7 Habits of Highly Healthy People
Since I've taken such a keen interest in my health over the last couple of years, and particularly since I've adopted a Paleo lifestyle I've come to be surrounded by more and more healthy people. It doesn't take long to realise that these people have a lot in common. I've been trying to understand exactly what they do differently, so that I can try to adopt these habits myself.
1. View food as nutrition and fuel.
Healthy people see food purely as a means of providing their bodies with the fuel and nutrients they need – not for pleasure and enjoyment. They are never obsessed with where their next meal is coming from and with constant thoughts of their favourite type of junk food.
2. Prioritise healthy lifestyle above all other distractions
Healthy people have their health as their number one priority. This makes it easy for them to decline social invitations that they know will mean poor nutrition, poor sleep and a hard training session the next day. They constantly keep their focus on their health, instead of being easily tempted by distractions that go against these aims.
3. Consistently get adequate sleep & get up early
I’m realising more and more how crucial sleep is to leading a healthy lifestyle. Healthy people almost always seem to have a routine of getting up early and going to bed early (because they know they can’t burn the candle at both ends). Going to bed earlier means being more organised with evening meals and of course, not staying out all night on social events. Consistently having proper rest allows the body to recover and recharge ready for the next day. Sleep also seems to have crucial roles in how the body stores fat as well as willpower and concentration.
4. Surround themselves with healthy people.
Healthy people tend to have healthy friends. Having a circle of healthy friends means meals out and social events will be based around healthy food and activities. A group of friends with a similar outlook will also serve to inspire and motivate.
5. Seamlessly integrate fitness into their daily routines
Fit people don’t have to rearrange their day and cancel arrangements to squeeze some exercise into their day. They have established routines that centre around fitness. For example, getting up early every morning to get some training in before work or walking to work. They will routinely take the stairs instead of the lift – and perhaps even work at a standing desk!
6. Results not excuses
Successful, healthy people don’t make excuses. It might be raining, they might be tired, they might have an important meeting, or a friend visiting. It makes no difference. They will still eat well and exercise. They won’t allow these factors to impact their life. The motivation to stay fit and healthy is far more significant to them than the temptation to give into any excuses.
7. Healthy self image
Crucially, healthy people seem to visualise themselves as just that, fit and healthy. Those who are not yet there, may instead visualise themselves as unfit, unhealthy and overweight – all negative connotations that can only hinder their efforts.
Do you agree with my observations? Have you noticed any other traits healthy people seem to have in common?
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Great post!
Thanks Gaby!
5. Seamlessly integrate fitness into their daily routines
Does driving a tractor for a day job count?
Absolutely… if the rest of the day is spent lifting heavy things on the farm?
I’m going to be the dissenting voice (just for fun!) and take issue with #1, or at least with how you worded it. I think that healthy people have learned how to view food as nutritional AND pleasurable. I don’t see it as an either/or concept.
I agree that they don’t sit around hankering for their next junk “fix”, but I think that they have learnt that food can be nutritional AND delicious, that it doesn’t have to be one or the other. And that it is THAT difference — only accepting food that is nutritional AND delicious, rather than only one OR the other — that allows them to be free of the vicious cycle that junk food creates.
It is because I have learnt that home-cooked Paleo healthy food tastes SO GOOD that I have no desire to return to a junk food-esque diet. Why would I want to eat that food that tastes good but makes me feel bad, when I can eat this food that tastes good and makes me feel good? And mot of the recipe sites that I visit online don’t say “wow, this is so good for you!” they say “wow, this is nutritious AND tastes freaking fantastic!” 🙂
I definitely agree with your assessment over all, but I don’t think we should be overlooking our basic desire for pleasure. I firmly believe our ancestors sought pleasure just as much as we do — just that they didn’t have junk food manufacturers breathing down their necks everywhere they went. 😉
Thanks Cassiel, that’s a very good point, I definitely could have worded that better. I guess I was trying to illustrate the point that often unhealthy, overweight people seem to have an unhealthy fixation on eating bad food just because it tastes good. But yes, you’re right – so many Primal foods do taste absolutely amazing AND are fantastic nutritionally!
hey, nice post!i like the way you’ve done that!
and you have a profile picture with Mark sisson! cool..
Thanks Aloka! Really like your blog – it’s the first (hopefully of many) Paleo blog I’ve seen from India!
Its really important to remind ourselves that Paleo is a whole life style, not just a diet. All of the other factors you discuss (like friends, sleep, etc) are also super important. Thanks for the reminder!!
Exactly Ana, it always surprises me when friends ask how much longer I’ll be following Paleo for – it’s definitely a lifelong thing, not a fad!
nice!
Thanks Richard!
Great post! Healthy people are happy people who arent depressed and filling their void with food, drugs or other destructive addictions. They are balanced and yes when a challenge or bad situation comes into their life they are more level headed and are able to deal with these challenges and just see it as a stepping stone to something greater. Life is a lesson not a burden. What we eat reflects on how we see ourselves therefore why some people eat so much junk they are unhappy and stuck in a rut, when we take care of our shell it shows inside and out. Yes I love eating primal (not quite paleo as I still have the odd cup of unhomogenised milk, slowly does it I may convert to homemade almond milk still thats a working process to be continued…) it tastes better and is good for me, im no longer addicted to sugar, bread, grains etc, therefore I feel good and it rubs off on the people around me, being happy and healthy attracts healthy energy.
That’s great to hear Elissa. I agree about it rubbing off on other people! A far better way to live!
Love this!
I would propose that healthy people are also AWARE of their health status – I suppose this ties in with seeing oneself as “fit and healthy”, but going beyond it a little bit. They visit their GP regularly, they have a rough idea of where they’re functioning (blood markers, and similar measurements), and even in a non-quantifiable sense they know which foods work well for them/make them feel best/make them feel worse, etc. I think self-awareness, on a number of levels, is critical for both physical and mental health. 🙂
So how do you get from an unhealthy, craving based, less than perfect self-image state of mind to one of health?