It’s so easy to become overwhelmed about which health habits you should start first. And often times this makes it incredibly difficult to kick off your health journey. Regardless of whether you’re looking to optimize your health, lose weight, or simply feel better every day, these 7 health habits will create a solid foundation for your health journey and are very likely the only ones you’ll ever need.
1. Eat More Plants
One of the first health habits most people start with is nutrition change. And while this is an excellent place to start and arguably the most important consideration in both improving health and weight loss, most people approach this change in a way that sets them up for failure. For long term success with nutrition it’s important to focus on ADDING rather than taking away.
You see… when we’re focused on what we can’t have we only want it more. But when we focus on increasing a type of food we’re eating we’re more likely to feel satisfied and even indulgent. This makes it easier to stick with your healthy habit long term and reap all the benefits. In addition, eating more plants is so incredibly beneficial to your health, lifespan, and weight, it’s almost unbelievable.
Keep it simple… the nutrition health habit to start with is simply adding more plants.
2. Get Your ZZZ’s
Getting adequate sleep (meaning 7 – 9 hours a night for most adults) is essential to good health. While this may be a challenge for some due to our hectic and demanding schedules and heightened stress (click here to learn how to reduce stress and overwhelm) it’s important to become intentional and mindful of it. Great health habits start with a good night’s rest so you have the energy to move your body and the focus to nourish and hydrate yourself well. In addition, sleep deprivation has been linked to almost every major illness and an increased likelihood of injury and accidents.
Prioritize rest and sleep to start your health habit journey. Learn more here!
3. Move Your Body
Exercising is often also at the top of the list along side nutrition when starting health habits. And also like nutrition this health habit tends to be approached with rigid intensity. Thoughts like, “I MUST do cardio” and “2 hours in the gym or bust” prevent us from creating the exercise habits necessary for long term health and weight loss. Instead, for an excellent health habit start, simply focus on daily movement. This is proven to increase longevity and stave off disease and is the type of exercise most observed in populations with the longest life and health spans. If you do choose to partake in a formal exercise regimen of any kind be sure it’s something you look forward to or love doing. Consider playing with your kids, walking the dog, enjoying a dance party, or unwinding with yoga. These often overlooked forms of exercise are incredibly beneficial to health and easy to stick with.
4. Head Outdoors
The benefits of time outdoors are countless and shocking. And this is potentially the easiest place for your health habits to start because it doesn’t even matter what you do when you get there. You can reap amazing benefits from simply sitting on your patio with your morning coffee, tending your garden, going for a walk, or anything else you enjoy doing. So grab a blanket, a good book, and a water botte and head out into the great outdoors today!
5. Hydrate
Approximately 60% of your body is water and it is absolutely essential that you are keeping yourself well hydrated. This will help you eliminate waste, feel refreshed, and even improve concentration and energy levels. Increasing your water consumption is a great start to your health habits. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to simply carry a full water bottle with you at all times. Not a fan of water? No worries, consider including hot or iced herbal tea or fruit infused water instead. And, if you’re increasing your plant intake you’ll automatically be hydrating better since so many plants are high in water.
6. Change Your Mindset
With all the talk of body love changing your mindset can feel near to impossible but it’s possibly the most important health habit to start. While it’s true that health and weight loss can’t come from a place of body loathing it’s also important to remember that that doesn’t mean they have to be rooted in LOVE. Start out by simply focusing on accepting your body and caring for it well and work your way toward a better mindset regarding your body. One of the best ways to do this is through the use of affirmations which are scientifically proven to change not only your mindset but your brain. If you’ve tried affirmations in the past and found that they don’t work for you it’s likely because most instruction regarding this practice is misleading and inaccurate. Check out the Affirmation Masterclass in Inner Circle to learn how to create an affirmation practice that will work for you.
7. Give Yourself Grace
Health habits aren’t about perfection. So often we get focused on doing it all right all the time and when this proves impossible we simply give up. To start your health habits off the right way create some flexibility and be realistic about what makes sense for you and what fits into your real life. Remember that every choose you make to improve your health matters and what doesn’t is always making the perfect choice. Health habits like so many others need to be approached with intention and balance. Sometimes life will throw you curveballs (like a sick kid at home who interferes with your workout plan). Sometimes you need to accommodate indulgences (like pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving). And sometimes you simply need to make space for grace (like when you live in Michigan and it’s WAY too cold to get outside). I find that The Routinely App helps remind me to give myself grace and stay on track by allowing me to skip habits when the unexpected happens or even schedule them off without losing my streaks. Be sure to check it out because setting yourself up for success means giving yourself grace and that is the biggest secret to starting your health habits.
