Your Healthiest Habits
Getting healthy is sometimes the hardest possible thing (especially after spending an incredible Christmas stuffing your face with all of the most delicious foods possible!).
I have really been able to bounce back to my regular routine since the holidays and I really owe it to these healthy habits that I’ve adopted over this past year.
So, if you’re looking for a fresh start this 2018 make sure to read below for these amazing habits that can easily be adopted into your lifestyle.
1. Set a Schedule
Getting on a regular schedule can seem overwhelming but it has been proven to significantly benefit your mental health. You can read more about the benefits here.
Going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time every day will significantly improve your lifestyle and get you on the right path for 2018!
2. Drink hot water with lemon every morning
Drinking hot water with lemon in the morning helps digestion. Before consuming anything else during the day, drinking warm to hot water with lemon inside. This will help to flush the toxins out of your digestive system (decreasing bloating throughout the day) and help rehydrate the body.
Another reason to do this is that it can help you with weight management and weight loss. Make sure to click here to check out my post on the 6 things you need to know before losing weight.
3. Aim for 10,000-12,000 steps every day
Whether it’s walking, running or any form of a workout that involves steps, making sure you get that 10,000 step mark in. This means that you’ve walked 9 km (or 5 miles)!
Walking 10,000 steps a day benefits your health in so many ways. According to Dr. Mercola, “Part of what makes a goal of 10,000 steps a day so important is that it gets you up and out of your chair. Sitting for too long has been found to increase your risk of death from virtually all health problems, from type 2 diabetes and heart disease to cancer and all-cause mortality.“
4. Make lists and organize your time
This isn’t one of the most important things on this list, but it does in fact really help with getting things done and opening up some time in your day. I find this more of a “stress reliever” which in turn, improves your health.
Get a notepad out, or the notepad app on your phone out and write out all of the important things you need to do in a day. Rank them from most to least important and get them done. By having a list you won’t forget the little things that need to be done and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you check them off.
5. Buy a large water bottle
It may sound simple but so many people lack proper daily water intake. They end up drinking 4 or 5 coffee’s but forget to properly keep themselves hydrated with water.
Obviously one of the main pro’s of drinking water is staying hydrated but it also can help people lose weight! Drinking up to 2 liters every day, and a large glass 30 minutes before eating has significantly proven to help with weight loss.
Recommendation: I always keep a large cold reusable water bottle with me everywhere I go. I put it in my bag and refill it throughout the day. It’s the only way I am able to actually stay hydrated (and save money rather than buying plastic water bottles).
I just recently got one of the Simple Modern wave water bottles and I am so in love. They are vacuum insulated and double walled so they are perfect for keeping your water nice and cold all day during busy work hours! Check out this link down below to get one yourself, they start at 10.99$ – 19.99$!
6. Cut down to one coffee a day
Like I’ve said… I know, Coffee is addictive. But, having one a day is a lot healthier than having 3 or 4 or even 5. Those who have a lot of coffee a day can begin to get addicted and once they start to cut down, they begin getting withdrawal symptoms. These include headaches, mood swings, sweating etc..
Coffee is great but try to keep it to one a day this year and you’ll begin to see significant improvements in your health.
For those who suffer from anxiety, things like coffee, sugar, and alcohol can significantly increase your symptoms. Consider fully cutting out caffeine. Also, if you’re someone who suffers from bloating, cutting out coffee completely may be good for you.
You can read my post here on anti-bloating tips and tricks!
7. Meditate
One of the healthiest ways to reduce stress levels is to meditate. I talk a lot about this in my other posts but I do believe it’s one of the most important things we can do for our health. Taking 10-15 minutes every day to breathe and put away our thoughts can greatly improve our health. You can read my post on Everything You Need To Know About Meditation here.
It improves stress, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure; it can help you become a more positive as well happier person. Overall, meditation improves your mental ability to deal with life’s stresses. Here are some additional ways it can improve your health.
8. Tell yourself 10 positive things a day
Look at yourself in the mirror every day and tell yourself 10 things you love about yourself. My stepmom taught me this one years ago and once I started doing it, I found myself in a more positive mood every day.
Also, it helped me accomplish my goals and my dreams. I find this an excellent way to achieve your passions in life.
This is another mentally healthy habit to adopt this year.
9. Eat one salad a day
Eating a salad a day keeps the doctors away!
But really, eating a salad a day has been proven to improve your overall eating habits to become healthier. Also, including a salad a day benefits you by increasing the number of antioxidants in your system. Such as Vitamin C and e, folic acid, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-carotene. These are essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
10. Replace sugar with stevia or honey or maple syrup
Take that refined sugar out of your diet and replace it with natural sugar! Refined sugar negatively affects your blood sugar levels whereas, natural sugars are filled with all sorts of nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and fibers. Also, increased refined sugar intake leads to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
This is an easy habit to adopt in 2018. Where all you need to do is add honey, maple syrup or stevia into your coffee or tea. If you’re wanting to bake a dessert, swap your sugar for maple syrup and get an even better taste.
Here Organics.org goes into fine detail as to why natural sugars are much better for you than refined sugars.
One of my favorites is the Nature’s Nates Raw and Unfiltered Organic Honey. For an organic and raw honey, it is a great price! You can actually get a 32 oz bottle for 15$.
Nature Nate’s, 32 Ounce, Organic, 100% Pure, Raw and Unfiltered Honey
Don’t forget to pin this to Pinterest!
Thanks for reading. I hope that these tips help you get on track for the new year. It’s always the little things that really make an impact when trying to get healthy. Let me know what you think, would you add anything else?
Thanks for reading!
Much love,
Annie Bri
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