Pop a dozen eggs in a pot, fill the pot with enough water to cover the eggs plus two inches, set the stovetop to HIGH.
2. When the water starts boiling, turn the stove OFF.
3. Cover for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, throw some ice and cold water in the pot to stop the cooking process.
4. Drain water and put the pot in the fridge. Yes, put the pot in the fridge! Don’t worry about peeling them right now. You’ll peel the eggs when you get to work and it’s time to eat.

Pair the eggs with a few slices of 2 minute microwaved turkey bacon and you’ll have yourself a full-on lazy person’s breakfast for less than a dollar.

Learn how to make a healthy 30 minute meat and veggie meal

5 ingredients too much for you? Well, what about 2! Maybe 3 if you count the seasoning.

1. Buy some chicken (or fish or steak) and frozen veggies. You know the kind that steams in their own bag?
2. Season the chicken with a Mrs. Dash all-in-one type seasoning.
3. Heat some oil on the stove on MEDIUM-HIGH.
4. Pan fry the chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side until cooked.
5. Microwave the veggies per the bag instructions.

Dinner with 2 ingredients is served!

Find yourself some good almonds

Do you get so hungry around 2pm that you want to get a donut from the breakroom or gnaw down that candy bar you’ve been saving? Instead of sweets, grab a handful of almonds. I’m not talking plain ol’ almonds. You’ll become addicted to these Blue Diamond Bold Habanero BBQ Almonds!

Experience the endless possibilities of lazy lunch wraps

What about lunch? No, I’m not going to tell you to switch to salads. Your new favorite lunch is going to be a wrap. The combinations are endless. My favorite is turkey, cheese, lettuce, and mayo on a Mission Foods Carb Balance Whole Wheat tortilla.

You don’t even have to assemble it at home before work! If you have a fridge at work, just take the ingredients with you to last the week and assemble it at lunch time. Whether you assemble before or during work, it still takes like 2 minutes! If you’re feeling really brave, wrap it in romaine lettuce instead of a tortilla.

Use your hands for portion control

Are scales and calorie counting apps just too much for you? Use your hand to figure out portions!

Palm = 3 oz recommended meat portion

Clenched Fist = 1 cup

Front of Clenched Fist = ½ cup recommended carb portion

Thumb = 1 Tablespoon

Index Fingertip = 1 Teaspoon

Substitute sugary drinks

This includes “healthy” juice that has added sugar. Always check the label! This may seem like a tough one, but there are plenty of substitutes for your traditional 2pm soda fix.

Instead of switching to diet, try Zevia instead. It’s 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 0 everything, sweetened with Stevia, and some of the flavors even have caffeine. A little more expensive but the taste is spot on.

They have a flavor substitute for every popular soda. Try this variety pack to find your favorite. LaCroix is another great option and you can mix it with your weekend drink too!

Learn how to use a slow cooker

Anyone can dump ingredients into a slow cooker! Stumped for recipes? Try my all-time favorite Martha Stewart roast recipe. With 15 minutes of prep time, you can easily throw it in before work and come home to a delicious smelling dinner. You can also use your slow cooker to prep protein in bulk to chop up and throw in a salad or wrap.

Get an Instant Pot

Instant Pot is slow cooker’s super fast counterpart. If you’re super lazy or just like things done quickly, Instant Pot will easily become your best friend in the kitchen. Try this great Korean beef recipe. You can even get the beef pre-cut at your supermarket, add the sauce, “set it and forget it!” Here are some easy Instant Pot recipes.

Become a water toter

Become that weird person at work that always carries a water bottle around. Go to Amazon.com and find the cutest water bottle with all the features you love. Make sure it’s easy to clean too. Add that sucker to cart! You’ll carry it to work, in the car line to pick up the kids, to restaurants, everywhere. It’ll be like an extra limb.

You do actually have to drink the water though. If you get sick of only water, try drinking some green tea sweetened with Stevia. Loads of health benefits, it’ll help with belly bloat, plus it’s a great pick-me-up in the afternoon.

Go to bed early

Easier said than done with all those shows to watch and pins to pin, I know! Set yourself a bedtime alarm. iPhone even has a built in bedtime reminder. Go to the Clock app and check out the bedtime tab. Doing the same pre-bedtime routine, going to bed at the same time, and waking up at the same time will also help. Aim for 7-9 hours per night to contribute to overall health and wellness.

Make twice the recipe

Once you’re comfortable with either a slow cooker, Instant Pot, or a 5 ingredient recipe, next time you make it, double it put the extra servings aside for lunch or dinner the next day. If you do this consistently, you will probably only have to cook a couple times a week and you won’t be tempted to order takeout.

Take a stab at precooked lazy breakfasts

If boiled eggs and turkey bacon don’t do it for you, try a pre-cooked breakfast recipe. All you need is a muffin pan, eggs, chopped up bacon, cheese, and whatever else you want to throw in there. Pre-cook for the week, keep in fridge, and when you’re ready to eat, throw in the microwave wrapped in a moist paper towel for a minute or so.

Learn how to roast the lazy way

Roasting is probably about as easy as the 2 ingredient pan fry and microwave method mentioned above. Literally as easy as putting those same meat and veggies on a foil lined pan, tossing them in seasoning & olive oil, and baking at 475 degrees for 15-20 minutes. And clean up is as easy as throwing away the foil at the end.

Never underestimate canned goods

If you thought frozen veggies steaming in their own bag was a neat trick, you can also use canned goods to your advantage. As simple as popping the top, throwing in a bowl, and into the microwave. Sprinkle on some seasonings or salad dressing to liven it up.

Start intermittent fasting

If you’re busy, you usually don’t have time to eat 3 square meals. Well, you can rejoice that new findings have shown that intermittent fasting can be a healthy way to lose weight. Forget that age-old breakfast adage!

Start eating whatever time of day fits you best. The simplest form of IF is 16:8. This means you only eat during an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours (including the time you are sleeping). If you start eating at noon, stop eating at 8 pm. You’ll start burning fat in no time!

Have a cheat day on the weekend

Try this experiment. Eat really well during the week and then reward yourself with a cheat day on Sunday.

Go lazy keto

As far as diets go, this one was built for lazy people or at least for people who don’t want to think about their meals too hard. All you have to do is avoid bread, starchy veggies, milk, basically any white, and load up on tons of fat and some protein.

It’s as easy as ordering a steak and veggies, munching on pork rinds, and making some scrumptious fat bombs to ease your cravings! It seems restrictive, but there are so many ways to “keto-fy” your food. You can still have cookies, cake, and burgers without the bun. What’s not to love about this diet? See my keto meal prep guide to learn how to prepare a month of keto dinners in just two hours!

Try a meal service

For the truly lazy or busy people out there if all else fails, try investing in a meal service. There are ones out there that deliver frozen meals all ready for you to heat up. There are also ones that give you the ingredients and recipe instructions to cook yourself. You can choose a service with dietary restrictions or just go with the default meal plan. Whichever one you choose, it will still help you with overall portion control and you won’t have to think about planning out your meals.

Got a healthy tip to add? Leave a comment below!

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