There’s a new health craze every year, and if you’re busy or broke, it can be hard to keep up with it all. First it was avocados, then kale, then coconut water; the quick changes and advancements in the “clean eating” industry can have a person’s head spinning. It almost seems that the new trend is to take a pill for health, with or without knowing if it will make any difference. Then people find themselves in hours of research and frustration, not knowing for sure if products will work for them personally. Don’t fret, though! It’s easier than one would think to gain health and wellness. Through a few relatively small changes stacked on top of each other, your health can grow exponentially.

One of the best natural things you can do for your body is drink water. There’s a saying among health gurus that reads, “don’t drink your calories”, and it makes a lot of sense. Just about every beverage aside from water has calories and sugar that could be easily avoided by just drinking water instead. Soda, of course, but Gatorade and fruit juice are all common drinks that people don’t tend to consider the calories and sugar in. People should enjoy their other beverages as well (trust me, I have coffee on an I.V.), but there’s a huge benefit to drinking more water; included being “flushing out” toxins, improved complexion and immune system, increasing energy, and many more. So that leads to the question: how much water should a person drink per day? Some say a gallon, some say 60 ounces, but a good rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. So, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink 70 ounces of water per day. That’s a few cups in the morning, a few through the day, and a few at night. Easy!

Sometimes, eating right can seem harder than it actually is - especially with all of the fad foods exploding in popularity. While those fad foods are actually good for you, they are not required for health. Cutting some carbs, fat, and calories can be easier than you think! Some of the biggest clean eating trends (that actually work) are going gluten free, taking on a vegetarian or vegan diet, and cutting all added fat or sugar. Staying within 1,00-2,200 calories per day, it can be as easy as reading labels and cutting down, or out, the sugar. A person I know once decided to go “processed-food free” by not eating anything overly processed, manufactured and un-natural. By doing so, she lost a significant amount of weight and gained health and energy - it made all the difference. It’s easy to find a diet that works for you; no huge change needs to be made, either! Simply reading labels- paying attention to sugars, proteins, and different kinds of carbs (carbs from sugar turn to fat, carbs from fiber are absorbed)- can make all the difference.

The last important component of health is activity. The power of the recommended 10,000 steps per day is incredible, helping anyone and everyone to shed weight a few pounds at a time. Taking stairs, going on walks (especially with energetic pets) and walking to work or the store can all be great ways to get more steps in! Most smart phones even have a pedometer app built into the phone, but getting a pedometer from a sporting goods store shouldn’t be too expensive, either. Look at it this way, too: if work is too far to walk, you could always bike! Whether it’s going to the gym, walking, doing yoga, or running marathons, any level of activity is extremely helpful to your health.

Health is not a “straight path” journey, and it’s definitely not a “one size fits all” journey. With a few simple steps in the right direction, you’ll be on you way in no time!