10 Ways to Have a Healthier Weekend

A little breather from the hectic Monday to Friday schedule can be an amazing time to set the wheels in motion for continual progress from week to week.

Here are a few ideas for weekend wins and how to use this time productively, setting yourself up for an awesome, healthy week ahead!

1. Start with Some Meditation

Aim to start your weekend with a bit of zen. Instead of jumping out of bed and flicking on the TV, try to spend at least five minutes in meditation, write down five things to be grateful for, and opt for some nice music or an audiobook to listen to.

This does make a difference to your day!

Also read: Sleep Series Part 1: Can Sleep Influence Weight Loss?

2. Go For a Walk

There’s nothing better than an early morning stroll to kick off your weekend days. Fresh air and time to clear the head is a fantastic way to dust off anything from the previous week and hit your ‘restart’ button.

3. Plan Your Week Ahead

Assemble your lists containing your groceries needed for the week ahead, your workout schedule and anything else that you may need for a powerful week. Using local markets or bulk buying can be great for saving dollars, so jot down what and where you need to go, for a smooth shopping experience. Once done with planning, get to shopping in one quick sweep!

4. Tidy Up!

Clutter in your home is a recipe for a disorganised approach to your week. Keep everything clean and tidy and watch how much better you feel. Searching underneath clothes mountains for that ‘other sock’ is time wasting – and very frustrating!

5. Get Your Gym Gear Ready

Set out your entire week’s worth of exercise gear. Put aside your clothing for your workouts to prevent the laundry dramas from holding you back and pick out your garments for the rest of the time, to save the hassles of this on other days. You’d be amazed how much this helps for a streamlined morning!

Also read: Fast Food You Can Make In a Flash

6. Prep Your Meals

Do a big cook up using your carefully prepared lists from earlier. Freeze some, and box up others in containers. Try our 12WBT Spinach, Ricotta & Pumpkin Cannelloni. Keeping your different food groups separate, means that you can simply take out whatever you need for a particular dish and combine with other ingredients on hand. Chop up veggies for dinner in a flash and portion out your serves. Aim to prepare batches of snacks such as energy balls or bag some serves of nuts, etc. These are great for carrying with you and no excuses for ‘getting caught out’.

7. Make Monday’s Breakkie

Prepare Monday’s breakfast (like this 12WBT Breakfast Crumble with Cinnamon Yoghurt) so that you go to bed with everything being done and you can start your week off with a feeling of ‘ahhhh’. A sense of accomplishment on a Monday is a sensational way to continue this through the entire week.

8. Stretch

While you have a well deserved rest day on Sunday, stretch out those muscles. We often forget how valuable this time is while we recover, and how important staying supple is to keep tightness and niggles at bay.

9. Diarise

Plan, plan, plan! Are there any potential red flags on the horizon for the week and how will you deal with them? Making sure that you have a strategy in place for the potential hiccups is a winning formula to take them on without fuss.

Also read: 10 Meal Prep Tips For Busy Parents