Want to know the simple habits of people of people who lose weight, maintain weight loss, and stay fit? Here are 11 of the best healthy habits for life of people who develop a healthy, balanced lifestyle and stay fit. Start implementing these simple habits now to start living your happiest, healthiest and fittest life.
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Healthy Habits for Life: 11 Habits to Stay Fit
What does being healthy and fit mean to you?
For some people, it means avoiding processed foods like the plague and doing yoga every day. And for others, it might mean only having 2 glasses of wine and not getting winded taking the stairs.
Health and fitness look different on everyone.
Everyone has different goals of what they want to achieve and how it will shape their lifestyle. With different genetics, circumstances, responsibilities and time available each day, getting and staying fit will never be one size fits all.
Benefits of Lifelong Fitness
But I think we can all agree that exercise and fitness has numerous benefits on health. Exercise lowers stress, elevates mood, and promotes better sleep. It assists in maintaining a healthy weight promotes longevity by staving off disease.
How to Develop Healthy Habits for Life
So how can you develop healthy habits for a fit and active lifestyle? Try to implement some of these healthy habits for life of people who stay fit.
It’s nothing crazy or extreme. And they’re all pretty simple to start doing right now. Here are 11 healthy habits for life to promote a happy, healthy, and fit lifestyle.
1. Don’t leave healthy eating to chance
Fill your refrigerator with healthy, nourishing food options, including some grab-and-go snacks (like my favorite Dale’s Raw Protein Bars!), so you’re less likely to reach for highly processed foods. Having an abundance of delicious and healthy food choices makes eating healthy convenient.
Focus on eating foods to fuel your body, like protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fat, to improve your focus and energy levels all day long. Need some healthy done-for-you meal plans? Check out the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle!
Be prepared for the busy week ahead by meal prepping for an hour on the weekends and pack your lunch for work to avoid the temptation of vending machines and donuts in the breakroom.
Related: Master Meal Prep in Less Time to decrease stress, save money and lose weight.
Healthy Meal Prep Breakfast Egg Muffins for an easy make-ahead breakfast.
2. Use technology to make fitness easier, more convenient, and fun
Consider buying a gadget like a Fitbit, Apple Watch, or other fitness tracker to make activity fun (and even a little competitive with step challenges!).
Nothing is more frustrating than headphones that keep slipping out of your ears or die mid-workout. Invest in good bluetooth headphones with a long battery life like AfterShokz Trekz Titanium Mini Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones (how did I survive without these for so long?!).
Or use a fitness app like Aaptiv (I LOVE this app!) and choose from over 3,000+ different workouts and you’ll never be left guessing what you should do. It’s even free to try for 30 days!
3. Workout even if you just have 15 minutes
Fitness doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Some days there just isn’t time! Do something and sweat for 15 minutes. Something is always better than nothing, especially to avoid that terrible feeling of planning to workout all day until life just gets in the way.
Try some of these quick and efficient workouts you can do in 15 minutes or less!
– Fat Burning Workout at Home in 10 Minutes
– Sculpted Shoulders Workout in 15 Minutes
– 15 Minute Full Body Park Bench Workout
4. Mix up your fitness routine
Always lift weights or go to spin class every single morning? Try a new class, go running with a friend, or try yoga. Or try working out at a different time if your workouts are starting to feel stale. Keep it interesting so you’ll actually look forward to your workouts instead of dread them.
5. Incorporate activity into every day.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended on things we do every day. Even when you’re not exercising, the amount of activity you do throughout the day can add up to a big calorie burn and elevated metabolism. Take advantage of this by adding more non-exercise activity into your day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park at the back of the parking lot. Stand instead of sit. Play with your kids.
6. Eat real food (most of the time)
You don’t have to give up wine, chocolate or brownies (I sure don’t!), but save them for occasional treats so they maintain they’re novelty. Make your nutrition choices sustainable. In other words, get most of your nutrients from whole food sources, but still enjoy life and splurge on occasional “fun” foods. The point is to stay balanced to avoid feeling restricted.
For a healthy, real food treat: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies
Or something that’s definitely splurge-worthy: Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
7. Quickly recover from deviations
Just because you ate 1 brownie doesn’t mean you should finish the entire pan! Have a plan to get back on track as soon as possible if you deviate from your plan instead of throwing in the towel for the rest of the day. It’s ok to skip working out for a week on vacation or indulge every once in a while, but don’t let it turn into a long-term thing. And don’t waste your time feeling guilty. Instead, learn from what you did and recover as soon as possible.
Related: What To Do After A Binge: 6 steps to get back on track
8. Get enough sleep
Shoot for 7-8 hours most nights. Sleep is necessary for hormone balance and to adequately recover from workouts, so don’t skimp on it! Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
9. Drink lots of water
Avoid drinking sugary drinks and focus mostly on water to hydrate throughout the day. Drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning, your coffee or tea, then get back to water.
Don’t like plain water or get bored with it? Try Hint unsweetened flavored water infuse some fruit yourself for natural flavor and sweetness with a fruit infuser water bottle.
While we’re on the topic of drinking, try to minimize weeknight drinking. I didn’t say avoid all alcohol, just minimize it. Weekdays are already exhausting between work and taking care of the kids, and drinking alcohol can exacerbate that even more by disrupting your sleep. Furthermore, drinking a glass of wine every night can quickly lead to unnecessary late night snacking and empty calories.
10. Don’t wait for an occasion to get in shape
Sure, having a deadline like your high school reunion or a friend’s wedding can give you some extra motivation. But it can also cause unrealistic goals when if you try to lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks by going on a crash diet and slaving away at the gym. Instead, make fitness a part of your lifestyle. And keep yourself motivated with smaller, more realistic deadline goals, using them checkpoints to set bigger goals.
Download my FREE 6-page Health and Fitness Bundle for an easy framework to set your goals and identify smaller action steps to help you meet them.
11. Dedicate time to mental health and self-care
Journal, practice
Need a fast and easy way to journal, practice gratitude, set and keep track of your goals, and reflect each week to ensure you’re developing your positive growth mindset? Make sure to download my FREE 6-page Health and Fitness Bundle!
What habits have helped you lose weight, get in shape, or stay fit?
