Top 10 Healthy Habits For Your Life
Healthy habits are the foundation of all fitness related goals. The most challenging part of building healthy habits is knowing where to start. Keep these three things in mind, and you will be well on your way to success.
- Make your habits easy.
- Make your habits fun.
- Make your habit efficient.
1. Make It Easy
The only way to build a habit is to do it repeatedly. I know it is tempting to start big, especially in the beginning when your motivation is at its higher. But remember, the more challenging the task, the less likely you will succeed in making it a habit. Start small, then gradually increase the difficulty of your habits.
2. Start Small
Don’t start with a big habit. Break your goals down into the smallest possible action.
- Drink a glass of water immediately after waking up.
- Eat one fruit or vegetable with every meal.
- Stretch for 5 minutes in the morning and night.
- Get in bed 10 minutes earlier.
Once something becomes a habit, you can make it more difficult or add another habit.
4. Easily Repeatable
Consistency is the key to any fitness goal. Ambitious habits that you only do once or twice before quitting do you no good. Only build easily repeatable habits.
Difficult habits to build are also a problem due to the risk of burnout. Make sure the habits you choose are not overly difficult. Burnout is the enemy of all fitness goals. Avoid it at all costs.
5. Build on It
Once you have an easy and repeatable habit, it is time to build on it. There are two types of habits that you can build on.
- Habits you can do together
- Habits that help other habits
If you build the habit of drinking water as soon as you wake up, you can add five minutes of stretching to that. That would be an example of killing two birds with one stone.
Building diet and sleep-related habits are a great example of how habits can work together. Improving your diet and sleep will give you more energy throughout the day. Having more energy will make everything else you attempt significantly easier.
6. Make It Fun
Living a healthy lifestyle is a big-time commitment. There is no way around it. If you are going to commit a lot of time to something, you might as well make it something fun.
No matter how motivated you are, willpower is limited. Things that you enjoy, or at least don’t hate, are much more likely to become lifelong habits. Build fun habits and save your willpower for other, more important things.
7. Make It Efficient
Time is precious, so don’t waste it. Pick habits that give you the most bang for your buck.
8. Get Help
There are many apps that can help you build fitness habits. A fitness app can give you everything from weekly workouts to healthy recipes.
The best part of getting help is that it allows you to think less about fitness. You can spend more time and energy on building sustainable habits.
Getting help will also improve your motivation levels. Staying motivated is especially important early before your habits really sink in.
9. Lift Weights
A lot of people think of diet and cardio when it comes to losing weight. However, it is a mistake to ignore weights. Most people know that strength training will make you stronger. But, strength training for fat loss is also effective.
Strength training increases muscle mass, and increasing muscle mass increases your metabolism. Building the habit of lifting weights 2–3 times a week will pay off in a big way.
10. Diet and Sleep
Drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, and sleeping more are all extremely efficient habits. They will provide you with more energy. Having more energy helps you in literally every aspect of your life.
Building sustainable healthy habits take a fair amount of time and energy. That’s not a problem because fitness is a lifelong pursuit. Taking the time to build sustainable healthy habits will pay off for your entire lifetime.
