The term “healthy lifestyle” sounds really good — but also very tiring. It automatically activates certain images in the mind: salads that taste like cardboard, long hours spent in pain at the gym, and joyless nights out where you have to turn down all the cocktails offered by friends.
But what if there are “sneaky” ways to change your lifestyle for the better? After failing many times at trying to transform my life into a wellness extravaganza, I finally realised that the most impactful and sustainable changes I’ve made are the ones barely noticed by my brain. In other words, by “sneaking in” these lifestyle adjustments, I didn’t feel like I was making difficult “healthy” choices at all, and continued to do them without much deliberation.
So if you think a “healthy lifestyle” can be tough on the willpower department, read on for a few tips to “sneakily” and effortlessly make your day a little healthier.
- Make drinking water fun
Do you always find yourself saying “I need to drink more water”, but perpetually forgetting to do so because it’s just… really boring?
Add slices of lemon and cucumber into your water to make it super refreshing. Spice up that tasteless liquid with ginger, or rosemary, or mint. If you have a taste for sweet drinks, try infusing water with berries, mangoes, oranges… The goal is not to get some miraculous health benefits from whatever is added into the water, but from the water itself.
Still having trouble finding the motivation to hydrate? Try using a cute bottle or an aesthetic glass, so that you’re inclined to reach for it more often. You can also download a water-reminder app, which helps monitor your water intake throughout the day.
Imagine you’re trying to make a small kid love drinking water — what would you do? Now go do it, but for yourself.
- Walk, walk, walk
Walking is probably the most underrated form of exercise. While I dislike most forms of cardiovascular activities, taking long morning walks around the neighbourhood has actually been a really nice experience for me: it doesn’t throw me into a breathless frenzy, it’s easy on the joints, and it offers high-quality “me time” for free.
You don’t have to hit 10,000 steps every day. Instead, just add more walking to what you’re used to. Start small first — maybe replace the shuttle bus trip from your hall to the library with walking, or walk a few flights of stairs to your classroom rather than taking the lift. Pick your own pace, and walk on!
You can also go on hikes and treks with your friends, to catch up with each other or explore the city together. If you’re eager for new places and adventures, here’s a list of islands in Singapore that we’ve compiled for you to visit.
- Choose your favourite exercise — any exercise
Don’t like walking? That’s okay, too. Pick an activity that allows you to move your body in the most enjoyable way (fine, sex counts too). I love dancing and yoga, as they can get my blood pumping while relaxing my mind, but there are so many more activities out there for you to try: swimming, skateboarding, learning a TikTok dance… get creative!
They say that the best exercise is the one you can actually stick to. But to be able to stick to an exercise — in a way that doesn’t require too much willpower — you’d have to first find it genuinely interesting and meaningful.
- Add home cooking to your menu
This is your sign to try that recipe that’s been sitting in your “Favourites” folder for months. Many people associate a “healthy diet” with bland vegetables, overpriced “superfoods” and dubious supplements; but it shouldn’t be this way. You don’t have to whip up a salad bowl at every meal; with some simple and cheap ingredients, you can still effectively get your daily nutrients in.
Home cooking is a great way to see and control what is put into your foods. When cooking for ourselves and our loved ones, we tend to use fresher ingredients and be more mindful of the use of oils and sugars.
Not to mention, cooking together with somebody is also a great way for you to bond, which helps with mental health too!
- Pick one mental habit to work on
A “healthy lifestyle” encompasses the mental aspects too. This doesn’t mean you should always be rocking an immaculate zero-negativity mind; we are too human for that. Instead, try to bring awareness to one small thing at a time, addressing your problem with gentleness and curiosity.
For a period of time, I had a lot of problems with procrastination because I was scared that whatever task I started would fail, which led to lots of anxiety and guilt because I was missing deadlines and handing in half-hearted work. Rather than aiming to tackle all procrastination at once, I focused on simply starting a task, no matter how small a step it seemed. Practising just this one habit allowed me to slowly overcome the fear and improve my workflow.
Other habits you can explore: instead of ruminating over the past, bring your attention to the present moment; not criticising yourself too much when a mistake is made, but focusing on correcting the mistake instead; practising gratitude for even the little things in life…
Every person knows the rewards of a “healthy lifestyle” (cue all the influencer videos featuring their glowing skin and eternally happy moods), but it can seem so removed from our usual ways of living that we see it as an incredibly difficult feat.
But I’m here to tell you that you don’t need superhuman levels of discipline to maintain healthy habits. By introducing small, “sneaky” changes, you’re already shaping your lifestyle in positive and impactful ways. So find your own version of “healthy”, and have fun with it!