Starting a healthy lifestyle isn't as difficult as you might think! Many women want to get healthier, but when they don't know how to get started, they quickly get discouraged and give up.
To make starting a healthy lifestyle more accessible, make a few small healthy lifestyle changes, one at a time, and add additional changes over time.
That way, you won't feel overwhelmed, which increases your chance of long-term success!
Set goals and stick to them. You might slowly increase the number of minutes you spend exercising or doing activities of daily living or boost exercise speed and intensity. Add stress-reduction strategies, nutritious eating habits, or more water (one strategy at a time) until you reach all of your health goals.
The right mindset, water, sleep, good nutrition, daily activities, exercise, and supplements are the keys to starting a healthy lifestyle!
Read on to learn more about how to start down a slow, steady path toward better health.
Doing these 9 bad habits in daily life can lead to weight gain, decreased energy, and more!
Why Starting a Healthy Lifestyle is Important
There are so many reasons to start a healthy lifestyle now.
Some of the main benefits you can expect when adopting healthy habits include:
- More energy
- Improved athletic performance
- Leaner body mass
- Lower waist circumference
- Reduce the risk of chronic diseases
- Stronger immune system
- Longer life expectancy
- Improved mental health
- More self-confidence
- Better overall quality of life
Starting a healthy lifestyle reduces your chance of developing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, obesity, and other chronic diseases, as well as a heart attack or stroke.
There's no time like today to adopt healthier habits and increase your life expectancy!
The Best Ways to Start a Healthy Lifestyle
Use the following tips to get started with a healthier way of life!
Get the Right Mindset
Having the right mindset is essential when starting a healthy lifestyle. Make good habits your main priority to avoid eating junk food, drinking excess alcohol, smoking, and having a sedentary lifestyle. Make a list of all of the benefits you desire to experience after making healthy changes in your day-to-day routine.
Set Goals
Studies show that people who set goals are more successful at making healthy lifestyle changes than those who don't!
Set goals for your body weight, waist circumference, health parameters (cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.), number of hours you exercise, the servings of fruits and vegetables you eat daily, and the number of hours of sleep you get each night — just to name a few.
Reward yourself (choose non-food rewards) for meeting your goals! You might buy a new outfit, take a vacation, or get a massage or pedicure.
Drink More Water
Drinking plenty of water is one of the most important habits to adopt when starting a healthy lifestyle. Your body uses water for nearly every function, and most people don't drink as much water as they should.
Women need about 12 cups of total fluids daily, but you might need more than this if you sweat a lot or when in hot temperatures.
All fluids count toward meeting your daily fluid goal, but water is one of the healthiest options. Milk, plant milk, plain kefir, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, protein shakes, coffee, and tea are other great choices.
If your goal is weight loss, consider drinking about 2 cups of water before meals to boost satiety and make it easier to eat fewer calories.
Get Better Sleep
If you're not getting enough sleep, your body suffers in numerous ways. You might lack physical and mental energy, have poor athletic performance, experience increases in appetite due to hormone fluctuations, or have undesirable weight gain.
In order for your body to function the way it's designed to, aim to get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.
To do so effectively, sleep in a cool dark room, set a regular bedtime, and avoid smoking, alcohol, and caffeine, large meals, feeling hungry, and screen time before bed. If you need to, use a white noise machine to block out sounds that often wake you up during the night. Get treated for sleep apnea if you have this condition. Signs of sleep apnea include waking up tired, loud snoring, and excessive daytime fatigue.
Reduce Stress
Stress can increase your blood pressure, alter hormone levels, and cause increases in appetite and weight gain. Keeping stress levels low might feel challenging, but taking a few simple steps, one at a time can help.
Lighten up an overly busy schedule, take a day off from work, and try relaxation techniques like massage, yoga, tai chi, spending time outdoors, exercising regularly, going for walks, reading a book, listening to music, or taking a vacation.
Consider guided sleep meditation to ease stress and help you get a better night's sleep.
Eat More Protein, Vegetables, and Plant-Based Fats
Starting a healthy lifestyle includes eating the right foods and altering your meal plan when necessary.
You don't have to “diet” to become healthier.
Simply focus on nutrient-dense foods that increase fullness and your body's metabolism while making it easier to achieve and maintain ideal body weight.
Focus on eating a variety of foods from these three categories:
- Protein-Rich Foods: very lean organic meat, chicken, turkey, duck, fish, seafood, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, milk or plant milk, legumes (peas, beans, lentils, etc.), nuts, seeds, nut butter, tofu, seitan, veggie burgers, and other plant-based proteins
- Fiber-Rich Plant Foods: fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds
- Heart-Healthy Fats: olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, other plant-based oils, avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butter, and olives
Aim to fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with protein foods, fiber-rich starches (starchy vegetables, legumes, or whole grains), and heart-healthy fats.
Increase Activities of Daily Living
Exercise is a must if you want to stay lean, have muscle definition, maintain an ideal weight, and keep your risk of chronic diseases low.
Aim to increase your activities of daily living to at least 45 minutes per day.
Activities you might choose include shopping, playing golf, walking your dog, playing tennis, doing house chores or yard work, playing outside with your kids, or having a career that keeps you on your feet. Any activities that keep your body moving count toward the 45-minute goal!
If you already do 45 minutes of activities daily, aim for 60 minutes or more.
Exercise Daily
Planned exercise is different than activities of daily living, though they are sometimes one and the same. Planned exercise might include jogging, cycling, playing tennis, lifting weights, or using a stair climber, rowing machine, or elliptical machine.
Try home workouts that combine cardiovascular exercise with strength training into one highly effective fat-burning workout!
Change up your exercise regimen often to achieve the best results, and aim for at least 30-60 minutes of planned exercise most days of the week.
Take Dietary Supplements for Women
Taking dietary supplements for women is vital when starting a healthy lifestyle is your goal. Despite eating nutritious foods, women people don't consume all of the essential nutrients their bodies need on a daily basis.
Consider trying Fit Mother Project dietary supplements designed for women of all ages. You might also take a multivitamin supplement, probiotics, omega-3 supplements, protein supplements, or other supplements that enhance starting a healthy lifestyle.
Ask your doctor to complete a simple blood test to look for potential deficiencies in iron, vitamin D, or other essential nutrients. They may suggest you take extra vitamins or minerals to correct a deficiency or reduce your chance of fatigue, thinning hair, weakened immunity, brittle hair and nails, or other signs of deficiencies.
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See Your Doctor Regularly
Even if you're in good health, it doesn't hurt to check in with your doctor at least once a year. Doing so can detect possible health issues before they become serious.
Hormone imbalance, which is common among women over 40, can decrease your body's metabolism and make it difficult to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight.
Your doctor might suggest you undergo treatment to improve hormone balance in addition to starting a healthy lifestyle.
Join the Fit Mother Project
Joining the Fit Mother Project is a huge benefit when starting a healthy lifestyle is your goal. The program has had proven success.
It's helped thousands of members get fit, reduce the risk of diseases, achieve an ideal weight, have more energy, and live their best lives.
When you sign up for the program, you have access to customized meal plans, social and emotional support from other fit moms, online health coaching, fat-burning workouts, recipes, weekly newsletters, and more.
Try a Fit Mother Project free meal plan and workout to get started on your journey toward starting a healthy lifestyle.
Our Fit Mother 30X Program (FM30X) is the answer you’ve been looking for. Inside FM30X, you’ll receive:If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight,
get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good,
this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…
If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight,
get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good,
this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…
*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice — simply very well-researched info on starting a healthy lifestyle.
