7 Simple Habits That Will Make You Fit For Life

Being healthy and fit doesn’t suggest you have to surrender yourself to working out for hours a day and eating nothing but steamed broccoli and chicken for every single meal. In matter of fact, there are different more powerful (and less depressing!) habits you can adopt today that will not only aid you get in shape in the short-run but will aid you stay that way for the long term as well.

These 7 habits are simple to implement into your everyday lifestyle, and will assist you to get fit and healthy for life:

1. Stop making excuses 

Yes, you are too busy to hit the gym. It takes plenty of time to prepare a healthy lunch and too hard to get something healthy to eat out. You would simply work out at home, but you just don’t know how.

All of these excuses are true in their own way, and yes, we have all been there. But if you actually want to get — and stay — healthy and fit, you have to learn how to abandon these excuses and start making your fitness and health your first priority.

2. Walk more

Even if you hit the gym 6 days a week, the actual answer to lifelong fitness is to simply be more active and easily walk more in your day-to-day life. Try making a mindful effort to walk whenever and wherever it is possible: to get your afternoon coffee, to the grocery store or go on a post-dinner stroll with your beloved family. Try and intend for at least 10,000 steps a day.

3. Don’t always deprive yourself 

Although it may appear counterintuitive, striving to be “ideal” with your nutrition is truly not a good long-term approach to get and stay in shape. Depriving yourself of dessert and all the other foods you love will simply result in a binge of those very same foods when your willpower is weak. Alternatively, try following the 80/20 strategy: eat healthy nearby 80% of the time, then allow yourself to have some treats every now and then. Just make sure they are indeed good ones!

4. Find activities that get you moving

Rather than regularly going to the movies or sitting around for long meals, try finding other activities you and friends or loved ones relish doing together. Take a scenic hike, go for a bike ride, set up a game of bocce ball for the entire family to enjoy — the list is infinite! Not only will you get moving, you’re bound to have more fun as a result.

5. Shorten your workouts

When you are planning an hour or more for a workout, of course, it isn't always achievable to go to the gym. But when you pack your whole workout into an effective, 10-20 minute HIIT workout that works your complete body and leaves you soaked in sweat, you will no longer have the same excuse to skip your workout as often as you ordinarily would. Just remember to work hard!

6. Make sleep a priority 

Many of us undervalue the significance of a good night’s rest, but it is vital for long-term health that you give your body a decent amount of sleep each night. And if thinking long-term is not enough of an incentive, remember this: too little sleep can also damage weight loss efforts due to raised cortisol levels. Try and get around 7 to 8 hours a night on a daily basis.

7. Find ways to actually enjoy your veggies

I understand it, not everyone loves how vegetables taste. Although I now crave wide range of veggies like Brussels, broccoli, kale and sprouts on a daily basis, there were surely times in my life when I ate nothing but mac and cheese for days (college, anyone?).

But vegetables are full with essential nutrients that keep your body healthy, and their rich fiber content also serve to fill you up. So if you don’t like a plain salad, find ways to make your veggies exciting: roast them with olive oil, pepper, and salt, toss them in a flavorsome stir fry or blend them into a juice so you don’t even notice they are there. If you do not despise them, you are much more likely to eat vegetables regularly.