How to Develop Healthier Habits
- Ciara
- Jul 17, 2020
- 10 min read
We're all human and we all develop bad habits. Most of us want to change it but how? Why is it so difficult to make a lasting change? Most people settle in to what they're comfortable with and used to, but today we will be exploring healthier habits and how to maintain them. It always start with small steps to begin the road to enhancing your quality of life.
As life goes on we develop bad habits along the way whether it's biting your nails, not drinking enough water, over eating , or bad sleep schedules. It all affects our body in negative ways, it becomes involuntary. These habits will become so powerful it affects the environment around you, your mood and your body. It's time to incorporate healthy habits and live a healthier lifestyle, so let's explore how we can achieve those goals.
A Healthy Diet
A sustainable healthy diet is the most important habit you can pick up. In today's hustle and bustle sometimes it's hard to sit down and make good well balanced meals everyday and we tend to pick easy, quick processed meals or fast food. But it's not hopeless it can be achieved with just small changes to your lifestyle.
The Crock-Pot is your friend
Let's be honest we all work and sometimes we just don't have the time to map out a meal, prep and cook it. Lucky for us, we have the Crock-Pot at our disposal! there are so many healthy recipes to choose from, I tend to get mine off of Pinterest or a simple google search.
What i love about it is you can take just about anything, toss it in and have a piping hot balanced meal by the time you get home from work. This will become your best friend i swear it! For the busy moms or full time workers, anyone can use it.
It's so easy and even though it's just me and my husband i will fill that crock pot up so we can pack up leftovers for lunches or days we don't feel like cooking dinner. Not only will you save money from going out but you will always have a home cooked meal at your disposal. Fridge your meals up to a week or freeze them for months! You can't go wrong with a Crock-Pot in your kitchen. Below i will link where you can find a Crock-Pot and also a few of my favorite go-to recipes!
Crock-Pot: Walmart for $27 click here.
Honey Garlic Chicken: Recipe. ( Pictured Above)
Greek Chicken: Recipe.
Tuscan Chicken: Recipe.
Meal Prepping
Meal Prepping is preparing your meals ahead of time just like having a TV dinner but with better, healthier, unprocessed ingredients. Not only does it save you time but also money and ensures you maintain a healthy balanced diet.
I like to do my cooking on a Sunday so the whole week is planned out. Don't get overwhelmed being a beginner, go week by week and start with one meal group until you pick up a groove. I mainly do it for breakfast and lunches for my husband since he works 30 mins away from home and is also Gluten Intolerant so it's hard for him to go out anyways.
Luckily since the craze of meal prepping has spread you can find the plastic containers at Walmart or Amazon with portion sections, or if you prefer to stay away from plastic try a glass container. Below i'll link some containers and some of my favorite meal prep recipes.
Plastic Containers: Walmart for $10 click here.
Glass Containers: Amazon for $25 click here.
Overnight Oats: 6 Recipes.
Spicy Chicken/Sweet Potato: Recipe.
Turkey/Cauliflower Rice Bowl: Recipe.
Burrito Bowl: Recipe.
Intermittent Fasting/ Lowering Food Consumption
This section is more for people wanting to change their eating habits and loose weight. I will be discussing how i personally lost 125 lbs and my experiences with lowering my food consumption and intermittent fasting.
What is Intermittent Fasting? It's not a diet but a eating pattern, when you eat vs what you eat. Common intermittent fasting methods involve daily 16-hour fasts or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week. Now the 24 hr i believe is for the more advanced person. What i normally follow is this chart below:
Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 12–8 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between. This is what i follow on the daily, I'm not a coffee drinker so it's water all morning maybe a tea with honey, occasionally i will have a snack if i'm really hungry. You should never "starve yourself" so starting out i'd say fight the urge as much as possible until your body gets used to it but if your stomach is growling - have a handful of nuts or a cup of fruit. something really small. The key is to get your body used to the schedule so it will not be constantly hungry but only in the designated times you set. It is very hard at first, i have struggled with over-eating my whole life but I've never been a breakfast person, so for me the hardest part was eating smaller meals and snacking after 8-9PM.
By doing this fasting i have reduced my calorie intake from 2200-2000 calories a day to around 850-1500 a day, just depends on how hungry i am that day. The daily calorie intake for a woman should be 1500-2000. and Men at 1800-2200. Now everybody is different so what works for me may not for you, so go based on how your body feels and make sure your body is still getting the nutrients it needs.
Intermittent Fasting not only will lower insulin levels and increase growth hormone levels, but it allows the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
Because of these changes in hormones, short-term fasting may increase your metabolic rate by 3.6–14% . Studies show that this eating pattern can bring 3-8% more weight loss over a 3-24 week period. The same study shows people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, removing the harmful belly fat that builds around the organs and causes diseases. That is a significant amount guys! So remember keep the meals small and you could really drop those pounds! Look at me in a year and a half of intermittent fasting I've lost 125 lbs and still going! You can achieve anything you want if you just develop the habit.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is extremely important for our bodies every cell, tissue, and organ needs it to survive. Traditionally we are told to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. A glass of water in the morning as soon as you wake up is a recommended to help start your day hydrated and awake. For the people who don't care for the taste of water, you can always enhance it naturally with lemon or lime juice, fruit, etc. Keep an eye out for signs of dehydration including: headaches, low blood pressure, muscle cramps, fatigue, thirst, and dark colored urine. There also is a product made by Liquid IV called hydration multiplier so it takes a glass of water and triples it. They come unflavored and in flavors such as passion fruit, acai berry, and lemon lime. This product is sworn by professional athletes and high activity workers alike for helping keep them properly hydrated while being physically active and out in the elements. Check it out here.
A Healthy Sleep Schedule
Sleep is vital to your physical and mental health giving you energy, helping your body relax and renew itself for the next day. On average adults should sleep around 7-9 hours a day. Your behaviors during the day have a major impact, your work day, what you eat and drink, medications, and how you spend your evenings all contribute to the quality of sleep you will have. If you have difficulty sleeping or getting to sleep and want to improve try some of these healthy sleep habits:
1. make your bedroom quiet and relaxing with a cool temperature.
An aromatherapy diffuser, white noise machines, mood lighting and a made up bed really does put you at ease and relaxation for a restful sleep. Check out these products below.
Aroma Diffuser: Amazon for $15 click here.
White Noise Machine: Amazon for $26 click here.
2. Limit exposure to bright lights in the evenings.
Dimming your lights as it gets closer to bedtime is very healthy not only for your eyes but for your body to begin to fall into rest mode. Turn off those overhead lights and get dim.
3. Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
Being active has a major role in your sleep routine, you end up with energy wiring you up at night. Eating right will also tremendously change the way your body will feel. Eating clean and cutting yourself off at 8-9PM will help your gut and body to be more restful and ready for bed.
4. Try to get on a schedule for waking up and going to bed.
Setting a schedule whether you work or not can be very important for your sleep hygiene. Allowing your body to set to a clock can help you go to sleep faster and wake up easier. try to at least get 7 hours of sleep.
5. Use your bed for only sleep or sex.
Your bed should be your sanctuary for relaxing and having a little bit of fun in the sheets. studies show by not spending time hanging around in your bed will help you feel more relaxed going to sleep. your bed will be cool and relaxing and inviting. Just how you like it.
Fitness and Being Active
Busy schedules normally means working out gets thrown to the side. You actually don't need more then 20 minutes to get a good workout and your blood pumping. From yoga, lifting weights to cardio we all have our favored exercise. Let's explore some of the things that can get you in and out in no time and back to your productive day.
Yoga
Yoga is one of my favorite exercises to do. it involves relaxing your body and stretching your muscles. Benefits of Yoga include:
-increased flexibility
-increased muscle strength and tone
-maintaining a balance
-weight reduction
-improved respiration, energy and vitality
-protection from injury
-improved mind and body relaxation
i like to do yoga in the comfort of my own home with some aromatherapy and soft music. If you're a beginner-intermediate yogi try to find a good video to follow, pinterest actually has a lot of workouts to follow, or go to a local class. either way you will be feeling at peace and nice and stretched out by the time you're done. Some doctors even recommend doing yoga twice a day, in the morning and evening before bed.
Cardio
Whether you're at the gym or at home you can fit some cardio into your day. 15-20 mins is all you need to get that heart pumping. Benefits to Cardio include:
-strengthens your heart and muscles
-burns calories
-boosts your mood and increases endorphins
-helps you sleep better at night
-prevents and manages high blood pressure
-helps control your appetite
If you're a beginner start with walking 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon. Once you've gotten in the groove you can always expand to trying different forms of cardio at the gym or at home. Once again Pinterest has an immense collection of workouts to find for beginners all the way up to advanced. so definitely check that out.
Lifting Weights
This is one of my favorite work-outs and ways to stay healthy and fit. If you're a girl don't be afraid to get into weights. the rumors that you'll get big bulky muscles are not true. Go to your gym and get a personal trainer or just start small with some weights at home. Benefits of lifting weights include:
-improved posture
-gaining bone density
-maintaining weight loss
-boosting metabolism
-better sleep
-lowering inflammation
-build muscle
So whether you want to lightly tone your body or really get a pump in you can't go wrong adding a little bit of gym in your life. If you're a beginner just start small, get a good trainer or program to follow and start building those muscles!
Take up a Sport
There are a variety of sports you can incorporate into your schedule to help you stay active. One of my faves is swimming/ water aerobics. If your gym has one it's perfect to go for a swim after a workout to loosen your muscles back up and help them recover faster. Benefits to swimming include:
-takes impact stress off of body
-good for cardiovascular health, and endurance
-tones muscles and builds strength
-improves flexibility
-improves coordination, balance and posture
-alleviates stress
-provides an all-over-body workout
-helps maintain healthy weight, heart and lungs
There are plenty of other sports to take up like tennis that increases reaction time and and aerobic capacities; Or softball that gives total body conditioning and teaches teamwork. No matter what you choose getting into a sport can only elevate your life and health.
Mental Health
Mental Health is important in every stage of life. Over the course of your life you will experience at least one mental health problem, they are very common but help is available. People that experience mental health problems can get better and find habits and ways to overcome it, some may even recover completely. We're going to go over some basic habits to help keep your mental health positive and healthy.
Socialize
Studies show that people with strong ties to friends, family, and community tend to be happier and have a better support system. Socializing can sometimes be scary, especially for the introvert. But trust me getting yourself out there and socializing even for short periods can drastically impact your mental health. People who have a lack of social lives are more likely to feel disconnected, depressed and lonely. Go out, make an effort and enjoy the company of others - It's good for you!
Get Outdoors
Going outside and getting some fresh air restores your mental energy, gives you clarity, and overall uplifts your mood. Being outside taking in the sunlight and scenery can boost serotonin levels in your brain, improving your mood. Getting up and moving around can increase blood circulation and reduce inflammation, it can even sharpen your thinking and expand your creativity. Whether it be the park, a trail, or just sitting out on your porch taking in the air and living in the moment can provide a huge impact on your mood and mental health.
Meditate
It can take many forms from sitting quietly and taking a few deep breaths to fully disconnecting yourself from your surroundings and clearing your mind of all racing thoughts. You don't have to be a master of Zen to reap the benefits of meditation. Benefits to meditation include: reducing stress, controlling anxiety, enhancing self awareness, improving emotional health, and lengthening attention span. So next time you're feeling overwhelmed or anxious try to just disconnect, take deep breathes and let go.
Laugh
it's no lie when they say laughter is the best medicine. Everybody loves a good laugh, that's because laughter releases those feel good chemicals in your brain. Benefits of laughing are: reduced stress, improved short-term memory, increase your ability to learn, boosts immune system, burns calories, protects the heart, relaxes the whole body, reduces anger and can even help you live longer! So go crack some jokes, watch a comedy or funny videos with someone close to you and smile!
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