The 10 Simple Steps to a Happy & Healthy Life

We often look for ways to make ourselves feel better, usually involving spending money which only temporarily lifts our mood. However, what we should be focusing on first is our health and habits. We need to do everything we can to stay happy and enjoy the time we have on this world, and our health is the key.
Here are the 10 steps I take to live a happy, enjoyable, and healthy lifestyle.
Taking the First Steps to a Happy Life
1. Preparation
Preparation is key to success and staying on track. Whether it’s prepping your meals and snacks for the next few days ahead. Prepping your workout gear so it’s easy to grab and get on with your exercise. Planning an R&R session to chill out and relax or planning your day to increase productivity so you can go to bed an hour early and get more sleep. It will take a bit of effort at first, but soon this will become an easy habit and part of your lifestyle. Start with one and soon you’ll find healthy living a super easy habit.
2. Eat Well
Nobody wants to feel hungry. The word diet makes you instantly think – I can’t have, and now I want! Diet is short term, yet we need to eat for the rest of our lives! So, with my guidance, learn how to eat right and eat more. Ensure you eat plenty of real, single ingredient foods. Balance every meal with protein, vegetables or low sugar fruit, healthy fats and the right amount of carbs.
3. Stay hydrated
Hydration is key in ensuring your body is feeling, looking and working its best. Get into the habit of carrying a bottle of water around with you and sip regularly throughout the day. If you favour a hot drink, make sure you’re drinking plenty of green tea, herbal teas or lemon water. Avoid drinking calories. Any fizzy drinks, juices or designer take out hot drinks are best avoided for optimum results. Stay clean and avoid sugars and chemicals.
4. Sufficient Sleep
Sleep is paramount for your energy, will power and fat burning potential. When sleeping your fat burning hormones come out to play. When you’ve had a great nights sleep you’ll feel more energised, positive and be stronger to make mindful decisions. You’ll have less cravings and feel awesome. The earlier you go to bed the better too!
5. Down Time
When you’re working towards healthy lifestyle goals, you need to work with your hormones and mindset. The more stressed you are, the more stress hormones will be swimming around your body and the more fat storing potential. Plan relaxing activities into your week such as a candle lit bubble bath, catch up with your best friend or go to bed a few hours early with a good book.
6. Stay Strong
Breaking old habits and creating new, healthy ones will be hard. There will be slip ups – we accept that. You may get a day when you slip up and feel like you’ve ruined everything and want to give up. DON’T! Accept it, look forward and move on. It happens. Whilst we know it’s not easy, make sure you continue to focus on your goals and keep looking forward. Overcoming obstacles is what helps to make us stronger. Don’t let them make you feel like a failure, make them the reason behind your success!
7. Work Smarter, Not Harder
We’re busy, and long training sessions can be boring, add more stress to your day and even get you little or no results. When you’re training, it is important to work smarter rather than harder. This means you it may be better to ditch the long cardio sessions and replace it for a short weight lifting workout. When working out, just like my 12 minute full body workouts, use your whole body, build muscle, burn fat, boost your fitness and feel amazing as you see and feel your body change. This will get you better results than long boring sessions you don’t enjoy doing.
8. Stay Positive
Your success will be determined by your thoughts and your drive. Every day, think about or even write down what you are grateful for. I know its sometimes easier said than done but being thankful, smiley, and nice will affect both you and the people around you. The more positivity you give out, the more will come back to you. There are many negative people out there – energy vampires – who drag others down. Avoid these vibes and practice being optimistic throughout your day. Remember you are amazing and your energy will help keep you motivated and inspired to live a brilliant life – it may even help motivate and inspire others.
9. Focus on Health
Too many people focus on the number on the weighing scales. Don’t allow this to be the driving force behind how successful you feel. When you focus on your health, you’ll feel full of energy, your inches will go down, your confidence will go up. Notice how more people give you compliments and free yourself from the oppressive grip of the scales.
10. Step Outside your Comfort Zone
This is where the magic happens! Life should be full of fantastic experiences and memories. Trying something brand new will excite you, challenge you, and help you have fabulous life. It’s ok to feel a bit nervous, excited or apprehensive about trying something new, but if you want change, you have to do something different. Doing the same thing over again will only give you the same results & experiences.
The Foundations to a Happy & Healthy Life
Many over-complicate the process when it comes to creating a happy and healthy lifestyle for themselves. The truth is, its simple. As long as you can get these 10 pillars in place, you have built the foundations and are on the road to a happy and healthy life