Living a healthy lifestyle sounds a bit cliché, we know. The phrase has been thrown around so much that it has almost lost its meaning.

Plus, seeing as everyone seems to have their take on what it truly means to lead a healthy life, things have gotten even more out of control. To that end, we’ve put together this short and actionable post to help you put yourself on the path to leading a better life.

Below, you’ll learn what the most important things about living a healthy, happy, and long life are.

Become More Calorically Aware

The most critical aspect of effective weight loss and weight loss maintenance is adequate calorie consumption.

To lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit. In other words, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. Then, once you’ve achieved your weight loss goal, you need to make sure that you’re eating roughly the same number of calories as you’re burning every day.

To achieve both of these things and avoid unwanted weight gain, you need to become more calorically aware. In other words, you need to have a rough idea of how many calories you need to eat every day and how many you’re eating.

First, it’s a good idea to use an online calculator for your TDEE (caloric needs). Then, you should move to the next point:

Start Logging Your Food Intake

I know, Logging your food intake can be tedious. But, it’s an incredibly efficient way of ensuring that you’re eating as many calories as you have to for your goals.

The reason is, we are bad at estimating how much food we’re eating daily. In most cases, we underestimate the number of calories we consume.

When most people start logging their food intake (for example, by using a phone app such as MyFitnessPal or a simple notebook), they quickly realize that they are eating a lot more than they thought. So, write down everything and spend ten minutes in the evening to calculate your daily intake.

Establish A Sustainable Exercise Regimen

Exercise is an integral part of leading a healthy lifestyle as it delivers numerous incredible benefits and helps prevent the development of conditions and illnesses.

But, it’s essential to start small and do things at a sustainable pace. Rather than going all-in on a demanding program, begin with twenty minutes of daily exercise.

As you establish the habit, you can slowly scale it up. The best part is, once you start making progress and see your appearance improve, you will become much more motivated to keep going.

Drink Mostly Water, Coffee, and Tea

We live in a world where most people drink everything but water. Alcohol, fruit juices full of sugar, sports and energy drinks, and sodas have become incredibly popular.

But, the truth is, drinking mostly water is the cornerstone of good health. Water is calorie-free, which means that it won’t make you gain unwanted weight. What’s more, staying hydrated carries some incredible health benefits, including:

• Hydration helps with weight loss, appetite, and satiety;
• Adequate water intake helps treat and prevent kidney stones;
• Water is vital for brain health and cognitive function;
• Water helps prevent nasty headaches and the dreaded afternoon fatigue;
• Water helps keep you regular in the bathroom;
• Adequate water intake prevents fatigue, improves our mood, and boosts athletic performance;

So, one of the simplest and most beneficial things you can do for yourself is ditch most types of drinks and limit yourself to plain water (you can add some lemon or a sweetener to make it more ‘interesting’), coffee, and tea.