1. Take the stairs instead of elevators or escalators. Anytime you have an opportunity to add in a couple of minutes of extra activity, go for it!
2. Move every hour. Sitting for long periods of time is not what humans are meant to do – set an alarm if you have to, but get up and move around every hour.
3. Walk more. There are so many ways to add extra steps to your day. Next time you’re about to get in your car to run an errand, ask yourself if it’s close enough to walk instead. Try parking further away from your destination. Get off your bus or train a stop early and walk the last part of your commute.
4. Incorporate exercise on purpose into your routine. Walking more and taking the stairs are great, but actually planned exercise is vital to good health. Aim to do whatever you can to start, with a goal of a minimum of 30 minutes every day.
5. Go for whole foods over processed whenever you can. The fewer ingredients, the better, when it comes to anything in a package. If you can’t pronounce it, do you really want to eat it?
6. Drink water. Carry a refillable bottle with you and keep an eye on how much you’re actually drinking during the day. How much water should you drink? It’s different for everyone , but a good rule of thumb is the pee test – if your urine is pale yellow, you’re probably adequately hydrated.
7. Incorporate vegetables into every meal. Even if it’s tomato on your sandwich, make it your mission to add more veggies every time you eat. Not sure how to do that for breakfast? Think omelets, green juice, smoothies. You can even try healthy muffin and bread recipes using zucchini or carrots.
8. Eat more fruit. Have fruit as snacks, or as a healthy dessert. Try eating fruit of every color to get all of the micronutrients and antioxidants available.
9. Stop avoiding fat. Fat is awesome. Fat keeps you feeling full. Fat is necessary for your survival. Don’t eat fat-free everything – in fact, maybe don’t eat fat-free anything! Nuts, avocados, healthy oils, dairy can all be great sources of fat in your diet.
10. Cook more. Cooking at home is healthier, since you’re in control of what you put in your food and how it’s prepared.
11. Eat more omega-3s, which can help prevent cardiovascular disease. Great sources include oily fish, like salmon and sardines, walnuts, flax seeds and soybeans.
12. Read food labels. Get familiar with sneaky labeling, like ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oil’, which actually means trans fats.
13. Limit your alcohol consumption. If you’re a drinker, keep a log of all the alcohol you drink in a week, then see where you can cut back. Try drinks that take you a longer time to drink, as well as alternating alcoholic with non-alcoholic drinks.
14. Track how many calories you’re taking in from beverages. Calories from juice, soda, milk and alcohol all add up, sometimes to a significant amount.
15. Don’t skip meals. It messes with your blood sugar. Try to plan ahead whenever you can with snacks, if you know you’re going to find it hard to have a meal.
16. Focus on one bad habit at a time. One of the simplest ways to jumpstart good health is to start by replacing just one bad habit. For example, if you’re an all-day coffee drinker, make today the day you cut back. Try these 4 Tips for Java Junkies – How to Avoid Caffeine Withdrawal. Or if you typically surf the web after lunch, shut off that glowing screen and take a quick walk before you need to get back on the clock. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start today.
17.Learn to love sleep. Feeling fatigued makes it easy to give in to weight-busting bad habits, like mindless snacking. Proper sleep helps the body produce hormones that regulate hunger and feelings of fullness. Most adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours a night. Switch off the TV or smartphone and invest in feeling good—go to bed earlier tonight.
18. Travel as much as you can. Expose yourselves to other cultures, ways of thinking and living, different religions and world views.
19. De-clutter. Learn to live with less things – most of the things you live with you have no use for anyway. Every material possession in your life is something you think about, or worry about losing or breaking, so get rid of it before it stresses you out.
20. Set goals and work towards attaining them. Sometimes it’s the working towards the goals where the magic happens.
21. Use to-do lists. Taking time to map out your priorities and what you need to get done gives you a sense of control.
22. Watch less TV. I would say this one is hard for o 80% of the population. I get it, it’s an easy and relatively cheap way to relax. I marathon-watched Breaking Bad. But do you find yourself watching TV mindlessly, not even really caring about what’s on? Pick what you really want to watch and make a pact to turn the TV off at other times.
23. Give to others. If you don’t have enough money to give to charity, that’s okay. Give away your expertise, or your time volunteering.
24. Try meditation. If this sounds too new-age for you, just rephrase it for yourself and think of it as taking a few minutes to yourself to just breathe and unplug from everything around you. Don’t sweat the details, or think of meditation as having to follow strict rules for breathing and chants.
25. Don’t beat yourself up when you experience failure (real or perceived). Learning from a mistake is a good thing – dwelling on it and making yourself feel bad is unproductive. Accept it, figure out what you could have done to change it, then move on.
26. Don’t forget your brain needs exercise, too. Read books, do crosswords or other brain games, memorize something.
27. Quit smoking. If you haven’t quit smoking yet, maybe you haven’t tried one method that will work for you – acupuncture, hypnosis, cold turkey, patches, electronic cigarettes, medication, nicotine gum.
28. Enjoy the moment. Find and focus on one thing in your environment you can enjoy, even if you’re doing something that irritates you, like waiting in line.
29. Laugh. Have a favorite comedian? Look up their clips on YouTube. Call someone who makes you laugh. Read The Onion. Whatever makes you smile – it’s good for your soul.
30. Write down what you’re grateful for. What is in your life right now that you’re thankful about? Seeing it written down in black and white is a powerful reminder of how lucky you are. This is also a great way to feel blessed when you’re in the middle of a pity party.
31. Switch off occasionally. Leave your phone behind. Don’t use the internet for a day. Try to break complete reliance on technology every now and again.
32. Learn to say no occasionally. You don’t have to accept every invitation, or feel obliged to do every favor you’re asked. If you don’t have time, or you think something will add to your stress level, it’s okay to politely refuse.
33. Ask for and accept help when you need it.
34.Make plans with friends and keep them! Socializing is important for your well-being and can help you de-stress. You know that friend you’ve been meaning to reach out to forever? Just do it. Email, text, call, FaceTime, whatever your method of communication, you’ll feel good for getting in touch.
35. Listen to your favorite music, go out of your way to look at something you find beautiful (I even plan my commute around favorite buildings and views) and help shape your environment to make it easier to appreciate the beauty in everyday life.
36. Smile at people, even if they don’t smile back.
37. Do what you love, in every area of your life. If you’re in a job you hate, start making plans to extricate yourself. Find the workout you love, so you’ll be sure to keep doing it. Practice hobbies you love, just because you love them. Fill your life with what you enjoy.
38. Tell the people you love that you love them!
39. Stop all negative self talk–Catch yourself mid-thought and reverse it! You will not completely stop having negative thoughts at first. They creep in and that is normal. Self-criticism and negative thoughts turn to negative energy which does no good for you on a physical, mental, emotional or energetic level. You will start to build an awareness of just how many negative thoughts you have each day, which may surprise you! As you recognize them, whenever any negative self chatter strikes you, immediately re-focus your attention to something positive. It is much easier to switch to a positive thought than it is to stop a negative one, so flip it! A positive thought carries 10x more energy than a negative thought so don’t get discouraged if you catch yourself being overly negative at first. That will change! And when it does you will start to notice changes in your mood, physical body and your environment.
40. Try something new...
And remember, the food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison.
See any habits on this list you could work on incorporating?
Are there any you’ve successfully made into habits? Did they help?
What would you add to the list?
Don’t wait one more day to make your health and well-being a priority. Make the choice to be healthy—right now.
