10 Surprising Healthy Habits Wellness Experts Trust

There are eight pillars of living a Nutritious Life because we believe that a balanced lifestyle encompasses much more than just “more sweat, less sugar”—and when you ask wellness experts to share the healthy habits that add vibrancy to their lives on the reg, it’s obvious most agree. Over time, we’ve tapped a variety of these role models—from celebrity yoga teachers and trainers to superstar nutritionists and healthy chefs—to share how they live their own Nutritious Lives. Within the interviews, they revealed super interesting insights into healthy habits they swear by, some of which may surprise you. We’re sharing 10, here, to inspire your own well-rounded wellness regimen. Surprising Healthy Habits Wellness Experts Trust 1. Eat food that makes you feel good. It’s not always about balancing protein and carbs or scouring labels for organic ingredients, say Sakara founders Whitney Tingle and Danielle DuBoise. Eating Empowered, to them, is “knowing what it feels like to eat good food. Food is meant to be nourishment and food should make you feel sexy!” Read more. 2. Align your body, and your life will follow. “Finding alignment in your physical body is the first step to aligning your life, connecting to your gifts, attracting your deepest desires and feeling like you are on your true path,” says foam-rolling guru and best-selling author Lauren Roxburgh. “Over the years as I was so deeply studying the body, I realized many other things in my life and self were also coming into ‘alignment.’ I’ve seen it with hundreds of my clients too.” Read more. 3. Sip on water and tea as often as possible. Nearly all of the experts mention hydration as incredibly important, and Nutrition Stripped founder and RD McKel Hill swears by supplementing plenty of lemon-spiked H2O with matcha lattes and all kinds of other teas. “I’m a huge tea drinker all day long, whether it’s green tea, liver supportive tea, peppermint, or ginger. #gimmiealltheteas” Read more. 4. Give back. Sure, wellness is about your life, but focusing on others may also be essential to finding balance. “I try to pour my energy into causes that I am passionate about, like eating disorder recovery, animal rescue and raising awareness of cyberbullying,” says The Balanced Blonde blogger Jordan Younger. “I host a lot of events that give back to some of my favorite local LA organizations that raise funds/awareness for those causes.” Read more. 5. Design your space for great sleep. Chef, author, and all-around wellness star Candice Kumai details how getting a solid night’s sleep starts with how you design your space. “No electronic devices in the bedroom, no TV in the house—only reading, art, vision boards, and photography on our walls. Plus, lots of plants in the house for oxygen.” Read more. 6. Surround yourself with happy people. “I collect loving people in my life every day,” explains fitness celeb extraordinaire Natalie Jill. “When I meet positive, goal oriented, successful, happy, loving, and energetic people…I want them in my life. I find ways to be around them. They energize me, inspire me, and help me want to better myself! And when I am my better self, I am able to love more.” Read more. 7. Ask yourself, “How important is it?” When your clients include Jennifers with the last names Aniston and Lawrence, life can be pretty busy. To make it through tough situations, yoga teacher-to-the-stars Mandy Ingber asks herself this simple question. “The phrase ‘How important is it?’ reminds me that there are no big deals. When my behavior and actions are aligned with my own moral compass, I can handle life’s twists and turns,” she says. “Although a learned skill, relaxing into what comes is the discipline I practice. Everything is as it should be, and I can trust that my life is unfolding before me in perfect order.” Read more. 8. Make time for real meals. Maintaining a healthy diet is easier when you’re organized about your eating and in control of your meals says Deliciously Ella blogger Ella Woodward. “It’s easy to snack, snack, snack, but I like to sit down to proper meals, and I like to cook my meals,” she says. Read more. 9. Move, at least a little bit, every. single. day. “Trying to move a little every day is a big part of my life. It doesn’t always happen, but I feel the best when I’m more active. Every little bit adds up,” says Michele Promaulayko, author of 20 Pounds Younger and the Editor-in-Chief at Cosmopolitan magazine. “You don’t have to run for hours on a treadmill to burn fat.” Read more. 10. Don’t discount the power of me-time. If you’ve got a hobby that makes you happy or feel refreshed whenever you take a hot bath, those things have real value, even if they feel indulgent. Celebrity yoga teacher Kathryn Budig nurtures herself regularly with “epsom salt baths, reading juicy fiction novels, taking time to write for myself, and experimenting in the kitchen.” Read more.

How does Jordan Younger Live a Nutritious Life?

Jordan Younger is the girl behind top-read health and lifestyle blog The Balanced Blonde. She is also the creator of the health-inspired conscious clothing line TBV Apparel, which now retails internationally. Jordan lives in LA, where she blogs full-time and just released her first book (which we were lucky enough to get our hands on early!), a memoir titled Breaking Vegan. I recently asked this healthy chica exactly how she lives her most Nutritious Life and I just love it. Here’s what she said:   How do you DRINK UP? I am what I like to refer to as a very “beveragey” person. I am all about the liquids. I start my day with a glass of warm water with lemon, then an iced cold brew coffee, a green smoothie, lots of water, and lots of Liquid IV healthy hydration supplement. I am very active, so anytime I can get my hydration on, I do. When I am out on the town, I never stray from my trusty vodka soda with lime (Tito’s!).   How do you EAT EMPOWERED? To me, eating empowered is all about listening to my body and making the best choices that serve me. I am training for a marathon right now, so I have had to really tune into my body to make sure that I am nourishing and fueling properly. I strive to make choices that will not only be tasty and enjoyable, but will make me FEEL good. I live label-free with no restrictions, and that’s what I’ve found works best for me. Real food, from the earth, local, unprocessed is what I really love and lean towards, but being less of a stickler about it has helped me relax around food tremendously.   How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY? I try to pour my energy into causes that I am passionate about, like eating disorder recovery, animal rescue and raising awareness toward cyber bullying. I host a lot of events that give back to some of my favorite local LA organizations that raise funds/awareness for those causes. I also have a t-shirt line, TBV Apparel, and we make sure to use all ethical and organic fabrics and keep things as local as we possibly can. Again, I find the less I “stress” about making conscious choices, the easier and more enjoyable it is to fit those natural and important conscious choices into my life and daily routine.   How do you LOVE MORE? Man, this is a great question. I surround myself with people that bring only the most positive, supportive, great vibes my way. LOVE is such a two way street, and I learned pretty recently that allowing space for those who love hard and love true is one of the best ways to live an empowered life. I am also big on the importance of loving myself — through daily mantras, being good to my body, making healthy choices, challenging myself, and never beating myself up for making “mistakes.”   How do you NURTURE YOURSELF? Yoga, meditation, hydration, lots of good rest, nights in with friends, massages, facials, investing in nutritious food, educating myself on what’s important to me. Above all, nurturing myself means spending time alone and drawing inward when need be. I am an extrovert and a people pleaser, so sometimes stepping back and reflecting is what I need to really nurture myself and feel my very best.   How do you SLEEP DEEP? By exercising during the day, staying super hydrated, and trying to let my brain wind wayyyy down before I get into bed. Lots of reading, no electronics in bed, and lots of snuggling with my sweet kitten Hudson.   How do you STRESS LESS? I meditate, and I remind myself that whatever is no longer serving me, I have permission to let go of.   How do you SWEAT OFTEN? Running, yoga, marathon training, HIIT at OrangeTheory fitness, hiking with friends on the weekends, and swimming/surfing in my beloved ocean!