Is the lack of moolah keeping you from being fit? With high rent rates, fuel prices and long hours at the office, keeping fit is definitely a challenge today for most of us working women, especially if you are fresh out of college or only now beginning to climb the corporate ladder. Here are some easy tips to stay healthy and fit even on a shoestring budget.
1. Don’t lose out on fitness just because you can’t afford to pay for a gym membership. Work those desk-cramped muscles out by going for a walk or a run coupled with a few yogasanas that you can pick up from TV programmes, articles or online videos.
2. You can even sign up for yoga classes which cost lesser than gym memberships. In two to three months time, once you have got the hang of the exercises, you can do them yourself at home.
3. Try to eat home-cooked meals mostly. Eating out not only fills out your love handles in a dangerously quick manner, it also empties your wallet just as quick.
4. Unless you have chronic or serious ailments, you can avoid the fees of a dietitian. With so many free health apps available today, you can easily find one suitable to your requirements.
5. Eating organic these days has become quite a fad and is also synonymous with healthy eating. But since organic food is so expensive, you would be better off going a bit native. Reduce your consumption of wheat and rice and opt for millets like bajra, jowar and ragi. Not only are these inexpensive and way healthier than rice – organic or otherwise, they are low in pesticide content too because they are not commercially in demand.
6. You don’t have to go in for fancy stuff like tofu, soy milk, muesli, oats and quinoa. You can substitute the expensive proteins like tofu with eggs and curd, which contain other nutrients too. Muesli and oats can be replaced by either sattu or wheat porridge, which are also high in fibre and have a low glycemic index.
7. Reduce food wastage. It goes a long way in saving money. Freeze your greens and other vegetables, which are likely to rot quickly.
8. Herbs like coriander, pudina, palak and methi are expensive and have a low shelf life. Instead try growing them in mud pots on your kitchen window sill. Not only does it brighten up your cooking area, it also gives you fresh pesticide-free greens.
9. Don’t buy expensive exercise videos. There are hundreds of such videos available for free online or you can even borrow from a friend. Alternatively avoid buying expensive fitness magazines. You can get the same information online for free. The Internet is your friend and trainer.
10. It’s cheaper to go vegetarian, or else you can just reduce your consumption of meat to weekends. Buy fresh meat in small portions.
11. Olive oil, although recommended for diets because of its high percentage of good fats like omega and poly unsaturated fatty acids, is rather expensive. Instead just go in for a reduced consumption of your regular refined oil. And all refined oils have zero cholesterol and 100% fat, including olive oil. To include good fats in your diet, just top this with a teaspoon of ground flax seed powder everyday. Whole flax seeds are relatively inexpensive and last long when refrigerated.
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