Committing to a higher level of lifestyle change, and towards better health, is an important commitment to yourself. It’s a decision you’re making for more health, more happiness, and a more fulfilling life. Everyone wants to have a healthy lifestyle, but sustainable health is not about making huge, drastic changes that don’t last. Sustainable health is about practicing small, positive daily habits consistently. When we introduce these daily habits into our lives consistently it builds momentum, small intentional actions begin to
magnify over time. We each have a physical, mental and emotional wellbeing; so together when we shift them all through a healthy lifestyle it can begin to have a real impact in our lives and overall wellbeing. A healthy lifestyle is not something that you can have overnight. Becoming healthier lifestyle is an ongoing process, and we learn, adapt, and choose behaviours that nourish, support, and encourage us from the inside-out along the way! It is a sustainable way to live, making decisions and choices every day towards a better everyday life. The small, often overlooked, daily habits we develop and do matter. This mind-set shift attempts to recognize that daily habits, no matter how small, contribute to our overall health. This article is organized to show you 30 healthy habits, divided into 8 sections, that can help you build a healthy lifestyle with improvement and motivation to stay energized and better your life. The habits you will learn about will cover all aspects of your everyday life from how you fuel your body and move, to stress management and mindfulness, and so much more. Prepare to discover actionable strategies and insightful perspectives that can empower you to make lasting changes, one habit at a time, paving the way for a brighter, healthier future.
Nourishing Your Body: Foundational Eating Habits
At the heart of any healthy way of life is how we fuel our bodies. The food we eat provides energy and essential nutrients for every bodily process, from cell repair to thinking. Learning and practicing some of the basic healthy eating habits can significantly improve your energy, mood and health in the long-run.
- Choose whole foods:Whenever possible, choose foods as close to their natural, unprocessed form as possible. This includes more fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, lean proteins (such as fish, poultry, beans, and lentils), whole grains (such as oats, quinoa, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread), and healthy fats (found in avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil). Whole food are nutrient-dense and very high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that will help keep your body functioning at its best and protect it from disease. Start small by ensuring that vegetables take up half your plate at every meal, and slowly reduce the processed foods in your diet that are typically packaged (snacks, sugary cereals, frozen, ready-made meals) and high in unhealthy fats, sugar, and sodium.
- Practice Portion Control: All foods – yes, even healthy foods – can promote weight gain if a large enough quantity is eaten! Knowing and practicing portion control is vital for managing your calorie intake and achieving a healthy weight. You can help your portion awareness by using smaller plates, bowls and glasses. Find out what a serving size is – for instance, a serving of meat is generally about the size of a deck of cards. Think about your feelings of hunger and fullness. Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you have had enough, not stuffed.
- Become Aware of Food Labels:Knowing how to read food labels allows you to be wise about what you are eating. Pay attention to serving size and calorie amount as well as the ingredient list. Watch out for hidden sugars (high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, or sucrose are just a few of the names), unhealthy trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) and excess sodium. Choose food with short ingredient lists made primarily of whole-food ingredients you would recognize. Conscious intake of food labels will also help you avoid misleading marketing tactics and ultimately help you select truly healthy foods.
Hydration and Mindful Consumption: Beyond Basic Meals
In addition to the foundation of our meals, what and how we drink, and a degree of awareness while we eat, are all important components that affect our overall health and wellness. These drinking habits support digestion, energy levels and a healthier relationship with food.
- Hydrate with Water Regularly:Water is important for human life because it is part of most bodily processes, including digestion, nutrient absorption, circulation, temperature regulation and waste elimination. Make sure to drink enough water during the day. A general recommendation is 8-10 8-ounce glasses (64-80 ounces or approx. 2-2.5 liters), but your personal need for water will vary depending on your physical activity, climate, and health. I also recommend putting a reusable water bottle in your bag as a reminder to drink water. If plain water doesn’t excite you, add lemon, cucumber, or berries to give it a natural flavor.
- Significantly Limit Sugary Drinks: Sodas, sweetened teas, fruit juices with added sugar, and specialty coffee drinks are all things that typically have a considerable amount of empty calories and sugar. These drinks can lead to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, dental disease, and other health problems, so it is helpful for your health to limit these kinds of drinks. You should actively try to do this. Drink water, herbal tea, or black coffee. If you are drinking sugary drinks regularly, try reducing your consumption slowly as transitional phase.
- Avoid Eating Mindlessly and Eating without Distractions: Mindful eating is the practice of engaging in self-awareness while eating – noticing the taste, feel, and smell of your food, and also noting hunger and satiety cues from your body. Do not eat with the television on, while using your computer, or while scrolling through your phone. Eating while distracted often leads to overeating, because you were not aware of how much you were eating, and did not know when you were full. Sit down at a table to eat, take small bites of food, chew your food well and appreciate every mouthful of food. These behavioral changes can lead to better digestion, increased satisfaction with smaller portions of food and prevention of overeating.
- Enrich Your Diet With More Fruits And Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are food superstars – they are filled with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Aim to consume ~ 5 servings of fruits and vegetables cooked and fresh, each day, and include a variety of color. Get them into advanced meal plans in every meal and snack. Add berries or sliced banana on your breakfast cereal or yogurt. Serve a side salad, or steamed vegetables with lunch and dinner. Snack on peaches, apples, oranges, carrot sticks, bananas and grapes. Fruits and vegetables are usually low in calories and high in nutrients – a great option for weight management and disease prevention.
Movement as a Way of Life: Integrating Physical Activity
Physical activity is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle and will offer many benefits for your physical and mental health, including better cardiovascular health, stronger muscles and bones, weight control, reduction of stress, and better moods.
When deciding to be more physical, be sure to:
- Schedule Exercise Sessions: Schedule your exercise sessions like important appointments and add them to your calendar. To benefit from aerobic exercise, adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity (e.g. brisk walking, biking, swimming) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise (e.g. running or high-intensity interval training – HIIT), plus muscle strengthening exercises on two days or more a week. Remember: Consistency is more important than intensity, especially when you’re just starting.
- Choose an Activity That You Enjoy: Research shows that the best strategy for maintaining an exercise program is to pick activities that you like and enjoy doing. If you dread your workouts, then it’s going to be very difficult to continue exercising over the long haul. There are tons of choices out there now – dance, hike, team sports, martial arts, yoga, Pilates, rock climbing, or even active gardening. When you do something that’s fun, exercising feels less like a chore and more like something you would do for fun, or as a breather.
- Add More Movement to Your Everyday Life: Beyond structured exercise, try to be more active in your everyday life. Whenever possible, choose to walk or bike for short errands instead of driving, and take the stairs instead of the escalator and elevator. You can also park further from your destination so you can get some extra steps in. If you have a job that requires being sedentary, try to get up and move (even just do some light stretching) every 30-60 minutes, moving around at work or even at home. These short bursts of activity on a routine basis can add up significantly to your total fitness.
- Stretching for flexibility, and to avoid injury:Stretching is a great way to maintain flexibility, range of motion, and posture, and can help to reduce the risk of injury and muscle soreness. Try to fit stretching into your daily routine, especially after workouts when your muscles are warm. Stretch all your major muscle groups while focusing on the major joint movements, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds and stretching without bouncing. You might want to consider participating in activities such as Tai Chi or Yoga that provide stretching along with other movements and mindfulness.
Prioritizing Rest: The Power of Sleep and Recovery
In a world that is becoming increasingly busy and focused on productivity, sleep is often disregarded and even dismissed. Nonetheless, sufficient, quality sleep is as important to your health as diet and exercise. Sleep is when your body repairs tissue, solidifies memories, regulates hormones and resets energy for the day ahead.
- Have a Consistent Sleep Schedule:Sleep and rise around the same times each day, including weekends, to help your body to adapt to its own internal clock (circadian rhythm). Consistency will improve your sleep quality while also allowing you to naturally fall asleep and wake. Aim to sleep for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night, as is recommended for adults.
- Establish a Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Before sleeping, establish a calming pre-sleep ritual to help signal your body that it is time to wind down. This could come in the form of a warm bath or shower, reading a book (hardcopy, not a screen), listening to relaxing music or a podcast, light stretching or meditation, or writing in a journal. Avoid stimulating activities right before bed, including action-packed television shows, heated conversations, or work.
- Maximize Your Sleep Environment:Your bedroom should be a haven for sleep – cool, dark, quiet and comfortable. Spend some money on a comfortable mattress, pillows and bedding. Install blackout curtains or wear an eye mask to minimize light. Use ear plugs or a white noise machine to drown out noise. Keep your room on the cool side as this generally maximizes deep sleep. Make sure and take the electronic devices out of the room or turn them off as blue light can reduce melatonin production and melatonin regulates sleep.
Mental Health: Development of a Positive Mindset
A healthy lifestyle includes physical health but mental health and emotional health as well. A positive mindset can have a major impact on your resistance to stress, your happiness and your overall quality of life.
- Stay Grateful Everyday: It is really important to be aware and grateful for the things that are good in your life ( no matter how little). You can do this by keeping a gratitude journal and writing down from 3-5 things that you are grateful for each day or just taking a moment to think. Being grateful moves your focus from what you do not have to the things you do have, and encourages you to be grateful, content and optimistic.
- Set Realistic and Achievable Goals: Goal setting is a great way to find direction and motivation but remember, goals should be realistic and broken down into manageable steps. Goals could be related to health, work or personal development. Achievable will also help to avoid overwhelm, and if you set appropriate milestones along the way, you will feel a better sense of accomplishment.
- Remember to celebrate your achievements along the way:Make a Commitment to Lifelong Learning! Keeping your mind active and curious by learning new things is very good for your cognitive health and personal growth. Learning new things does not have to be done via a formal education process. It could be that you learnt a new skill (such as playing a musical instrument or a new language), taken up a new hobby, read some books about various topics or listened to some educational podcasts. Lifelong learning does keep you mentally sharp.
- Minimize Screen Time: Particularly Before Sleep: Excessive screen time, especially from smartphones, tablets, and computers, can cause eye strain, headaches, sedentary behavior, and sleep problems due to blue light. Establish limits on screen time and set times or places where screen time is not allowed (for example, during meals or in the bedroom). Make a sincere effort to turn off or put down your device at least an hour before bedtime to help your mind to slow down and prepare for sleep.
Stress Management and Emotional Health: Finding Balance
Chronic stress can seriously wreak havoc on physical and mental health as it can contribute to conditions like, high blood pressure, low immune system functioning, anxiety, and depression. Knowing how to deal with stress or to positively bolster one’s emotional health is essential.
- Take some Deep Breaths or Meditate:Simple mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing techniques or guided meditations, can be extremely effective in calming the nervous system and reducing stress. Take 5-10 minutes to pay attention to your breath, or to follow a guided meditation. It can help settle your thoughts, develop self awareness, and promote feelings of peace. There are many guided breathing or meditation apps, and website sources for you to use.
- Spend quality time in Nature:Nature has a great restorative quality to mental health. It is beneficial to make an effort to get outside, whether it be for a walk in a park, a hike in the woods, gardening, or relaxing by the water. Nature and natural environments reduce stress, boost mood, and improve cognitive function. Just having plants in your house or workspace is a step towards creating a calmer environment.
- Take Note of Your Thoughts and Feelings:Dedicating time to writing out your thoughts, feelings and experiences can be a therapeutic means of processing your emotions, gaining clarity and relieving stress. Journaling as a process gives you a private space to explore your internal landscape, and verify your awareness of your own self. When you write things down, it gives you an opportunity to be aware of what patterns exist in your thinking, unpack some of the challenges you are going through, and gain awareness of yourself. Don’t worry about being a good writer; just write and let your thoughts flow naturally onto the page.
- Exercise Saying “No” To Over-Commitment: Setting and protecting your time and energy is an extremely important part of preventing burnout and achieving emotional balance. Don’t feel bad for saying “no” if someone doesn’t align with what you think you should be doing, or if it would stretch you too thin to take on the responsibility. Simply asking people what type of commitment it is allows you to set those healthy boundaries, helping you to say “no” if you must, and then if you feel stress-free, you could re-enter this activity or relationship, which may have helped you or not. It then gives you more time to devote, and take out what nourishes you and allows you to not feel overwhelmed by your commitments and what you could breed resentment.
Mindful Living and Connection: Enhancing Daily Awareness
Mindful living is to be in the present (moment), without judgement. As well as nurturing meaningful connections with those around you, this mindful way of being will improve your quality of life, lessen stress, and help you find deeper meaning and connection to your life.
- Be Present to “in person” conversations:By truly listening to others (instead of waiting to have your turn to speak or forming your response), you are demonstrating respect to them and strengthening your relationship. Listening requires full attention to the other person, making eye contact, showing empathy, and asking clarifying questions. This not only makes the other person feel important and listened to, it also allows for a better understanding and connection between the two of you in any social interaction.
- Nurture Your connections:Positive connections that you have with the people you call friends, family members, and/or community members are key to maintaining emotional health and resilience. Make it a priority to connect with people regularly that keep you positive and affirm your thinking or behaviours. You can keep it super simple too – try scheduling a regular catch up with your support people, or participate in a social club or groups that are related to your interests. Try also picking up the phone (yes, the phone!) and calling a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Discover that relationships are reciprocal and that you have an opportunity to build a strong social connection and new bond – making for better relationships, and sometimes even social support!
Strong social relationships create a sense of belonging in your life, and they also create a buffer from stress.
- Unplug often with digital detoxes:Being constantly plugged in can cause us to feel overwhelmed by information, comparison, and anxiety. Determine scheduled times to unplug every week from all digital devices – your cell phone, computer, social media, email, and the like. This could be for a few hours every evening, 1 day per week, or a longer period of time every so often. During this time period, consider doing things you enjoy off-line, spend time with loved ones in a focused manner, or just notice what’s happening around you.
- Be kind and volunteer:Helping others, or advocating for something you care about, can greatly enhance your happiness and sense of purpose. Acts of kindness, whether formal volunteering or simply an act toward someone you know, can take our attention off ourselves, and boost feelings of connection and “feel good” feelings. Identify ways to help in your community, or for a cause that resonates with you.
Sustainable Practices and Growth: Long-Term Health Habits
It’s all about sustainable habits and preventing yourself from coming to a screeching halt in these last couple of habits.
- Mindfully Monitor Your Progress:Keeping track of your habits and progress can provide motivation and help you find what works and what needs a little adjusting. Use a habit tracker app, journal, or a basic checklist. Focus on adjusting to maintaining consistency and not necessarily perfection. For example, if you want to exercise three times a week, simply track when you do it. Don’t obsess completely with numbers (i.e., do daily weigh-ins cause you anxiety), simply use them as a guide to help you be aware of how you feel and the changes you are making that are valuable to your health!
- Self-Compassion (Be Patient and Kind to Yourself):Changes to your lifestyle aren’t likely to happen overnight, nor will you always get it right, therefore there will be slips and setbacks. Instead of beating yourself up – show yourself some self-compassion. Treat yourself like you would your best friend or even someone you hardly know who’s made a mistake. Everyday isn’t going to be perfect so acknowledge the slip, (learn from it if you can), then simply redirect yourself with compassion back to your next best behavior and move forward without guilt or shame. Focus on progress, not perfection.
- Continue to Evaluate and Adapt Your Habits:What currently works for you may not work as your life changes, your goals change, or your preferences change. So, evaluate your habits and routine periodically. Are they still being useful? Are they still aligned with your health goals? Be willing to adjust your strategy, be willing to try new things, and be willing to let go of habits that are no longer useful. It is important to be flexible; flexibility promotes a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable and enjoyable over the long term.
- Recognize and Celebrate Your Successes, Big and Small:Take the time to recognize and celebrate your successes along the way. Celebrating successes does not mean that you have to reward yourself extravagantly, but just to take time to recognize and appreciate what you have done and the progress you have made. Finishing a tough workout, following through on a meal plan for a week, or successfully implementing a new habit are all noteworthy achievements. Even small victories deserve recognition. Positive reinforcement helps develop momentum and keeps people motivated when attempting to live a healthier lifestyle!
Read also: How to Stop Being Negative: 5 Tips to Change Your Mindset
Conclusion: A Lifelong Journey to Well-Being
The path to a healthier new lifestyle is a unique, evolving journey that is based on forming consistent, positive habits. The 30 habits presented in this article provide a comprehensive path toward meeting our core areas of nourishment, consumption, movement, sleep, mental strength, emotional balance, mindful living, and sustainable development. How you choose to implement each habit is your decision and you do not have to implement every habit at the same time! To get started, you could take one or two habits from each section that make the most sense for you, or that you want or need to address. Slowly develop each habit before adding another several at a time so you can build momentum. The main goal is to find consistency in changing each habit until it becomes a practice that is engrained as part of your lifestyles rhythm.
You will have days where sustaining a new habit may feel very easy or days where you have to make a more conscious decision to stick to new habits. Both of these scenarios are okay and intended to happen. You are not aiming for perfection but you are consistently moving yourself and your choices toward better choices to support your overall wellness. As these small, intentional steps accumulate, this will lead to bigger positive shifts as they relate to your energy.
