How to Live with Less and Eat Less

Today, it’s all about how to live with less and eat less. Did you know that living with less stuff is more rewarding than having a house full of stuff? It’s true. Minimalists find that the less they own frees them from extra stress while keeping more money in their wallets.

Even in their diets, they use the same habits to live better. It’s been discovered that eating less might slow down the aging process, allowing you to live longer while being healthier. Here are a few ways to live and eat less with a minimalist approach. 

How to Live with Less and Eat Less

Quality over Quantity

Living with a minimalist approach will allow you to value quality over quantity. It’s about making the best of what you have instead of buying more things to try and make life more enjoyable.

This might require a total transformation in your thinking process. Having extra toys will be fun for a short time, but the emptiness will still be there after the monthly payments need to be made on them.   

Thinking Before You Make a Purchase

When you purchase, you must ask yourself, “Is this a want or a need?” There’s nothing wrong with buying a “want” occasionally, but you must pay close attention to how often this happens.

Minimalists stick to their needs and avoid making those pointless transactions in an effort to make themselves happy. 

It’s Declutter Time

One of the first and most challenging steps to living with less is kicking to the curb “stuff” that isn’t needed anymore. Decluttering your home can be stressful, especially if you have a lot of stuff. Yet, this step is vital if you want a healthier you and less cluttered home. 

Take baby steps by decluttering one room at a time and get rid of trash and things you don’t plan to use in the future. If it’s something you may use one more time, consider if you could borrow it from someone instead when it’s time to declutter your children’s toys; use some caution so the child won’t wig out at the loss of a possible favorite. 

Get Rid of Clothing

Take a look at your closet space. You could probably empty at least a quarter of your clothing that you can no longer fit or maybe have no interest in wearing again because it’s out of style or showing some wear.

Why are you holding onto it? Toss it out. Goodwill, Deseret Industries, and the Salvation Army are great places to donate your clothing; they’re doing you a huge favor. 

Unnecessary Decorations

You might not notice it, but sometimes decorations and ornaments are distracting. Do you have too many decorations or pictures hanging on your walls? Maybe even decorations sitting on coffee tables or other furniture?

If you want a minimalist approach, it might be time to toss it out. Having fewer decorations means less clutter and makes your home look bigger and cleaner. Be sure to include a review of the holiday decorations that have been stacking up in the attic, basement, or garage.

Removing Furniture

After decluttering your home, do you have too much furniture now? There’s an easy solution. Put it at the end of your driveway with a “Free” sign and watch how quickly it gets picked up.

I’m not telling you to get rid of your great-grandmother’s antique hutch passed down through the family, just extra furniture that no longer serves the original purpose. 

Less Monthly Payments

The fewer big purchases you make now will keep you from paying more monthly to clear up the debt. This saves a lot of stress on marriages and keeps there from being more months at the end of the money. 

Keto Diet

Many minimalists choose to have their diet shaped around the keto diet. This diet helps you burn more fat by avoiding foods with carbs while eating more fatty foods.

They eat more protein, such as nuts, meats, cheeses, and low-carb vegetables. Sadly, this means many of your favorite snacks and bread are out of the picture. 

Intermittent Fasting 

Another great way to watch your food intake is by intermittent fasting. Several different types of fasting work, depending on the individual and their lifestyle and health.

Fasting helps close the window on the amount of time you can eat during the day. A common one is not eating after 8 p.m. and only drinking water until noon. 

You still need to be careful because gorging after that window defeats the whole purpose of eating with less time in the day. Plus, you are working at watching your calorie intake.   

Drink More Water Before Meals

We’ve been told we don’t drink enough water during the day, so here’s a great time to start. Drinking more water right before a meal will fill you up quicker and keep you from eating as much. 

Use Blue Plates

Think blue! Studies have proven that eating meals on blue plates actually suppresses hunger more than eating on any other colored plate.

It seems silly, but hey, if you struggle with overeating already, this might help you more than you would think. See how easily our brains can be manipulated to misbelieve?  

Simplify your Meal Diet Menu with Less Ingredients

What do I mean by this? Take a look at your breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Are there any common ingredients? Omelets use certain ingredients like eggs and ham.

You could use that same ham for lunch to make a ham sandwich. Maybe dinner could consist of Asian stir fry that uses eggs and onions. Hey, that’s more of the ingredients that you already have. How about that! 

Make a game plan before heading to the store and stick to these items. Instead of throwing food and junk into the cart, you don’t need to meet the menu requirements. This will keep you stay within your food budget with fewer throwouts, too. Keep your diet menu simple. 

Final Word

Here are ways to live and eat with less. What areas do you need to work on to transition to this lifestyle? If you’ve already become a minimalist, tell us about your successes and challenges while living with less. 

Copyright Images: Blue Plate AdobeStock_200721815 by Ansyvan