Leading a healthy lifestyle is something we both strive for each and everyday. We are passionate about it and are always on the lookout for additional ways of staying healthy. We have a bunch of tips though on how we live a healthy lifestyle and ones we feel are most important so we wanted to share them with all of you.
1. Sleep 7-8 hrs each night
Sleep is vital to your overall health and well-being. It is essential for so many things including metabolism, prevents weight gain, boosts your immunity, helps with knowledge retention and long and short-term memory among many other things. Your body repairs itself and gets you fit and ready for the next day.
If you are a morning bird like myself, getting to bed on the earlier side shouldn’t be a problem. If you are a night owl like Jean, try to shut off that Netflix show you are binge watching and try to make a conscious effort to getting those zzz’s in. For me, I feel best after I get 8 hours in. Getting adequate sleep will also help with those early morning workouts! We put together some great products to help with sleep in our blog post Amazon Sleepwear Finds- Sleep Essentials. Sleep is imperative and one of the best ways on how to live a healthy lifestyle.
2. Exercise for at least 30-45 minutes each day
Working out without question is the best way on how to live a healthy lifestyle. No matter what your choice in exercise is, just get your heart pumping and the blood flowing for 30-45 minutes each day. Even if you have a crazy day and can’t get a solid workout in, try to take a walk or think of ways to increase your activity level (taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car further away). All of those little activities will add up and your stress level will go way down, too.
I schedule all of my workouts in at Orange Theory Fitness way in advance so I already have my workouts for each week mapped out. This way I can plan for my rest days and work my workouts into my busy schedule. If you can schedule your workouts in even if it is putting them as a reminder in your phone, this will keep you accountable and give you less time to make excuses. I love working out in the morning. It sets my tone for the rest of the day and gives me an hour to just focus on myself so I can be a better me for everyone else the rest of the day. Get it done in the morning and you will feel so much better for the rest of the day! If you need some cute exercise gear to motivate you, check out our fitness finds here in our blog post on Getting Fit in 2021.
3. Intermittent Fasting 12-14 hrs
For the most part, you probably already are fasting a decent amount of hours. Think about it. If you sleep for 8 hrs, you really only need another 4 plus hours to fast for. So decide on each night when you will shut it down. For me, dinner is my last meal of the day and I don’t eat after 7pm. I will fast all night and into the early part of the morning. I’ll have breakfast around 9am. That gives me 14 hours. Think about your schedule and how you can work this into your life.
Intermittent fasting will take a little time to get used to, but after a few weeks it will feel normal. You simply will be eating less and it will help with weight loss. I think it also helps a great deal in losing weight in your stomach. Definitely worth trying to incorporate this into your lifestyle if you already don’t. I have been doing it for a year now and I will never go back.
4. Fasting During Your Workouts
If you follow rules #2 and #3 above, you can work this into your routine as well. If you workout early in the am, just keep that fast going and eat after your workout! Your body will start to burn stored fat and it will result in a higher amount of fat loss. This brings that fasting to a whole new level! You won’t be as ravenous during your workout as you think you will be and you will have energy. I promise. I have done this for over a year now and have never felt better and stronger during my workouts. Give it a try!
5. Drinking Water
I cannot stress enough how drinking water is essential to a healthy lifestyle. I drink tons of water in a day. If I could have an IV of it throughout the day that would be amazing! But in all seriousness, I am never without a bottle of water by my side while I’m working, working out, running errands, in my purse/car…you get the idea. Grab a reusable bottle you can fill throughout the day and keep on filling it. This Fidus Leakproof Motivational Water Bottle is perfect being it is 32 ounces and gives you times of the day you should be finishing your next water amount by. If you fill it twice or a little more than that, you are good to go for the day!
To determine how much water you should be drinking, take your weight and multiply it by 2/3 or 67%. That is how many ounces you should be consuming. If you workout that day, you expel sweat, which is water so you need to add more to your daily total. Add 12 ounces to your daily total if you worked out for 30 mins, 18 ounces for 45 minutes and so on.
Cut out all sugary drinks, sodas and just drink water. It is the best beverage for you with 0 calories and the best thing you can put in your body. Water will also do wonders for your skin. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
6. Tracking What You Eat
Do I track what I eat? Yes. For me, it is how I can track if I am consuming the proper amount of protein, fats, carbs and calories for my body. On a daily basis, I do typically tend to eat the same types of meals and foods, but I feel like when I don’t track what I eat, my numbers are sometimes off. For example, my protein may be too low and my fats and or carbs are creeping up for that day so tracking for me keeps me in order.
I track what I eat by using the MyFitnessPal app on my phone and it is a simple way to add in your meals, snacks, water intake and even exercises for the day. You can get pretty detailed with it or just simply input your meals. It even has some great features where you can upload recipes to it and it will add all of the ingredients to your daily log or you can scan barcodes on products to input them. This way you can plan your day adding in meals and snacks knowing how much more you have for the rest of the day. It is a helpful and useful app to quickly use on your phone.
If you eat something, record it in the app. If you eat something and don’t record it, it’s not like it didn’t happen. You are just fooling yourself. Be honest and accountable with yourself. This is imperative on how to live a healthy lifestyle.
7. Eat Clean
When it comes to eating, I keep it clean. What does that mean? I try to stick with natural foods and ingredients that come from the earth. Think fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats. Foods that have been highly processed or packaged goods are off my list. Items that have a long list of ingredients or ones you can’t pronounce also don’t make the cut. Once you start reading labels and consuming foods that are natural and good for you, you won’t want those fake foods any longer.
I try to avoid foods with added fat, sugar and salt. All of that is just filler to the product. You don’t need it. If you tend to consume these ingredients, your body is going to crave them. So start slowly and start removing those items from your diet and I promise you will no longer want them. This also goes for coffee creamers, sugary drinks, and may I even say it, alcohol. Limit your intake. If you want something other than water, I highly suggest drinking a naturally essence sparkling water. I have one each night and it’s a great way to add in more water without any added sugars. My favorites are La Croix Sparkling Water (coconut flavor is my jam) and Perrier. If you go to Europe, that’s all they drink is sparkling water!
Flour. I stick to foods that don’t have the word ‘flour’ in them. If it is in there, I avoid it. So essentially you will be eating more gluten-free type products. But remember, gluten-free doesn’t always mean healthy. Check those labels. If there is a ton of sugar, salt or fat it in it, this also isn’t right for you.
8. Weigh In
I try to weigh myself 1-2 times each week. This way I can gauge where I am at. I know for women this can be tough and discouraging at times depending on where you are in the month with your cycle, etc, but just know you will be up and down all month long. If it is that lovely time of the month, you will definitely be 2-3 lbs heavier with water retention, etc. That even happens for me when I am ovulating. If you are dehydrated or ate saltier foods the day before, you will definitely weigh more the next day. But just keep all of that in mind and don’t be too nitpicky with it. The scale doesn’t tell the whole picture. Muscle weighs more than fat so if you are gaining muscle, the scale actually may go up.
A great tool to have is the Dara Smart Scale from FitTrack. It is a smart scale that measures 17 different vital health metrics other than just your weight like a typical scale. It measures things like visceral fat, muscle mass, hydration levels, protein amount, BMI. All of the things that will help you understand your body composition. All metrics go to your phone for you to be able to see your progress as well. This scale is amazing!
9. Plant Based Diet
Okay now you may think I am crazy, but I made a huge change in my life a year ago and that was to give up meat. Jean has been a vegetarian for 20+ years. I was always on the fence about it and then after watching one too many Netflix documentaries on how meat is manufactured and all of that, I knew it was time for me to make the change. One film I highly recommend to watch for both men and women is The Game Changers. It really was a game changer for me after watching it.
I have found eating plant based proteins and not having meat has changed my life. For me, it is one of the most important ways on how to live a healthy lifestyle. I have never felt faster and stronger in my workouts. I lost weight from making the switch. You just don’t feel weighed down being many plant based proteins are lighter and don’t have fat in them. That’s the best way I can describe it. I was sick of putting grilled chicken on literally everything. I am fine with never having to see chicken again.
For now, my diet consists of plant based proteins including tofu, tempeh, meatless burgers (watch the sodium content in those), lentils, beans and I do eat fish and seafood. So I am a pescatarian. All grocery stores have these options. You just need to search for them. Even if you start slow and include a few meatless meals in your diet a week will go a long way and then maybe you can make the switch eventually.
10. Don’t be so Hard on Yourself
Listen, being healthy is a lifestyle. It is not a sprint. It is a marathon. Just remember that and take your time. Everyday is a decision you make for yourself. Life isn’t easy and some days just aren’t easy. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You won’t be perfect everyday and that is okay. It won’t derail your goals. If you are craving a cookie, eat the cookie. Don’t eat the cookie everyday, but you also want to ensure you don’t get to the point of wanting it so bad you eat an entire sleeve of cookies. Just be consistent.
Learn what your triggers are and which foods you crave. If you are craving something sweet, go for fruit. Or maybe a few chocolate morsels instead of the item you are craving that may be a ton more in fat, sugar and calories. And allow yourself those cheat meals perhaps on the weekend if you are working hard all week long and doing great. You deserve it! Just keep everything in moderation and you will be well on your way on how to live a healthy lifestyle!
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this post and ways on how you can live a healthy lifestyle. Even adding in some ideas we mentioned above will help you in your journey. Start small and work your way through the list. We can’t wait to see the beautiful and healthier you! Let us know what you think of our post by placing your comments below.
Interested in other healthy lifestyle posts? Be sure to check out our posts on:
- Getting Fit in 2021
- How to Start Running and Love Doing It
- The Best Running Playlist
- Amazon Finds- Athleisure Edition
