The other day one of you guys left a comment on my instagram— asking,

“if there is somebody who’s living a very, very unhealthy lifestyle with a lot of stress, health problems, hormones, and busy days and you could give them one advice to live, eat, drink a more healthy life, what would it be?”

I thought this was a great question. We’re all taxed in someway or another. For the most part, we’re all wanting to live better– to feel better. And so I gave one answer… and then another.. and then I had to stop myself from writing a novel long response in the comment section, because I could actually go on and on with easy switches and new suggestions that one should make. Even if we’re not in a high stress moment or not currently ย struggling with any obvious health problems, any little change is a good change. You know? Well, sitting here today I thought, this would actually make a pretty great post for you guys.

I mean, a fair amount of these suggestions will be fairly common sense– but sometimes even the bulk of us needs a reminder of common sense activities we could be practicing ๐Ÿ˜‰ Maybe you do one or two of these day-to-day things already. Maybe you don’t do any of them. But if you are looking for super easy habits to change/join in your lives to just feel overall healthier– then maybe this is the post for you ๐Ÿ™‚ These are all pretty basic daily activities you can practice. Slowly change one thing at a time and eventually you’ll notice an overall jump in your health and life for sure!

10 Easy Habits To Create A Healthier Life

  1. Eat more fresh + raw food. You’ll feel more alive by eating foods that are more alive. Even just adding a fruit smoothie to your morning routine is a good start. Skip the toast, skip the eggs or cereal, skip whatever dead/processed thing you normally go for and try some fruit. Not into fruit? Try a green juice or even a salad. There are no breakfast rules. Just eating more fresh, live, raw food. It’s a really easy switch that’ll help with your digestion and give you more life in the long run. This is one of the number one suggestions I’d recommend to anyone. This will improve your mood and your life. Promise.
  2. Speaking of digestion, A LOT of energy goes into your digestion. Eating foods to create better digestive patterns will give you more energy and increase nutrient absorption. I lean to the side of high carb low fat diet, but even if you don’t want to eat that way, do try to improve your digestion. You can read this post on proper food combining to learn some simple eating changes you can make that’ll make a big difference.
  3. Eat whole and real food. This is similar to the first tip, but more specific for eating as a whole. Skip restaurants and eating out when you can– and eat real and whole foods at home. While eating out at restaurants can be delicious, it’s a terrible habit for your body. The focus at restaurants tends to be flavor, not health. They aren’t skimping on the processed oils and junky flavor enhancers. Eating at home is best. But even at home, change your habits— Skip the pre-made sauces, the flavored packaged goods, skip anything with a list of ingredients really. Buy whole items and cook something at home. Doesn’t have to complex or extravagant– it can be a really, REALLY simple meal. But keeping it whole and fresh will make all the difference for your health. And hey, it saves your money too!
  4. Drink more water. How many times have you heard this? But it’s true. Unless you’re a full-fledged raw fruitarian, then you need to be drinking more water to make up for the dehydration cooked food is creating in your system. Water will help your digestion and create better bowel movements, help flush out toxins, it will hydrate your skin and make you look better. Water is vital for a healthy life. Why don’t full fruitarians need to drink water? Because the water content is so high in fruit and they dont lose water digesting cooked foods. Another reason to add more raw and fresh foods to your diet: it helps you hydrate! Oh and fresh coconut water is amazinggg for hydration. And it’s packed with natural magnesium– so it’ll definitely help move things right a long in your body.
  5. Drink CLEAN water. Just as important as drinking water in the first place, you want to be sure that the water you’re drinking is clean and not laced with nasty toxins that the water should help be flushing out in the first place. I wrote a post on our water filtration system, a few years ago (not sponsored), and I can say we still use and love the system we have, years later. This is one of the easiest switches you can make. And by the way, we even filter the water we cook with. You can kill parasites, viruses, and some bacteria by boiling water, but you can’t boil out chemicals.
  6. SUNSHINE! It makes me so sad to see so many people scared of the sun these days. THE SUN IS YOUR FRIEND. The same way plants absorb their vital nutrients through sun absorption, we do too. Humans were born outside, in nature– just like the rest of the animals in the planet. Hiding indoors to avoid sunshine is not how the equation functions properly. I’m not saying you need to lobster it out at the beach all day– but just get some damn sun! Even if it’s just sitting outside to complete a chore like going through your mail or something. Get out there and get your nutrients. Worried about skin cancer? The most deadly types of skin cancer are found in places of your body that will never see the sun– like your butt crack. So I’m pretty sure avoiding the sun like the plague isn’t the answer to your skin cancer fears.
  7. ย Unplug. Turn off your wifi at night (you don’t need it and its bad for you). Give yourself phone-free time before bed and when you wake up. This phone in hand and in pocket lifestyle really only spiked up in the last decade. It wasn’t like this before. Opt to make real connections with people, not just through text. And if you’re in a situation where most of your interactions have to be online– due to location or whatever, fine use it to connect, but give yourself space to unplug. The screen time function on the iPhone is a great tool, use it. Give yourself a timer for the day and don’t go past that. Not sure what to do when your screen time is up? Cook something, read something, go for a walk, create art, whatever! You’ll feel more productive, more creative, and more alive. While cell use is often times inevitable, consider getting yourself an EMF protecting case. I got one this year and plan to order one for Alex soon. Every little bit of radiation avoidance helps.
  8. Remove high allergen and inflammatory foods from your diet. This tip is hard and easy at the same time. It’s a hard adjustment, but once you get into the groove of it, it’s pretty easy. Dairy and gluten are the two main allergen and inflammatory foods I’d suggest removing first. I’m not saying you need to go vegan (though that would be great) but dairy is TERRIBLE for your health. Get rid of it for a few weeks– you know, just a trial period– and see how you feel. You’ll be thanking me in a month. You’re sinuses will be clearer, your bowels will be healthier, and your skin will be cleaner. After that I’d consider removing or limiting eggs, soy, nuts, or whatever you foods you notice may not feel great after eating. Again, it doesn’t have to be a permanent change, but do a few trials and see how you do.ย ย Pay attention to your body, be its friend, listen to it. Check in with yourself after each meal, a strenuous activity, or a daily task that you partake in and see if it’s benefitting you or hurting you.
  9. SLEEP. Seriously, make sleep a priority. I used to live in a world where sleep felt like a waste of time, an optional activity. In the past 5 years or so I’ve learned that sleep needs to be a priority– sleep is not a waste of time. Sleep is in fact really, really productive. While you sleep you regenerate new cells, fight off viruses and bacteria, give your mind a break, and more. Whatever you need to do, whatever you need to give up, make sure you have enough time in your life for a good nights sleep.
  10. GO TO THE BATHROOM. For real. This is my second most important tip. But if you’re doing all the tips listed above, this one will come super naturally! I know no one wants to get all nitty-gritty with poop talk, but you need to be having long, snake-like bowels AT LEAST 1 to 3 times a day! After each meal is best. But even just one time a day, naturally, without coffee, is beneficial. I think you can agree that a bunch of used food, toxins, bacteria, viruses, hormones, and whatever else don’t need to be sitting in your colon for extended periods of time. Drink water, eat clean food, practice proper food combining, get your sleep, avoid dairy– and soon enough you’ll find yourself going to the bathroom 1 to 3 times a day. I wrote about the supplements I take already, but for real, a big believer in taking extra magnesium each day. This alone will make your bathroom visits more productive. Keeping your digestion easy and your colon clear will help you get sick less, have lighter periods, be less agitated, and on and on and on. Take care of your colon and it’ll take care of you too ๐Ÿ˜‰

Alright friends! That is my list of simple activities you can practice for better health. Honestly, I could add a zillion more things, but we’ll keep it short and sweet with ten tips ๐Ÿ˜‰ It can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. I was only able to make proper changes in my life after getting sick. I was pretty stubborn before then. And while getting sick sucked, I’m grateful for the changes it forced me to make. The most important thing you can do is listen to your body. Check in with yourself and see what changes you need to make ๐Ÿ™‚ It’ll thank you! Feel free to add more tips to the comment section ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m always learning too! Cheers!

2 Comments

  1. This, again, makes so much sense to me! Especially #4. I keep telling my friends who don’t think I drink enough water that I easily overhydrate (have had it happen to me before and was in the hospital many years ago before cdiff) because I go through phases where I eat mostly nothing but raw fruits and some raw veggies. Simply because it was what my body craved. I think I was going through some adrenal fatigue. During this time, though, I was still trying to hydrate the way I would when I was 15 lbs heavier eating mostly meat, fast food, and processed foods, and it just was not working out for me. I had to just accept that my body required less hydration while I’m eating this way. You are the first source I’ve ever found that acknowledges and corroborates this notion, which my best friend thinks is insane. lol. I will research raw fruitarian. Never even heard of it. Thanks for this!

  2. Hi Drea ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Thanks for all these amazing tips. I absolutely agree that it’s so important to eat fresh whole foods as often as possible. I love to cook (guess that’s why I write a food blog ๐Ÿ˜…) and since I learned how to do it without any pre-made packaged stuff it’s all on a totally different level. I love the fact that I now know what’s in my food and aren’t putting all kind of strange chemicals in my body while eating. Our great grandparents were so lucky that they never needed to worry about such stuff. ๐Ÿ˜‰
    Anyhow, my advice for someone living a stressful life would be to start meditating. I only started it about a month ago and I’m already much calmer and more relaxed than before. And my reactions in times of stress have started to change too. To the better. At least my husband says so. ๐Ÿ™‚ I use an app for this (yeah, I never thought there were apps for this too) but you can find guided meditations online I guess. Or read a book about it (while unplugging ๐Ÿ˜‰).

    Ok, I’ll leave it at that. Thanks for the inspiration, Drea ๐Ÿ’›
    xo, Romy

    In Love with Bliss – plantiful recipes nourishing body & soul