Healthy Lifestyle Habits To Make You Feel And Look Great
Are you looking to lead a much healthier, happier and better lifestyle?
Well then it’s time to change that daily routine!
In order to be healthy, most doctors will tell you that you need to eat right, get plenty of exercise, and get enough sleep each night. These three things seem obvious, but they’re easy to ignore when they’re not part of your daily routine.
That’s why it’s so important to have healthy lifestyle habits—habits that naturally push you toward being healthier every day.
In this article, we’ll examine the healthy lifestyle habits of fit and healthy people who live happier, more fulfilling lives because of it.
There are a lot of healthy habits out there, but what separates the fit from the flabby? You’ll be surprised to find out that it isn’t the obvious factors like eating lots of vegetables and hitting the gym five times per week.
In fact, there are some surprising habits that contribute to being healthy without you even realizing it.
A healthy lifestyle starts with making habits that stick with you long-term.
In order to do this, it’s important to choose the right habits to stick with—habits that will have the biggest impact on your health and happiness without being so difficult or time-consuming that you can’t keep them up in the long term.
The healthiest and fittest people on earth all share common healthy habits that help them maintain their health year-round.
These habits ensure that they’re able to stay active and energetic, as well as helping them avoid injury and illness as much as possible.
If you’re looking to live a healthier lifestyle, here are the best healthy lifestyle habits of fit people that you can do today to improve your own fitness and wellness, whether or not you’re looking to become the fittest person on earth.
Healthy Lifestyle Habits To Fit Into Your Lifestyle
It is important to choose habits that you believe you will be able to stick with. It’s no good setting yourself up for failure by selecting habits you know you will not be able to stick with long-term.
Eat A Breakfast Packed With Protein
If you eat breakfast, then I am sorry to say it is time to throw away them high sugar cereals and begin to put some healthy proteins into your body first thing in the morning.
Most people never take in any protein with their breakfast, but it is actually really beneficial to do so.
Here are a few of the benefits of eating protein for breakfast:
- It fills you up, meaning you won’t be as hungry throughout the day – which can lead to helping with weight loss.
- Provides your body with vitamins and minerals.
- It can help burn fat cells
Now just because I suggest you eat a breakfast high in protein, that doesn’t mean to eat eggs and bacon each morning.
There are many different foods that are high in protein which would make for a healthy breakfast.
Foods such as overnight oats, plain greek yogurt, nuts and seeds, eggs and so on…are all great and healthy substitutes for cereals.
If you are someone who doesn’t have much time in the morning, then there are many different high protein smoothies which can be made in no time and are perfect for people on the move.
Drink Plenty of Water
Have you ever noticed that healthy people always seem to carry a water bottle with them?
It’s not just for show—it’s because water is one of their most important habits.
When we’re dehydrated, it has an adverse effect on our ability to perform even routine tasks.
According to experts, staying hydrated is crucial if you want to live a healthy lifestyle.
Drinking water isn’t just about flushing out toxins, it can also keep you feeling full—and you could even lose weight.
Studies have shown that being well-hydrated can suppress your appetite, so try carrying a water bottle with you throughout your day to stay hydrated and avoid unnecessary snacking.
Another study in Nutrition Journal found that people who drank two cups of water before eating every meal lost more than 10 pounds over three months.
Exercise For 30 Minutes Every Day
People with healthy lifestyles know the importance of daily exercise and no I don’t mean the gym.
Researchers have shown that if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you need to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.
Most people tend to avoid exercising because they feel they don’t have enough time for it or their schedule simply doesn’t allow them to find 30 minutes in a day for exercising. However, with some planning and strategic changes in your daily routine, you can easily fit in 30 minutes of workout every day.
You should keep track of your progress by setting specific goals for yourself each week for a challenge. For example, you could decide to walk 3 miles on weekdays during the afternoon while listening to music through earphones.
This way you will be able to achieve your fitness goals as well as multitask while listening your favourite music playlist.
It is also recommended that you choose an activity which is fun so that it keeps boredom away while keeping yourself active throughout the day.
Exercise doesn’t have to be about burning calories or spending money on expensive gym memberships.
It’s about movement and having fun which is great for your mental health.
Some other easy yet effective exercises are jogging outdoors, walking instead of taking car ride whenever possible, riding your bike around town, walking the dog etc..
Get Plenty Of Sleep
Sleep is crucial to good health. It helps your body repair damaged cells, reduce inflammation and burn fat.
A rested body works best. Getting enough sleep is so important, in fact, that a lack of sleep can be just as bad for your health as smoking.
We’ve probably all heard at one point or another that we need to get a good night’s sleep every single night. It turns out that staying up late and sleeping in is not only bad for your health, but can actually affect your waistline as well.
Getting plenty of quality sleep will help you maintain energy levels and boost your mood throughout the day—both essential components of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re struggling with insomnia or other sleep issues, make sure you talk to your doctor about ways to get more restful shuteye.
Walk More
Walking is a very underrated form of exercise yet it is a truly effective way to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Depending on your situation, you should aim to walk as often as possible.
Whether it is walking the dog for an extra 10-20 minutes a day or walking to the local shop instead of driving, there are many ways to increase the amount of walking you do.
Your aim should be to walk an extra mile a day if you can and try to build that up to 2 miles over-time.
I know public transport and vehicles make everything convenient and quicker, but if you could get into the habit of walking more, you will really benefit from it.
Benefits of Walking:
- Increased cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness.
- Reduces the risk of heart disease.
- Improves mental health.
- Help relief stress.
- Improved management of diabetes, high blood pressure, muscular and joint pain and high cholesterol
- Stronger bones and improved balance.
Exercise All Year
I have already touched on exercising but this habit is more about consistency.
A very healthy habit is exercising all year round, not just for a few months here and there.
During the summer months more people begin exercising for all sorts of different reasons, yet when winter falls upon us, many people stop for a few months, until the weather warms up.
Don’t let yourself fall into this trap.
Keep pursuing your fitness and exercising goals all year round, not just during the spring and summer months.
Even if you are on vacation with family or friends, try to find just 20 or 30 minutes in the morning to go for that walk, or to do that bodyweight workout.
Consistency is very important and is what will help you change your lifestyle.
Don’t Purely Focus On Weight Loss
I have touched on the reason why most people fail to lose weight already, but I strongly believe this needs more being said.
If your goal is to lose weight, focus on a healthier lifestyle and not the scales.
Sure, if you focussed on losing weight, you could lose a few pounds within a couple weeks but unfortunately most people end up putting that weight back on a few weeks after losing it.
Why?
Well because they either give up on their weight loss goal or they feel they got rid of the weight they wanted so they can eat normally again.
Focusing on a healthy lifestyle and not the scales, you can save yourself from this trap.
By implementing a healthier lifestyle, chances are you’ll naturally lose weight and by living a healthy lifestyle, it will be more sustainable for you in the future.
Home Cooking Always Wins!
Cooking at home is a really great healthy habit that everyone should do and when I say home cooking, I don’t mean a microwave meal or putting some frozen fries in the oven.
I mean proper home cooking, where you cook meals from scratch.
When cooking meals from scratch you generally cook a meal that is nutritious!
Even when you go to a restaurant and order a salad, it is usually partnered with a few drinks and a high calorie desert.
My partner and myself usually cook from scratch 7 days a week for our family, we occasionally treat ourselves to a pizza or Chinese.
The reason we love the habit of cooking at home is because we have full control over what we and our children eat.
The meals we cook are not expensive and it doesn’t take us a long time.
I understand that ordering a takeaway is easier and more convenient, especially if you live a busy life but if you wish to live a healthier lifestyle then you need to cut down on them i’m afraid.
Make Your Healthy Lifestyle Permanent
It is important to understand there is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to forming healthy lifestyle habits. Healthy habits are achieved and maintained through consistency. Every person who lives a healthy lifestyle will tell you the same.
When you are having a good day, living a healthy lifestyle is easy, but when you have bad days it can be a lot tougher to be consistent but you need to realise, it is the bad days which will help you change your lifestyle in a positive way.
There is a greater sense of achievement by being successful on days which are tough, therefore if you can live a healthy lifestyle during bad days, you’ll have no problem in making these changes permanent.
If you see 4 or 5 lifestyle changes you want to make from our article, don’t go crashing into it and start all 4 or 5 straight away.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Start one change and slowly introduce more when you feel confident to do so.
The reason why many people give up on their weight loss journey is because they introduce too much too quick and quickly start to feel over-whelmed and give up.
I don’t want you to feel over-whelmed and give up on living a healthier lifestyle, I want you to succeed and live a better, happier life. Therefore, start small and slowly build up, that way you can make these healthy habits into a lifestyle successfully.
Conclusion:
Well these are my best healthy lifestyle habits that I believe you should introduce in your lifestyle. I know that fitting all of them in is not possible at the start. It is for that reason that I suggest you start with one and overtime begin to implement more.
Slow and steady wins the race and I don’t want you to feel over-whelmed. Set yourself up for success rather than failure.
As you begin one of these habits and you notice your lifestyle is becoming a little more healthier, you’ll naturally begin wanting to do more, so start small and improve your lifestyle!
I wish you all the best in your healthy lifestyle journey!