Daily Healthy Habits

[Soror]

Paige was talking about Dr. Greger's Daily 12 habits, while not a vegan, I love the focusing on positive habits instead of negative ones.

Do you have a list of healthy habits you try to do every day? 

Not things you try to avoid but things you try to do.

My personal list is pretty simple-

-Walk

-Eat as many veggies and fruits as I can

-Wear sunscreen

-Downtime- 

-Early bedtime

-Dark chocolate :) 

From Dr. Greger's list I generally get the veggies, fruit, nuts& seeds, drinks, exercise, spices, and some beans and maybe 1 serving of grains a day.

I don't necessarily do 90 minutes of exercise a day but the week averaged out I get pretty close to that.

Dr. Greger's list:

Beans (3 servings)

Berries

Other Fruits (3 servings)

Greens (2 servings)

Cruciferous Veggies

Other Vegetables (2 servings)

Flax Seeds

Nuts & Seeds

Spices - 1/4 t. turmeric + others

Whole Grains- 3 servings

Drinks- 5 daily- water and herbal tea

Exercise- 90 min moderate activity

[Chris in VA]

pray

walk

interact with family and friends

I suck at the food and other stuff. 

[Selkie]

We're big Dr. Greger fans here. Dh and the kids and I all follow his Daily Dozen checklist.

Other than that, my daily habits are somewhat boring things like remembering to take my vitamins and flossing. :)

[wintermom]

I have no idea and no true interest in who Dr. Greger is. I do have an interest in developing/maintaining daily healthy habits, though. Here's my list. If I get a bunch of these done daily, I'm a happy camper. It's doesn't always happen, though. ;)

- start out the day "right" with a home-made latte, healthy breakfast, and quiet read and meditation/prayer

- walk in nature, add in some more intensive physical activity when possible 

- sing and play piano

- limit screen time and other time wasters 

- prepare, cook and eat healthy food for myself and my family (I have a lot of food allergies, so I can't focus on primarily veggies/fruits/nuts/seeds. Rather, I have to limit myself to a wide variety of foods I can eat)

- laugh daily, with others, a funny book or a funny video

- spend time with family and friends talking, walking and enjoying each other's company

- try to stay on top of work by doing little bits everyday

- be mindful of my health by eating in moderation, keeping physically active, limiting physical and mental stressors

- try not to stress my family too much by my behaviours - in other words, be kind and talk less. ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yesterday was day 88 of continuously meeting my step goal.  (I didn't want to.  Other boardies encouraged me to get out there anyway.) 

I monitor my bloodsugars and try to make food decisions accordingly.

I am working on losing weight.  I have lost 15 pounds but have been on a plateau for a month.  (Sigh.  And I'm doing the exact same things that helped me to lose the weight.  The good news is that I have not regained any.)

I got a puppy.  Seriously.  I needed this squirmy needy thing to take care of as my kids are starting to leave the nest.

I eat a balanced diet as I am able.  (I can't eat anything with gluten and nightshades are a "mostly no" but otherwise I try to have a variety of fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, etc.  Just not so much in the grain department.  Oh and too much raw veggies are a problem for me. And I'm mostly dairy free but not totally.   And I can't have too many acidic foods in a row.)  So perhaps a more succinct way to put it would have been to say "listen to what your body says about what you eat".

I am trying to lower my stress levels.  This last couple of months have conspired against that due to things out of my control but I am trying to control what I can.

I try to work on functional movement.  For me, this is super important because I am pretty close to being physically disabled and do not want to go there.  I have a list of physical therapy exercises to do.  I have to admit that this tends to be on my "I should do this but don't get around to it as much as I should" list.

I take my boatload of meds and supplements.  I wish that I didn't have to but I pay for it Big Time if I forget or mess up my meds accidentally.  I was able to lower one med with the weight loss, though.  That felt good.

I try to be involved in my community.  I know that not everyone would categorize this as a healthy habit, but for me it is.  (Though it can also be a source of stress. . . )

I try to get sunlight when I'm able.  And even in this rainy climate I try to get outside even on rainy or cloudy days. 

I try to rely on God to be my strength. 

I try to have good dental and physical hygiene. 

I try to maintain friendships.  This isn't a daily habit but it is more like a monthly habit (though not on a schedule or anything like that.) 

 

 

[Liza Q]

I have tried and failed to do this kind of thing a few times this year. Yet I have been on WW since January and lost 26 pounds - no trouble. I started a Whole30 10 days ago - no trouble.

But the minute I make a list of things to do with a time frame, like Bible/exercise/water/shower before breakfast - nope. I might fit those things into the day but I can't get a routine going. Maybe it is just a personality thing.

Like maybe I just work well with the flexible "rules" on WW. Even W30 is pretty flexible. I can't eat certain things but they don't tell me I have to have eggs today and chicken tomorrow - make sense? WW has the perfect amount of structure for me and it has been easy to incorporate W30 into that structure.

Maybe I need a program for my days, not just my eating. But I think that would be too restrictive...

Just thinking out loud.

[J-rap]

I have found that I'm very undisciplined so I have to instill very tiny steps that I can keep up.  

Easy ones for me:

Read one chapter a day of a book, even when I don't feel I have time.  (Everyone has time for one chapter!)

Drink a healthy veggie smoothie every day.

Cut my meals servings in half, before automatically eating a full serving.  (Sometimes that's enough, sometimes it isn't, but I'm giving myself the option.)

Get up and get the things I need whenever I think of it, instead of saying I'll do it later in the day.  (So if I need something upstairs I'll go and get it right now.)

Cross at least two things off my list of things to do.

Remember to be nice to people.  It might feel like a tiny thing to me but can make a big difference to other people.

Pray for at least a few people who really need prayer, daily.

There's more but that's what comes to mind right now.

 

 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm a very one day at a time sort for this stuff.  I tend towards perfectionism so I would be overwhelmed by a specific list.  Probably the biggest things for me are getting enough sleep and trying to remain positive.

[PeachyDoodle]

Breathe. Seriously, I thought my therapist was crazy when she handed me a stack of post-it notes and said to write "breathe" on them and stick them around the house. But once I started stopping periodically throughout the day to take a few deep breaths, my anxiety went away practically overnight.

Lately I've been combining breathing with 15 minutes of yoga right before lunch.

[SparklyUnicorn]

3 minutes ago, PeachyDoodle said:

Breathe. Seriously, I thought my therapist was crazy when she handed me a stack of post-it notes and said to write "breathe" on them and stick them around the house. But once I started stopping periodically throughout the day to take a few deep breaths, my anxiety went away practically overnight.

Lately I've been combining breathing with 15 minutes of yoga right before lunch.

Brilliant!  Good therapists are difficult to find so hold onto that one.  Mine handed me a stack of instructions for meditation. Which is apparently complicated.  I threw them in the trash and stopped going there. 

[PeachyDoodle]

1 minute ago, SparklyUnicorn said:

Brilliant!  Good therapists are difficult to find so hold onto that one.  Mine handed me a stack of instructions for meditation. Which is apparently complicated.  I threw them in the trash and stopped going there. 

Yeah, mine said, "You know, the goal here is to work up to meditation. But that's just not realistic for a homeschooling mom with two kids and a household to run. Let's start here. Later, when you're in another stage, you might decide to pursue more."

She really is a treasure.

I was shocked -- SHOCKED -- at what a difference it made for me.

[Pawz4me]

Walk

Do at least a few minutes of stretching/flexibility exercises

Eat a variety of foods in moderation

Have down time ("me" time)

Set myself up to get plenty of sleep by having a good sleep hygiene routine (doesn't always work, but I try)

Do some sort of meditation/quiet focus/breath work

Drink plenty (I especially need to focus on this during the summer, when I get dehydrated so easily)

[Liz CA]

• Walk 30-45 minutes daily regardless of weather (I live in CA and the worst that can happen here is rain and wind :))
• Eat as healthy as possible for my type - make and eat lacto-fermented foods regularly.
• Take supplements that are helpful for my issues
• Maintain positive interaction - friends, fun stuff as regularly as possible.
• Make space for things I enjoy like planting things, reading.
• Advancing and continue to educate myself professionally - this is enjoyable for me since I like what I am doing and I wish there was more time for this.

Is there room for improvement? Yes. I need to leave this board right now and get moving. :)

[SereneHome]

So so so loving this thread.   I need to figure out how to bookmark it!

[Soror]

46 minutes ago, myblessings4 said:

Just curious.  Are Dr. Greger's habits just the 12 foods to eat daily?  That's all I can find online.

I list them under the link, he also includes exercise and drinking water (and herbal tea).

[hornblower]

2 hours ago, myblessings4 said:

Just curious.  Are Dr. Greger's habits just the 12 foods to eat daily?  That's all I can find online.

They're based on his book How Not To Die  & the accompanying cookbook. I believe some fans decided to make an app based on his recommendations. 

He runs a website called https://nutritionfacts.org/

[Paige]

2 hours ago, myblessings4 said:

Just curious.  Are Dr. Greger's habits just the 12 foods to eat daily?  That's all I can find online.

In addition to the water (beverages- coffee counts for me!) and exercise, the app now also has Vit 12, and Vit D. I think you can check your Vit D off the list with time spent in the sun or a supplement. I get both.

I'm not obsessive about it- I check off exercise if took the dog on a walk  and I didn't actually get 90 min of vigorous exercise. Checking in with the list reinforces what I should be looking for throughout the day and each time I check one off it's like a little pat on the back. I also don't eat quite as large servings as he suggests anymore. I don't think it's realistic for everyone to eat that much and maybe some people need more. 

I bet there's an app somewhere that you could customize with foods and healthy habits not related to diet and exercise. 

[PeachyDoodle]

2 hours ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

I think I love your therapist.  Feel free to share any other words of wisdom from her.

Edit:  so where were some of the places you put the sticky notes reminding you to breathe? i plan to take her wise advice.

The two main places I have them are on my bathroom mirror and -- my favorite -- the dryer. I love the dryer because I visit there periodically throughout the day, but not so often that I quickly become immune to noticing the sticky note. And it is so nice to stand there with the warm, clean clothes and just take a few deep breaths. I've had them other places, but those two are most effective.

She recently suggested adding a few minutes of yoga once a day to go along with it. I searched "yoga for anxiety" on YouTube and found lots of great, short videos. I'm finding that very helpful as well. But the breathing throughout the day was HUGE for me. Hope you find it helpful too!

[SereneHome]

Someone help me out please - how do you bookmark the thread??

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Pray

Floss

Sunscreen

Exercise

[PeachyDoodle]

3 minutes ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

Thank you.  What a good point about putting it on the dryer so you don't get immune to seeing it (plus warm clothes and deep breaths do go together nicely).  My daughter had some post-its she gave me and I am putting them to use today.   I do have a couple of yoga dvds for anxiety (I have a very bad anxiety problem that peri-menopause has just made much worse) but I keep putting off using them, so I am glad you mentioned it.  This has all been so helpful.

Sure thing. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. I'd love to hear how it works for you! 

[Soror]

11 hours ago, myblessings4 said:

Yes.  I can't eat by his list.  Too many carbs.  Just like the others who say eat so many beans and stuff each day.  But I can make a list to suit my needs, and have never made that list before.   I guess I'll start by doing that.

Good luck figuring out works for you.

11 hours ago, SereneHome said:

Someone help me out please - how do you bookmark the thread??

Follow is at the top of my screen on a laptop, upper right above the top post.

 

ETA: I'm a recovering perfectionist, working on that is one of my healthy habits :) This isn't about chastisement and chasing perfection. Some days are good and some days are not, I just keep going. It is also about working towards things that are attainable for life(I'm not going to quit all sugar forever so being entirely sugar free is not my goal) and I think of my life in terms of averages. Some days I move more, some days I eat more of this or less of that.

[Greta]

Here's Dr. Greger's video about his Daily Dozen checklist, in case anyone is interested:  https://nutritionfacts.org/video/dr-gregers-daily-dozen-checklist-2/

I use his checklist (and I usually go for the 60 minutes of vigorous exercise rather than the 90 minutes of moderate, just because that was already my habit before I discovered his checklist!).

Other habits I am working on are:

Meditation.  I just started this in January at the advice of my therapist.  Her "orders" for the first month were 5 minutes twice a day, and she told me that 5 minutes was a limit, not a minimum.  She wanted me to simply establish the habit, and not get overwhelmed by the demand.  I think it was a very nice way to gently introduce the practice.  She recommended these guided meditations:  http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations  But, PeachyDoodle, I love your therapist's recommendation about the reminder notes to just breathe!  That is brilliant!

Reading a little non-fiction every day.

Limiting/reducing screen time.

Now that the weather is warming up:  spending time outside in my yard every morning, watering the plants, listening to the birds. 

Walking my dog.

[Scarlett]

On April 13, 2018 at 11:24 AM, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yesterday was day 88 of continuously meeting my step goal.  (I didn't want to.  Other boardies encouraged me to get out there anyway.) 

I monitor my bloodsugars and try to make food decisions accordingly.

I am working on losing weight.  I have lost 15 pounds but have been on a plateau for a month.  (Sigh.  And I'm doing the exact same things that helped me to lose the weight.  The good news is that I have not regained any.)

I got a puppy.  Seriously.  I needed this squirmy needy thing to take care of as my kids are starting to leave the nest.

I eat a balanced diet as I am able.  (I can't eat anything with gluten and nightshades are a "mostly no" but otherwise I try to have a variety of fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, etc.  Just not so much in the grain department.  Oh and too much raw veggies are a problem for me. And I'm mostly dairy free but not totally.   And I can't have too many acidic foods in a row.)  So perhaps a more succinct way to put it would have been to say "listen to what your body says about what you eat".

I am trying to lower my stress levels.  This last couple of months have conspired against that due to things out of my control but I am trying to control what I can.

I try to work on functional movement.  For me, this is super important because I am pretty close to being physically disabled and do not want to go there.  I have a list of physical therapy exercises to do.  I have to admit that this tends to be on my "I should do this but don't get around to it as much as I should" list.

I take my boatload of meds and supplements.  I wish that I didn't have to but I pay for it Big Time if I forget or mess up my meds accidentally.  I was able to lower one med with the weight loss, though.  That felt good.

I try to be involved in my community.  I know that not everyone would categorize this as a healthy habit, but for me it is.  (Though it can also be a source of stress. . . )

I try to get sunlight when I'm able.  And even in this rainy climate I try to get outside even on rainy or cloudy days. 

I try to rely on God to be my strength. 

I try to have good dental and physical hygiene. 

I try to maintain friendships.  This isn't a daily habit but it is more like a monthly habit (though not on a schedule or anything like that.) 

 

 

Jean do you mind to say what your step goal is? I feel like I need a goal but other than the 10 k recommended I don't know what is reasonable....the few times I got 10 k it was an exhausting day doing yard work or something.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, Scarlett said:

Jean do you mind to say what your step goal is? I feel like I need a goal but other than the 10 k recommended I don't know what is reasonable....the few times I got 10 k it was an exhausting day doing yard work or something.

6500 steps.  About half of the 89 continuous days that I  have met it, the goal was at 6000 then I reset it up 500 steps.  Right now I've just been barely meeting the goal because of fibro but on good days I get my step goal on the treadmill in the evening and then still get about a 1000 more just doing stuff around the house the rest of the evening. 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

6500 steps.  About half of the 89 continuous days that I  have met it, the goal was at 6000 then I reset it up 500 steps.  Right now I've just been barely meeting the goal because of fibro but on good days I get my step goal on the treadmill in the evening and then still get about a 1000 more just doing stuff around the house the rest of the evening. 

Ok that is helpful.  I notice that on the days I work, my count might be 4500 but on a day I stay home and do laundry or housework it might be 6000.  I think I would like to set my goal at 7k.....that seems doable. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Somewhere recently I saw a rec to get 3 cups of each of three kinds of fruit and veggies daily.  I wish I could remember where, but it made a lot of sense to me in context.  The types were:  General, colorful, and sulfurous (which means cruciferous and alliums).  The thinking was that this would crowd out other foods and give you a big health boost for lots of reasons.

Since I view veggies as the one food that no one limits and everyone needs on just about every diet I have ever seen, this makes perfect sense to me.

So I've been working on it, and wow, it's hard.  It's a LOT of grazing.

I've been measuring things.  So one of those little 6 oz clamshells of blueberries is just 1 1/2 cups.  (colorful category).  That means that instead of patting myself on the back on days when I eat one, I should eat two.  Daily.

Plus fruits have a lot more calories that most veggies, so veggies are better for me.  

Anyway, that is what I'm working on right now.

I wear a fitbit every day but don't pay a ton of attention to my step count right now because I am fighting PF again.  However, just seeing it reminds me to, say, stand up and pace while I'm on the phone, and such.

Also, I am checking in with myself for supplementation.  Do I feel fatigued?  Do I need iron (meat or pills)?  How about those vitamins?

And last year I worked very hard on building up Vitamin D stores naturally from sunshine, without getting burned.  I think that this really paid off in energy and mood, so I'm about ready to start doing it again for this year.