The lazy method of staying fit - easy framework you can begin now
By Shanon Safi, RD, LDN, CSSD — Registered Dietitian, Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics & Founder of Fuel the Fire
I'm recording this from a new spot this week — my meditation room. My partner officially moved in, and if I'm honest, I got a little self-conscious about him hearing me record in the office, so I found a new sacred little corner of the house to do this in.
If you don't have a space like that yet, a place your brain has learned to associate with relaxing and being in your own energy, I highly recommend creating one, even if it's just a corner of a room.
I'm telling you that because the topic that came to me today fits the energy perfectly: the lazy method of staying fit.
One of the questions I ask during every client assessment is what do you feel is blocking you from making healthy changes. And almost every single time, the answer comes back to time, effort, or just not liking what we've been told a "healthy lifestyle" is supposed to look like.
So today I'm giving you eight things you can start doing literally right now that do not require much effort at all, because our brains love to overcomplicate things. Overcomplicating gives us permission to not do it. Here's how to stop doing that.
Key #1: Stop Thinking You Have to Crush Your Soul in the Gym
I used to show up six days a week and go so hard every single time. I still love pushing myself, but it is not every session, and it does not need to be for you either.
Lift heavy, less frequently.
I lift weights three times a week now — one upper day, one lower day, one full body day, split however works for you. If three feels like too much right now, two is great too. As a former competitive athlete, fitness still matters deeply to me, but my life doesn't look the way it used to, and three sessions is plenty.
Stop reinventing the wheel every workout.
You do not need to constantly switch things up to "confuse your muscles." Do the same squat variation every time if you want. The only thing that actually matters is progressive overload — a little more weight, a few more reps, a little more time under tension, each time you go.
Don't sleep on steps and walking.
On the days I'm not lifting, I'm walking. Outside if I can, on a walking pad in front of a show if I can't (no shame — kill two birds with one stone). If an hour-long walk feels like a lot, do 30 minutes and stack three 10-minute walks elsewhere in your day. Doing the dishes, gardening, tidying the house — that all counts as movement too.
Yoga and somatic movement count.
Yoga is not just slow stretching — holding static positions is real work. And somatic exercises, even in 10-minute blocks, help shake out the stress and tension that gets stuck in your body.
Let yourself cry.
This is the one people don't expect on a fitness list, but your body stores emotion. Truly. Crying it out, punching a pillow, whatever gets a stuck feeling moving and out of your body — that counts as release, and release is part of feeling light, fit, and free.
Key #2: Stop Thinking Nutritious Meals Have to Take Forever
They don't. I have an entire cookbook built around prepping a full week of meals in under an hour.
Take the shortcuts.
Fresh fruit needs zero prep. Quick oats or 90-second microwave rice with minimal ingredients count as a real meal component. Grilling is one of the easiest ways to get a balanced plate with almost no cleanup — protein, potato, veggie, a drizzle of olive oil, done.
Buy things pre-prepared.
Pre-seasoned, canned, frozen, ready-to-toss-in-a-pan — none of that makes a meal less healthy. There's a story we've absorbed that quick and instant means bad, and it's simply not true.
Batch and freeze.
When I have a little extra time, I'll make something from scratch in a big batch and freeze it in portions I can pull out later — no cooking required on a busy week. It's the best of both: the meal I actually wanted to make, ready exactly when I need it without the effort in the moment.
Key #3: Do More in Less Time, So You Have More Time to Do Nothing
I grew up with the belief that my worth was tied to how busy and productive I was, and I am still actively unlearning that. One trick that helps: stacking.
On my work-from-home days, I'll have laundry running, fruit getting chopped, something cooking in the Instant Pot, eggs boiling on the stove, and a podcast playing, all at once.
It can feel like a lot, but you're compounding your results instead of dragging tasks out across your whole week. Save your single-task focus for the things that deserve it, and stack the mandatory, non-negotiable tasks so they take up less of your time and mental space overall.
Key #4: Say Yes to Less
You are probably doing things right now that you don't actually want to be doing, because saying no still feels uncomfortable. I said yes to everything for years because I never let myself consider that no was an option.
Your health has to be a top priority. If saying yes to something is costing you your health, physically, mentally, or spiritually, it is too expensive. Full stop.
Most of the fear around disappointing someone by saying no lives entirely in your head. Practice it. You will be okay, and you will get back so much time and energy for the things that actually matter to you.
Key #5: Hire a Coach
I'll be honest, this one is a bit of a self-plug, but it's also just true: hiring a coach has made things happen faster and more efficiently in nearly every area of my life.
I almost always have at least one coach right now. I once invested $25,000 in a single coaching package. My jaw hit the floor when I heard the price, and I have never once regretted it, because it came back to me multiplied.
An hour spent working through a strategy with someone who knows what they're doing saves you dozens of hours of trial and error later.
Do your due diligence, of course, watch someone's content, read reviews, ask for recommendations, but don't let the fear of the investment keep you stuck doing it alone when support is available.
Key #6: Have a Plan for the Week and Schedule It Out
I put everything on my calendar as an actual appointment, not just a mental to-do.
When something is floating around unscheduled in your mind, it takes up so much more of your energy than it needs to.
I do a brain dump every Monday: everything I need to do that week goes on the calendar as a fixed, sacred block.
It sounds like the opposite of "lazy," but having the structure is exactly what frees up the rest of your time to actually rest instead of low-grade worrying about what you haven't done yet. It even helps you sleep better, because you're not lying in bed running the list.
Key #7: Sleep More
This is the easiest one on the entire list. You quite literally do not have to do anything except close your eyes.
Quality sleep changes how much energy you have to get everything else done. Skip it, and everything feels harder and slower than it needs to. Prime lazy-girl (or lazy-guy) move: just sleep more.
Key #8: Swap a Current Hobby for Something Outdoors
Being outside regulates your nervous system, gets you natural vitamin D, and tends to move your body in ways you're not moving otherwise. It's a somatic release for whatever is stuck.
It does not need to be long. Pick the smallest dose you can confidently commit to, ten minutes standing outside, a short stretch in the backyard, a little time gardening or trimming hedges, and let it replace something you're already doing indoors. It's a net-zero swap that gives you so much back.
Why This Actually Works (The Dietitian Brain Take)
Here's the thread running through all eight of these: none of them ask you to white-knuckle your way through more effort. They ask you to work with your nervous system instead of against it.
Chronic overexertion, whether it's in the gym, your schedule, or your people-pleasing, keeps your body in a stress response that actually works against the fitness and health goals you're chasing.
Rest, boundaries, emotional release, and outdoor time aren't the "extra" pieces of a fitness plan. They are the plan.
This is exactly the intersection I live in with clients: clinical nutrition knowledge paired with nervous system and somatic work, because your body doesn't separate the two, so neither should your approach to health.
How to Actually Use This List
Don't try to implement all eight at once, that defeats the entire purpose of "lazy." Pick one. Just one.
Build it into your week for the next seven days before you add another.
Give yourself eight weeks and you will have worked through the whole framework, and you will genuinely feel like a different version of yourself by the end of it: fitter, calmer, more consistent, and a lot less exhausted from trying so hard.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
If reading this made you realize just how much unnecessary effort you've been putting into "getting healthy," that is exactly the work we do together inside Body and Soul Freedom, my coaching program for people ready to build a sustainable relationship with food, movement, and their body, without the burnout, the all-or-nothing rules, or the constant self-negotiation.
Not ready for a full program yet? Start smaller with the 4-Day Food Freedom Reset, my $27 mini-course built to help you simplify your relationship with food in just four days.
And if you want to talk it through with me first, I'm still offering a free 30-minute consultation, no strings attached. If any part of this list is hitting home, I'd grab a spot now.
Listen to the Full Episode
Want the full, unfiltered version of these eight keys, recorded live from my meditation room? Listen to the Fuel the Fire Podcast episode, "The Lazy Method of Staying Fit," wherever you get your podcasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the "lazy method" of staying fit?
It's a low-effort, sustainable approach to fitness and health that prioritizes consistency over intensity — think lifting three times a week instead of six, walking instead of forcing cardio you hate, and treating sleep, boundaries, and emotional release as legitimate parts of a fitness routine, not extras.
How many days a week should I actually work out?
Three days of strength training is plenty for most people, split as one upper day, one lower day, and one full body day (or two days if that's a better fit for your life right now). What matters more than frequency is progressive overload, doing a little more each time, whether that's more weight, more reps, or more time. Other days are great to do 30-60 minutes of cardio (like walking).
How do I make healthy eating less time-consuming?
Lean on shortcuts that don't sacrifice nutrition: fresh fruit, quick-cooking carbs like oats or microwave rice, grilled proteins and veggies, pre-prepared or frozen ingredients, and batch-cooked meals frozen in portions. None of that makes a meal less healthy.
Can emotional release actually count as exercise?
Yes. Your body stores emotion, and letting it move through you, crying, somatic exercises, even punching a pillow, releases physical tension the same way a workout would. It's an underrated and legitimate part of feeling fit and well.
Why does hiring a coach help you move faster?
A coach shortcuts the trial and error you'd otherwise spend months (or years) working through alone. As a registered dietitian, certified life coach, and somatic/EFT practitioner, I help clients build sustainable habits around food, movement, and nervous system regulation so the changes actually stick, without the burnout.
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Shanon Safi is a Registered Dietitian (RD, LDN), board-certified specialist in sports dietetics (CSSD), certified life coach, somatic and EFT practitioner, and founder of Fuel the Fire — where she helps women (and former athletes especially) find food, body, and soul freedom. Follow along on Instagram @fuelthe_fire or listen to the Fuel the Fire Podcast wherever you listen.
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