Cheap (& Totally Free!) Ways to Be Healthier
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We cannot ignore than these days we are all feeling the increased cost of everything. However, it is still possible to get control of your health, eating, and exercise habits without breaking the bank, even in this day and age!
It is a misconception that eating healthily and working out have to be expensive!
I have put together my ten favorite ways to eat well and get more exercise that are either free or cheap to motivate you to get started or keep progressing on your health and fitness journey:
1. Drink more water.
We all know that we should be drinking water, but in the context of saving money, remember that water is cheaper than a can of pop. (I’m from Pittsburgh – we say “pop” instead of “soda.”)
The more water you drink, the less added sugar you can drink (that PS, isn’t free).
For a cheap health boost, get a bag of lemons for about $4. I cut one in half and squeeze it into a big bottle of water to drink all morning and one all afternoon. For about $0.50 per day, that gives extra vitamin C and antioxidants into my system and encourages me to drink more water (because sometimes plain water does get boring, after all).
2. Give up alcohol for a month, a week, or just limit the number of days you drink.
Alcohol is expensive! If you go without or reduce your consumption, you will be surprised how much money you save (even if you don’t drink much to begin with).
This is particularly noticeable if you like to eat out but want to keep costs in check. By doing this, you get the best of both worlds in terms of eating at your favorite restaurant with friends without blowing a ton of cash.
If you love cocktails or wine but don’t want to alcohol, I love the variety of mocktails and faux wine on the market now! They taste fancy and yummy like the real thing without the cost, and liver overload that comes with alcohol.
My favorite alcohol alternatives are Moment and nanobar. If you haven’t tried nonalcoholic spirits and alternatives yet, you will be surprised how delicious and indulgent they are!
Because you should also remember the health benefit here: every time you drink, it takes 36 hours before your liver can start burning fat again because it must remove the toxins from your body!
3. Stock your freezer with frozen fruits and vegetables.
They are frozen at their peak freshness, so they are even better than fresh sometimes if you are not eating them quickly enough. A bag of frozen broccoli can frequently be found for a dollar or less.
4. Learn a really good veggie burger recipe.
My favorites are here…
In general, this tip is housed under the general “eat less meat” suggestion, but I just love homemade veggie burgers. The beauty of them is they span a wide variety of flavors (you can have Thai- and pizza-inspired ones), use a bunch of different plant-based ingredients, and they are real food.
If you are going to have a burger, I always suggest going homemade if you want meatless, otherwise this should not be your meatless meal.
The frozen premade ones are almost all loaded with chemicals. Also, a couple of cans of beans and a sweet potato (plus those frozen veggies from the last tip) are pretty cheap when you compare that to a box of frozen meatless burgers.
Follow my Pinterest board to see the vast variety and ingredients with this long list of options for homemade veggie burgers!
5. Start strength training at home.
Body Gym is the ideal cheap solution for strength training.
For under $100, you get a full body system that increases in resistance as your strength increases. That means you:
a. Save on a monthly gym membership.
b. Continue to build muscle with the same equipment without upgrading for additional weight.
c. As an added benefit, it is portable at less than 5 pounds (so can go with you on vacation) and easily folds away to store in the corner of a closet.
Click here to read more about Body Gym and how to work out at home, which is always cheap!
6. Try a new fitness class on YouTube.
There are lots of free channels and sample workouts (read about my favorite ones here).
7. Go to bed earlier.
How many times have you thought “I should go to bed early tonight?” Now how often do you actually do it?
Going to bed earlier means less late night snacking, Instagram scrolling (and if we are honest with ourselves here, we end up with an impulse purchase courtesy of our feeds more often than we would like to admit), or a(nother) nightcap.
If you want help learning to unwind, relax, and look forward to getting into bed, read my tips on building a bedtime routine to increase the quantity and quality of your sleep here!
As an added bonus, if you go to bed earlier, it will make waking up early easier.
A productive and healthy morning always makes me feel like I can conquer the day, so learn how to make the most of that time and train yourself to become a morning person here!
8. Take a walk in the AM sunshine.
If you followed the last tip and wake up a little earlier than usual, take your workout outside. Walking is free, always available, and great exercise (step goals has become part of our daily lexicon for a reason!). As an added benefit, doing it in the morning sunshine boosts your health in a couple of ways.
First, studies have shown that being in nature fights symptoms of depression and boosts mood. Secondly, getting natural light early in the day helps set your circadian rhythm properly. This means that you’ll get natural energy to boost you through the morning, and it should make nodding off tonight easier. Finally, a little vitamin D to start your day is even better than a supplement (though supplements are great too of course)!
9. Meet your friend for a walk instead of drinks or dinner.
This is a continuation of the second point. You can go out to dinner and not have any alcohol with the meal to save money and be a little healthier. Or even better, rather than catching up over dinner and/or drinks, meet for a walk (maybe after an outdoor yoga class). It will be way less loud than a bar or restaurant is, plus you will be more clear-headed, so you will be able to hear and focus on each other better.
10. Add a daily plank to your routine.
Try my 30 day plank challenge and strengthen yourself almost from head to toe for free.
It is one of the most efficient moves you can do, and even if you hate planks, this will keep your mind guessing with switching up movements and choreography rather than just holding a static plank.
There you have it! Ten cheap (if not totally free) ways to eat more healthily and get more exercise!
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