Healthy Habits
Establish a Healthier You
Establishing a healthy habit can be daunting, especially if you don't know where to start. As it turns out, anyone can begin making small healthy changes in their lives that become healthy habits.
Read on to learn all about healthy living, the habits that facilitate it, and what it takes to make habits stick. You may be surprised that some of the most simple changes can make a lasting difference in your health.
What Is a Healthy Habit?
Healthy habits focus on a regular practice that promotes health and well-being, including both physical and emotional health.
Physical healthy habits may include an exercise program to strengthen your body or an eating style full of nutritious foods to support your overall health. Smart snacking is another important physical healthy habit. Choose snacks high in nutrients like Kroma Wellness' Superfood Snacks to help get you to your next meal feeling energized and satisfied.
Emotional healthy habits may be starting a meditation practice, talking to a friend, or scheduling an appointment with a therapist. Each of these habits can help boost your emotional and mental health.
What Are the Benefits of Healthy Habits?
Changes to your overall health don’t happen overnight. A healthy lifestyle requires the culmination of many healthy habits to support your emotional and physical health. Healthy habits can support a healthy weight and metabolic function and maintain normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Healthy habits affect more than just your physical appearance; you may notice your mental health improve as well. When supporting one area of the body, subsequent areas often improve as well. For example, when you exercise, you are not only improving your endurance, muscle tone, and heart health but also your cognitive function and emotional well-being.
What Are Some Healthy Habits?
There are a plethora of healthy habits you can incorporate into your daily life.
Start with one habit and focus on incorporating it into your life each day. Once you feel confident that habit is there to stay, begin another habit. This concept is called “habit stacking.” Slowly introducing new habits is important because focusing on too many new changes at once can leave you feeling overwhelmed — it may even cause you to quit your journey toward a healthier you.
Remember, little changes make a huge difference. Here are some simple changes you can begin incorporating:
Eat Nutritious Foods
Healthy eating habits are a key component to a healthier you. Swap out unhealthy foods like sugary, overly processed, or fried foods for healthier food choices. Healthy food choices include various veggies, whole grains, complex dense carbs, lean meats, and healthy fats. One way to successfully overhaul your diet is to meal plan and stock your pantry and fridge with whole foods full of nutrition.
Our 24k Chicken Bone Broth makes nutritious meals easy — just add some hot water, baked veggies, and your own protein of choice for a fiber-rich lunch or dinner in minutes.
When you live a busy life, focusing on eating healthy foods can be difficult. Making sure you consume the superfoods you need to meet your nutritional requirements each day can feel overwhelming.
At Kroma Wellness, we believe eating a well-rounded, whole-food diet doesn’t have to be hard. We have created delicious, convenient foods that provide the nutrients you need to feed your body.
If you need a complete rehaul of your diet or just a reboot to get you back on track, the Kroma Wellness 5-Day Reset is perfect for you. It comes with everything you need to fuel your body and create new healthy habits. Once your reset is complete, you can choose your favorite snacks, broths, lattes, and smoothies from The Daily Essential Collection to include in your daily diet.
Stay Hydrated
Your body weight is made up of 55% to 75% water depending on your stage of life. Water is an essential nutrient for life, and staying hydrated can affect your energy levels, weight, and many functions in the body.
During the day, you constantly experience water loss through sweat, breathing, urine, and feces. To offset this loss and maintain water homeostasis, it is imperative to hydrate throughout the day.
It is generally recommended that women consume about 75 ounces of fluids a day, while men should consume just over 100 ounces. Keep a reusable water bottle with you throughout the day to ensure you reach your water goals.
Water isn’t the only way you can hydrate your body. Hydration can also come from foods like fruits and leafy greens — and our smoothies are a great way to get liquids in if you are using water as a base. Thankfully, our Blueberry Acai Smoothie is so creamy that it tastes delicious with just a scoop of nut butter and water!
Hydration can also come from other beverages — herbal teas, natural fruit juices, and nut milks all provide hydration. If you want to stick with water but need a little flavor boost, try our Cranberry Hydration Elixir. It'll give your water a boost in flavor and electrolytes.
Get Active
Moving your body is another foundation for establishing a healthier you. The benefits of exercise go beyond strong muscles and a “summer-ready” body. Regular exercise has been shown to support heart health, metabolic function, bone health, and overall health. Starting an exercise habit can also help you quit bad habits that may not be serving you, like smoking.
To start an exercise routine, choose a program that fits within your lifestyle and keep it fun. You could choose classes at the gym or check out online videos you can follow at home. Mix up your routine so that you don't get bored and start slacking on your progress.
If you struggle to get the motivation to exercise, try finding a workout buddy. A friend or relative can keep you accountable to your goals, and you can do the same for them. You’ll find Kroma Founder Lisa Odenwaller working out on the beach with her daughter Lexi and countless other like-minded friends.
Keep track of your progress to see how far you have come. It can be hard to notice the small changes made each day, but you may be surprised when you have written proof of how far you’ve come.
Also, try making simple changes like taking a short walk each day or after each meal. Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from the door to the store. Get outside and play with your kids instead of staying inside. These are easy ways to get more active.
Manage Stress
Stress can affect many aspects of your life, including your health. Stress can impact memory and cognitive skills, lower immune response, and negatively affect heart health and digestion.
Stress is an unavoidable part of modern life, and your body has systems in place to deal with acute stress that comes and goes. However, when your body is under constant or chronic stress, you may see more adverse health effects.
If you find yourself stuck in chronic stress, you can introduce healthy lifestyle habits that help reduce your stress and potential stress-related health problems. Mindfulness and meditation are two ways you can reduce stress. Mindfulness is about being in the present moment, with an awareness of your moods, feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Mindfulness doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive; it can be as easy as 10 deep breaths to regulate your parasympathetic nervous system during the day.
Sleep Well
Sleep is a huge component of health, equal to a healthy diet and exercise. You can improve your mood, brain health, and overall health with sleep. While you sleep, certain systems in your body — like your brain, immune system, and blood vessels — work hard to repair themselves. When it comes to sleep, it is important to prioritize quantity, quality, and consistency.
To ensure you get the best quality sleep, create healthy habits that prioritize sleep and relaxation. You have already started some of these habits; eating well, exercising, and managing stress can all benefit your sleep.
A nighttime routine can help you wind down from a long day. For example, focus on turning off screens 30 minutes to an hour before your bedtime. Other helpful nighttime habits include reading a book, meditating, drinking a calming tea, and soaking in a warm bath. Our Calming + Restore Magnesium drink also helps with sleeping and relaxation before bedtime.
Set alarms to encourage a regular bedtime and wake-up time that trains your internal clock.
Form Community
Community may not seem like a pillar of a healthy lifestyle, but it plays a huge role. People who have more social connections have been shown to live healthier and longer lives than those who are more isolated.
Community can be family, friends, and groups you may belong to. If you are looking for a community, look for groups in your town. Try signing up for group activities or volunteering at a nonprofit organization to meet like-minded people.
Make it a habit to try new experiences with others in your larger community, or start a Kroma Reset friend group for accountability and social connections.
Get Checkups
Scheduling your doctor checkups can be an afterthought to your busy schedule, but it's time to make them a priority. Regular preventative care can improve your health outcomes over time. Regular checkups include your yearly physical with your primary care doctor and dentist appointments every six months. A yearly well-woman exam with your OB/GYN is also important if you are female.
Go Outside
Falling into the daily grind of working in an office and sitting at home can easily become the norm. Going from one indoor space to another without any time to enjoy the great outdoors is common in many inactive lifestyles.
Instead of spending your days cooped up inside, prioritize going outside. Spending time outside has been shown to have both acute and long-term health benefits, including improvements in mental health, weight management, overall health, and energy.
How Long Does It Take To Create a Habit?
Healthy activities can take time to become habits. For many, 90 days or about three months is typically the time needed to create a habit. However, many variables can play into creating a habit. For example, if you are starting a habit of drinking more water, it may take less time for the habit to form as drinking water takes little time and effort. Exercising is more complicated and thus may take more dedicated time to achieve.
How Do You Make a Habit Stick?
The key to making habits stick is to start small. Don't expect to be able to run a marathon if you haven’t run in three years. Begin by taking daily walks around the block, adding short stretches of running. Slowly, increase your time spent running until you can run around the block without trouble. Try this slow-increase method for any habit you are trying to develop.
Other tips for helping your habit stick include making a plan, prioritizing your new habit in your schedule, and tracking your progress. Finally, don't be discouraged by failure. Life happens, and skipping a day or two of your healthy activity isn't the end of the world. Don’t give up; keep up the amazing work.
The Bottom Line
Healthy habits can benefit your emotional, mental, and physical health. Focusing on small healthy changes each day can create lasting health habits to establish a healthier you.
At Kroma Wellness, we know the benefits of creating simple healthy habits to increase your overall health. We have taken our belief that food is medicine and created lifestyle essentials that provide you with the nutrition you need in simple, convenient products.
Changing Your Habits for Better Health | NIDDK
Real-Life Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity | National Institute on Aging
Water, Hydration and Health | PMC
[How much water do we really need to drink?] | PubMed
Benefits of Exercise | MedlinePlus
The impact of stress on body function: A review | PMC
Good Sleep for Good Health | NIH News in Health
Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy | PMC
The Habit Loop: 5 Habit Triggers That Make New Behaviors Stick | James Clear
The 5-Day Reset: Deluxe
24K Chicken Bone Broth
Cranberry Hydration Elixir
Calming + Restore Magnesium
Perfect Fast Ginger Turmeric Tea
OMG Cookie Butter
Supergreens Elixir
