When some people hear about wellness or fitness, they instantly think of signing up for a daily exercise program at a local gym. They see themselves sweating every morning, and still paying the gym management for it.
To another class of people, fitness and staying healthy means eating quite expensive dishes regularly. In short, being healthy is a reserve of the well-to-do.
However, let’s debunk this stereotypical mindset that you have to be wealthy to be wholly healthy because it is not accurate. As we are going to find out, you need to spend more to be unhealthy than to be physically fit.
So the following are the pocket-friendly ways you can stay super healthy without the need to break a bank:
Table of Contents
Grow or Buy Local Produce
It would be best if you made it a habit to eat food in its natural form, that is, before it undergoes processing. The more food is processed, the more it loses its nutritional value and takes up harmful components. During food processing, its natural composition is manipulated and what comes out is not quite the food you need to be healthy in the long run.
Therefore, if possible, eat fresh grass-fed beef and avoid canned meat. Whole, boiled milk is healthier than pasteurized milk. The same applies to refined sugar, candies, sifted maize flour, tomato sauce, spaghetti, bottled fruit juice, burgers, etc. They are all more expensive and less healthy compared to their unprocessed, straight-from-the -farm counterparts.
Eat Fresh Food
You should prefer fresh food over the ones laden with preservatives to last long. Even the local produce you buy should be fresh. For instance, the more a vegetable stays at the grocery, the more it loses its nutritional value. Vegetables should be eaten when still dark green, not yellowish and pale.
You can get fresh vegetable produce from local markets near you. Make it a habit to shop weekly for fresh foodstuffs like bananas, carrots, apples, potatoes, mangoes, cabbages, oranges, green peppers, etc. Where possible, buy in bulk to pay less.
If you have a space in the city or upcountry, grow your little garden of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. You can also rear some local chickens for their uncontaminated eggs or meat. Commercial farmers apply harmful pesticides to realize big, quick yields, so it is best to have your little farm somewhere.
Again, working on your farm could help you stay physically fit.
More Vegetables, Less Meat
Meat might be tastier than avocado or beans, but your body s better off with as little meat as possible. On the other hand, meat is costly, so consuming vegetables favor you if you are on a budget.
You might as well opt to be a vegetarian, but ensure you take in lots of legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruits to make up for the meat protein.
Exercise Regularly
You can register your membership at local gymnasiums if you cannot exercise at home. You can also engage a physiotherapist to customize a series of routine exercises that suit you.
A physiotherapist goes beyond the physical gym exercises to mind-oriented exercises. A regular visit to a physiotherapy clinic can help detect or avert lifestyle or old-age diseases such as diabetes, cancer, depression, stroke, arthritis, among others.
Conclusion
As you have seen, wellness on a budget is much easier to achieve than you think. It requires planning and one or two little sacrifices here and there, but the efforts are rewarding in the end.