How to Start and Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

You’re either really into it, or you try to not think about it at all. Healthy lifestyle is a topic that has become more and more prominent in our everyday life. Thankfully! It’s a good thing to take care of your body – you only have one after all!

So let’s talk about healthy lifestyle

What exactly does it mean to take good care of your body? What are some healthy lifestyle examples that you could possibly try out for yourself?

I think it’s different for everybody. We are all so unique and our bodies require different care. So the healthy lifestyle guidelines that work for your friend – or even your favorite celebrity – might not work for you.

So it’s a long road full of trial and error. But that’s the beautiful thing about life, isn’t it? We all want a ‘structure’ of roughly the same things (success, prosperity, long life, love, etc.) but still the ‘perfect life’ is very different for everyone.

Same goes for healthy habits! You can follow the ‘structure’ below, but you’ll have to find out what the exact details are for yourself. Now that’s some real healthy lifestyle facts, if you ask me!

Why is maintaining a healthy lifestyle important? Answers to all your questions!

Here’s the thing – starting a new lifestyle is easy. It’s quite exciting to challenge yourself and try new things. However, maintaining these new habits is where it gets difficult.

There’s countless magazines, websites, social media posts and other media that share things like ’10 tips for a healthy lifestyle’, or ‘what are 10 ways to stay healthy’. But they never explain how you can keep on track after a while. But THAT is the crucial part of turning these new habits into a lifestyle that lasts!

Understanding what your body needs

Understanding is the first step to change. Because why would you change something when you’re already comfortable?

Watching Netflix is more comfortable than exercising. Throwing a pre-made pizza in the oven in faster than cutting up vegetables and waiting for it to cook. Blaming things on other people or external sources is easier than confronting yourself with your mistakes.

When you understand what a healthier life REALLY means and why you need it, It’ll be easier to make healthy decisions. Because you know WHY you’re doing it and how it benefits you. The habits now have a clear purpose!

It’s really a mindset thing

So it’s really all about the minset. And your mind is something that you have to train! Just like a muscle, regular exercise of the mind will help you strengthen it. With practice it’ll become easier and easier to tap into a healthy mindset whenever you want or need to.

Speaking of the mind, a healthy lifestyle is more than just nutrition and exercise for the body. The mind needs care too, to keep you healthy and happy! Teach yourself to look at the body and mind as two pillars with different needs. Both are equally important!

How do i start living a healthy lifestyle?

You’ve already started! By taking the time to read this page, it already shows that you’re interested in making a change. Well done, good for you!

Now what’s next? Have a read through the several ways of maintaining a healthy lifestyle listed below and just pick one that you’re going to introduce into your routine. Just one is enough! You don’t want to overwhelm yourself! Give it some time before you pick up a second.

What is the 21 day rule?

They say it takes 21 days of consistency to change a new habit into a lifestyle.

So you might want to bookmark this page so you can come back in 3 weeks to introduce your next healthy habit into your life. Only after the previous one has sticked! Or if you’ve realized that your first pick just might not work for you (which is fine!).

Keep using this 21-days method to try out a new habit, one by one. And in a few months you’ll be so thankful to your past self!

What are 7 ways to maintain a healthier life

Here’s 10 ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle, in no particular order. Just some easy-to-apply habits to get you started and help you stay on track.

Start with whatever feels the easiest or most comfortable to you personally!

1. Nutrition: learn and apply

Yeah, bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you? I want to kick off this list with the most obvious: nutrition. Food is literally fuel for your body.

A car can’t run on an empty engine, and neither can your body. And sticking with the car metaphor – it’s common knowledge that the wrong fuel damages the engine. Again, this also applies to your body! It needs the right fuel to stay healthy and thrive.

Like I said before: understanding is the first step to change. Knowledge of nutrition will help you understand what your body needs and which foods can give you just that.

The number one culprit we usually don’t eat nearly enough of is vegetables. So a wonderful first step to a healthier lifestyle is incorporating more veg into your daily food intake! I personally like to do a slow juice cleanse every once in a while.

Slow-juicing vegetables is something you can do by yourself if you have the right equipment, or you could purchase pre-made bottles. By drinking these healthy juices that are packed with nutritious foods you’re sure to get enough daily veggies into your system!

My go-to brand for pre-made vegetable juice is Sapje. They offer all kinds of boxes with different purposes. Or you can choose to select your own picks. What I like about their products is that they also add spices to their juices, to enhance the taste and add extra nutrients! And it comes in glass bottles, so they get bonus points for sustainability!

If you’re interested to try it out, I would recommend their Detox cleanse: 3 days to get started.

(I’m not an affiliate, I genuinely use and love their products! You can see me holding a Sapje bottle in the picture above)

2. Exercise: find your joy

Of course, we all know that exercise is good for you. But most of us see it as a chore!

Exercise should be fun! There’s so many ways to do it – you don’t have to lift weights or run the treadmill in the gym if you’re not into that. Try dancing, forest walks, trampoline jumping, swimming, horseback riding, team sports, hiking, surfing.. and that’s just naming a few!

There’s something for everyone – you just have to find your joy!

And let’s not forget, doing all kinds of exercise is so valuable to your body! As we get older, our muscles, bones and joints will suffer from serious degeneration, limiting you in your daily life. However, if your body is used to frequent exercise from a young age, this process will slow down, keeping your body healthy and flexible for so many more years! Talk about healthy lifestyle!

3. Sleep: charge and recover

Ohh a good night’s sleep is wonderful! During the night we charge our energy and recover whatever damage was done during the day, both physical and mental. Needless to say, getting enough hours of sleep is a very healthy habit.

When we are sleep deprived we feel sluggish, unmotivated and tired and we experience difficulties concentrating or keeping focus. It’s mentally exhausting and doesn’t exactly make you feel your best.

Physically you may not feel the effects right away, but your body will age faster as it doesn’t get the change to heal and recover. The first signs are paleness and dry skin, for example. And that usually doesn’t go unnoticed! You need sleep to keep your healthy glow!

No wonder they call it beauty sleep.

4. Relaxation: let go of stress

Wow, I cannot stress (pun intended) enough how IMPORTANT relaxation is!

Sadly it’s not exactly the first thing we think of when healthy lifestyle is the topic. But stress is our biggest silent killer and relaxation eliminates all tension!

A healthy lifestyle consists of a good balance of productivity and just chilling.

What’s really relaxing is different for everybody. Some people enjoy their alone time while others feel more relaxed when they’re with someone else. One might find peace in a hot bath with candles and a book while the other prefers to drink a glass of wine and listen to music.

Ideally everyone would have at least one moment of relaxation every single day. Your life is stressful enough as it as – you need your daily time off!

5. Self love: you’re worthy and deserving

It’s difficult for us to take care of your bodies when we don’t love ourselves. Sadly we tend to make all the wrong choices in that negative mindset.

That’s why practicing self love is a very important habit in a healthy lifestyle.

Love for your own body and mind will make you want to take better care of yourself. But that’s easier said than done. Trust me, I know.

Do you struggle with loving yourself? This list of books that every woman should read consists mostly of books about self love and helped me personally.

6. Positivity: radiate happiness

The power of a positive outlook on life should not be underestimated!

Focussing on the things you have, rather than the things you don’t. Seeing joy in the smallest things that others might overlook. Feeling gratitude for everyone and everything that you love. These things generate a feeling of pure joy and happiness, which is SO healthy for the mind!

With a positive mindset, you will feel better about yourself and everything around you. You will enjoy life so much more and you will radiate good vibes, which attracts good things in return!

7. Kindness: empathize

Kindness is another internal generator of pure happiness. Don’t you get such a rush of joy when you smile at a stranger and they smile back? Or when you say ‘hi’ and ‘thank you’ to the cashier when you check out your groceries?

The idea of brightening up someone else’s day and making them feel valued typically brings us joy. And happiness makes it easier for us to tap into the healthy mindset.

You’re smiling. Life is good.

What is the most important thing to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

The most important thing is step 5. It all begins with self love. Because once you REALLY love yourself, you will want to take better care of your body and mind. And maintaining a healthy lifestyle becomes almost effortless when it is what you truly want.

How do you start and maintain healthy habits?

You might still be asking ‘so, how do I start living a healthy lifestyle?’. The answer is annoyingly simple: Baby steps. Your body needs time to adjust to changes. This is why it is called a lifestyle and not a phase or diet.

Start by following the 21 days rule to try all the steps mentioned above one-by-one and see where that takes you on your journey.