Real Life Health Hacks For Busy People

We all have goals -- and we all have reasons why we're not achieving them. One of the biggest reasons people struggle to lose weight is because their lives are too hectic to properly focus on health.  There's no doubt that a full work schedule and busy life can make it difficult to find the time to hit the gym or cook a healthy meal at home. But if you often find yourself with too little time to commit to fitness goals, ask yourself: What are you willing to sacrifice each day to make your dreams a reality? What reasons or excuses do you have for not achieving the goals that you set?

Overcoming the challenges on the path to your ideal health may be easier than you think. To accomplish a lot, you may only have to take some small steps, which still fit perfectly with your full schedule. Whether changing lots of habits or revising minor details to alter your daily schedule, a little effort can go a long way for your health.

Eat Well On The Run

If you must eat on the run, pack your own food. Cut out the soda and sugary coffee, don't eat any greasy food, and get rid of sugars and chocolates. Instead, eat lots of protein, fruits and vegetables. Keep snacks like dried fruit or nuts around to grab on the go, rather than making a visit to that vending machine for the 3 p.m. pick-me-up.

Drink Water

If you are struggling with low energy, feeling tired or have dry skin, you may not be drinking enough water. Wake up and drink a glass of water. Keep a large bottle of water near your work space to encourage your drinking habits. End the night with a glass of water. The more water you drink, the healthier your body becomes and stronger your metabolism and immune system will be.

Exercise Everywhere

Your body always adjusts to its daily routine. This is why whether you walk around or sit at a desk for eight hours a day, it's important that you find time to exercise. If your busy schedule prevents you from going to the gym, you can mix small exercises into your day that will increase your heart rate and keep you active. Incorporate exercise into your daily routine as much as possible. Take 5-15 minutes to add a small workout each time. Here's one exercise you can do at your desk or in your room before bed without any required gear:

• Sit-ups - 20 reps
• Push-ups - 15 reps
• 15 twists (Sit with your legs in the air, put your hands together and twist to opposite sides of your body.)
• 15 side arm stretches (Balance with your hips in the air, supported on your forearm. Dip your body towards the ground without touching, then push back up. After 15 reps, switch sides.)

Keep Track Of Your Diet

Keeping track of your eating habits with a small journal or digital program can help you monitor you where your diet needs improvement, or give you reason to celebrate a day or week of healthy eating. It will also help you to know how many servings of each food group you've had, track calories and plan on what you can change to achieve healthier eating.

Get Inspired

Listen to family and friends. Learn from your mentor. Read about success stories. Sometimes, knowing you are not alone and hearing from other people who have suffered from the same issues makes it easier to achieve your goals. When we can relate to other people's struggles to create a more healthy lifestyle, we feel the courage to pursue what may have felt impossible. So relate to an individual, feel validated and then get on with pursuing your success.

Sleep

The importance of sleep is greater than we can imagine. Without sleep we don't think properly, we're over-emotional, feel sluggish, have short tempers and always think negatively. Lack of sleep causes weight gain and destroys the body's routine and metabolism. Do yourself and everyone else a favor. Get sleep! If you struggle with sleeping, make sure you are in bed at a set time, in a dark room. Also be sure to unplug not only mentally but physically and before bed — staring at screens before falling asleep can affect your sleep cycle.

Use Apps

There are plenty of apps out there that can be used to track your eating habits, your daily steps, and that offer different fast and easy exercise routines and more. Apps are made people on the go, and can be used in your day-to-day life to remind you of what you need to do to get healthy and help you stay on track to achieve your goals.

This article was written by Jennifer Straka of Examiner.com for CBS Local.