Let’s face it, for many of us winter can be a long and challenging season. It is dark in the morning, and dark when you get off work. The weather is too cold, windy, or icy to spend an enjoyable time outside, and there is not much to look forward to after the holidays. Here are 11 tips for staying healthy during winter without busting your budget.
What does does “healthy” mean?
Being healthy can mean a wide variety of things to each person relating to your body, mental state, fitness, or emotions. Websters defines healthy as “ Possessing or enjoying good health”.
For each person, their definition of healthy will look different based on their needs, personality, and situation. Taking time to know yourself and your needs will be impactful in finding the right balance of health for you.
If you are an introvert, then ensuring quality cozy time at home will be vital for your own health. If you are an extrovert, then ensure that you have regular social activities planned with people who give you energy. Knowing yourself helps you to plan the activities that will provide you with the best benefits for you.
Health doesn’t have to be expensive
Staying healthy and participating in healthy activities doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In each tip shared below, I also include tips on how to save money. Be creative in how you do these activities and look for free options or ways you can use things you already own. Remember, even saving small amounts of money can add up in big ways over time!
11 Tips for Staying Healthy During the Winter
Stay active
Fitness provides multiple benefits to help you stay healthy during the winter. Physical activity provides a boost of happy chemicals for your brain, it can be a positive social activity and gives you a feel-good boost that can last an entire day. Going to the gym can be a good option when the weather is too bad for outdoor exercise. At-home workouts available on Youtube can give a huge variety of workouts at no cost.
Find activities that feel special to do
There are some unique activities that can only happen in the wintertime due to weather or seasonal restrictions. Take advantage of the season to do activities like skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing hot chocolate bar, sledding, or playing in the snow. Many of these activities require specialized equipment, ask around in your friend circle if there are any you can borrow and try out before spending money to buy.
Stay hydrated
Drink plenty of water on a daily basis! Water is essential to your health and your body’s critical functions. Ensuring you are staying hydrated will help you have the energy to tackle life during the long winter. Treat yourself to this budget-friendly water bottle to ensure you are meeting your hydration goals each day.
Stay connected with people
Stay connected with people who matter in your life either in person or via phone/video calls. Connection with caring people is essential for your overall mental health. The connection with others doesn’t need to cost money. Phone calls are free these days, and even meeting in person can easily be free or very low cost.
Eat a variety of fruits and veggies
Having a variety of colorful fruits and veggies gives you a wide range of nutrients and provides some excitement to your diet. Many traditional “winter” meals are often meat and potato-type comfort food. Adding some fun meals with a variety of ingredients can bring some spice to your meals. Try these unique fruits and veggies that can be found at your local grocery store:
- Purple cabbage
- Butternut squash
- Red/Orange/Yellow peppers
- Citrus in all forms
- Red/Yellow Onions
- Pears
- Purple or red potatoes
- Spices like Tumeric or Curry
Intentionally seek out some fun activities to look forward to
After the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, January and February don’t have much to look forward to until Spring and Easter arrive. Those can be long and boring months with nothing to look forward to. Create things to look forward to. Plan a special dinner at a restaurant you are dying to try, get out of town for a long weekend, visit a tourist location in your city and play tourist for the day. Look for something different to break up the monotony of the daily routine. To keep costs down, look for low-budget activities and pack a picnic lunch to take with you.
Keep your skin moisturized
Winter brings cold and dry air with it. This dry air sucks the moisture from your skin which makes it feel and look dry. This can lead to tightness and skin cracking which is probably not the look or feel you want! Buy some lotion that smells fabulous (I prefer something that reminds me of a tropical beach!) and use it daily as part of your morning or evening routine.
Reduce stress by setting boundaries and leaving some margin in your life
Give yourself a break by scheduling some margin in your life so you are not run-ragged. Chronic stress, rushing, and living in a depleted state will mean you are more susceptible to illness. Take this opportunity to practice setting boundaries, saying no, and giving yourself plenty of downtime to rest so that your body can be strong to fight any illnesses that are so common in the winter.
Practice a little self-care
Self-Care comes in many shapes and forms which are perfect for the wintertime. Make a list of activities that rest and restore your spirit and make plans to do some of them. If you need some ideas or inspiration, here are 75 Self-Care ideas to get you started. Bonus, many of them are free!
Talk to your doctor about vitamins or nutritional supplements
Staying inside during the winter and eating a diet that is less diverse can lead to possible deficits in some vitamins and minerals in your body. Talk to your doctor about your current lifestyle and diet, have them run tests, and determine if extra supplements would be beneficial for you.
Sleep more
Sleep is the ultimate winter activity! Long cold nights just beg for a warm and cozy bed to spend some quality time in! Be intentional about going to bed on time so you get a full 8-9 hours of sleep a night. If your bed is not as cozy as you would like, make a few budget-friendly upgrades by buying a new pillow or cozy blanket.
There you have it! 11 great tips for staying healthy during winter even if you are on a budget! What tip are you going to try first? I would love to hear your best tips and tricks for staying healthy during winter in the comments below or over on our Instagram page!
Great post and great tips! I also LOVE your slogan about life being like folding a fitted sheet 😂😂 so freakin true
Winter is a lazy, cold season, making it challenging to stay healthy. I believe we spend the majority of our time on the couch. Thank you for the helpful tips and reminders to be a little active. 😉
Sometimes cozying up on the couch can be good, but you need some activity to balance it out! Thanks for the comment and I hope you can stay healthy in all areas of your life this winter!
Love this! Winter is always a healthy eating struggle for me but I am doing much better this year. Great tips!
Healthy eating is a struggle for me especially when I just want a warm and cozy meal each night! Adding fresh fruits and veggies at lunch has helped me a lot! Good luck with your changes this year!
big believer in self care! love this post
This is a fantastic post! I always struggle with fruit and veggies during the winter. I get bored of the same ole in season produce. I do have the sleep more part down pat though hahaha
Fresh fruits and veggies are tough for me in the winter too. I have found adding fresh produce to my lunches is easier for me to eat it rather than adding it to dinner for some unknown reason. I have no idea why, but it works for me! Good luck with finding some produce to add into more meals!
Agree when you say it doesnt have to be expensive, these are doable tips for our health
It’s so difficult to stay healthy in winter. Especially when all I want to do is get cozy, watch Netflix and drink hot chocolate! But I always think if I can persist and be healthy through winter, it’ll be even easier when the warmer months hit us!
I enjoyed reading your list. I’m trying to focus on staying connected to family and friends, especially since we’re in another lockdown here. Not easy. But we meet to go out skiing, hiking and walking outdoors, which is nice. Thanks for sharing.
That is a great priority given the current situation in many areas of the world. I am much more comfortable with seeing people outdoors than inside right now too. You can do it!
I appreciate how your staying healthy in the winter tips do not cost a lot of money. Here in Australia where I live the winters are not that cold but they do sometimes seem long. We do find in our household that we do tend to sleep a little longer. Lately, our focus has been to try and stay healthy and eat healthy especially due to the long lockdowns we have been having during times of coronavirus.
Yes! There are a lot of free options or using things you already have that can be great self-care for the winter. Coronavirus has made this winter in the North extra difficult because we cant/shouldn’t do things in indoor locations and it is too cold to do things outdoors, so that pretty much just leaves being with yourself or a couple close people.
It’s certainly harder for many to stay healthy in the winter, especially staying active. I know I’m one of those people. I love spending time outside, but it’s very difficult to do in the extreme cold of winter. However, I do try to get out for a walk whenever it’s nice enough out, and of course, shoveling snow is good exercise. I don’t tend to eat a ton of fresh fruit and veg in the winter, usually too expensive, but I do get to enjoy all the garden veggies I grow and preserved during these colder months.
I totally agree! Living in a colder northern region, there is only so much time outside before my nose and fingers freeze even wearing gloves! But I find even 5 minutes walking the long way to the mail box can feel good and give me energy on a long day. Thanks for the comments and we are definitely on the downhill slide of winter! We can make it to spring!
Staying healthy during winter is so important. I have to keep my skin moisturized and I also believe in getting in a nap or two. 🙂