Did I get your attention? Good. What are you investing in right now? A home? Good. You'll need that. Expensive clothes? A fancy car? A gym membership you never use? Not good. These investments will not pay off. Let me tell you about an investment that WILL pay off.

YOU. YOUR HEALTH. YOUR ETERNAL HAPPINESS. This is the best investment you can possibly make! I bet once you invest in yourself and become truly happy from the inside out, you're not going to need clothes or a fancy care to make you happy. These shiny objects are directed towards us to cover up the fact that was are deeply unhappy. I'm not saying you're deeply unhappy but I do want you to take a look at yourself and where you spend your money. I bet you 10 high fives you spend most of your money on random crap on Amazon... amiright? So how much do you REALLY invest in your spirituality? Your happiness? Your health? Your-SELF?

There are a myriad of excuses I hear from people about why they can’t (or decide not to) adopt a healthy lifestyle. Examples of excuses I hear for not living a healthy lifestyle:

• “I don’t have time to cook / grocery shop / work out.”

• “I don’t know how to cook.”

• “I don’t know what foods are healthy for me with all the conflicting information and social media.”  

• “My friends/family aren’t good influences and aren’t into being healthy”

Sound familiar? I’m going to educate you in this article, so you no longer can use these excuses and why it will pay off in so many ways to invest in yourself and your health today.

You might think you are initially spending a little more time, money, energy, and resources to invest in your health now, however, by truly giving yourself the self-care you need, it will greatly pay off in soooo many ways down the road.

Investing in yourself will affect your productivity and quality of living. You will have:

• More energy

• More strength

• Greater ability to concentrate

• Greatly reduce the risk for health problems - Arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc.

• If you invest in yourself now, you will take the burden off of your friends, family, loved ones. When we get sick, so do our loved ones.

Let's break down the top excuses on why you might not be investing in yourself. I'll give you actionable solutions so you can become the happiest, healthiest version of yourself.
 

#1... “I don’t have time to cook.”

• Food prep every 3 days - cook in bulk. After 72 hours leftover food has very little prana or energy so try to schedule in 2 cooking days per week.

• Schedule time in your schedule to go grocery shopping, cook, etc and stick to it! 

• Make a grocery list.

• Use the same staple foods for multiple meals For example, brown rice: day 1 breakfast can be brown rice porridge, day 2 lunch can be steamed veggies over brown rice, day 3 dinner throw the leftover veggies and rice in a satay pan and make fried rice. This way you're using your main ingredient in many ways but not eating it for every meal every day. I also love roasting a ton of veggies and swapping out dressings each day to spruce up my grain bowls or salads. I usually buy fish fresh the day of of day before I cook it on my way home from work and add that in as my protein.

• Keep cooking simple. Complicated doesn't necessarily meal taster. Lately I've been making a tahini and lemon dressing for my arugula and topping it with broiled salmon. It takes 10 minutes to make... and even less to eat :X

• Make smoothies and juices for breakfast - very time efficient and you can take them on the go. You can prepack your smoothie cup with all the ingredients and store it in the freezer/fridge. In the AM throw it in your blender, add liquid and boom - you've got breakfast.

• Find an accountability partner to make sure you invest the time in yourself - a friend, family member, or health coach. Even health coaches have accountability partners!

• Invest in a cooking class, meal plan, kitchen overhaul or one-on-one coaching session with me by clicking here.
   

#2... “I don’t know how to cook.”

• Try one of my many recipes here. They're all really simple and delicious!

• I can create a custom meal plan for you and your family and/or come teach you how to cook. Book a complimentary session here to find out which path is right for you.

• Some of my favorite recipe developers to follow are RachLMansfield, Minimalist Baker and Love and Lemons. Check out their blogs and Instagram profiles for daily inspiration.

• My meal plan/recipe book is in the works! Stay tuned ;)

#3... “I don’t know what foods are healthy for me with all the conflicting information and social media.”

• Follow me on Instagram to stay up to date with the latest health news and get inspiration from what I cook for myself. I've gone down the food trend/dieting ways and have sifted through the crap to give you direct, legit information on healthy living.

• If you are in need of a kitchen makeover or a private grocery shopping lesson you can book a complimentary call with me to find which is right for you here.
   

#4... “My friends/family aren’t good influences and aren’t into being healthy”

• It's extremely important to surround yourself with good company. Did you know you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with? My lifestyle has dramatically changed since my past days of partying and staying out late. I found that befriending people at my yoga studio and meeting friends for tea, juice, and lunch has helped me with the transition.

• Sometimes you have to make new friends to support you, your health, and your goals.

• Go to events focused on a healthy activity (yoga class, workshops, meditation class, run group, fitness event, intramural sports league) and meet new like-minded people who will better support you.

• Check out my upcoming events here!
   

Hopefully you can now understand why it's so important to invest in yourself and some easy, actionable ways to do so. If you have any questions/comments/concerns please leave a comment below or email me! XO

Having serious troubles with your finances? Hit up my good friend and money pro Dimitry at www.90daymoneypro.com. He helped me get my finances down pat and is a fricken gem.

Resources:
 https://hackingyourbudget.com/invest-in-your-health/https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/4-health-investments-that-wont-break-the-bank
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-21484/7-secrets-to-eating-healthy-when-youre-short-on-time-money.html
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14257/how-to-live-the-good-life-on-a-shoestring-budget.htm
https://foodbabe.com/how-to-eat-organic-on-a-budget/