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 Do Sakara’s Whitney + Danielle Live a Nutritious Life?

Sakara co-founders Whitney Tingle and Danielle DuBoise grew up together in Sedona, Arizona, where they were exposed to the benefits of natural eating and holistic health from an early age.  (They were definitely not eating Stouffer’s Macaroni & Cheese like I was!) Danielle’s expertise in holistic nutrition, chemistry, and anthropology allowed her to think outside the box when it came to food and well being.  As a former model and actress, her experience with body image, roller-coaster diets, and mind-body disconnection inspired her to create a food system that empowered her to make loving, healthy choices a lifestyle, not a diet. Whitney knows what it takes to fight for health in a stressful environment, since she was working on Wall Street when she realized her true passion was to share her love of health with the financiers who desperately needed her help. She had gained 15 pounds working in the corporate office and was struggling with cystic acne.  And when her dermatologist suggested that she do a second round of Accutane, she decided there had to be a better way. Whitney turned to her BFF, Danielle, to partner and create a meal plan that allowed her to drop the weight and clear her skin while maintaining her busy lifestyle. They were then ready to share their secrets with the world and made the Sakara food program available for delivery. All you need to do is chat with these smart beauties for two minutes to “get” why they are now killin’ it as the founders of one of the most popular healthy food programs available. (Sakara is an insider secret among models and celebrities in New York City and Los Angeles, FYI.) Keep reading, below, to find out how these ladies live their own Nutritious Lives. How do you DRINK UP? D: By drinking pretty! I love our morning water which is made with alkaline water, pure rose oil, and trace minerals. W: We developed morning and night waters because we could feel that our bodies were missing the minerals they were used to getting in the water we drank when we grew up. Our waters contain 72 trace minerals and I feel the difference in my body when I drink it, versus not drinking it. How do you EAT EMPOWERED? D:  By knowing what it feels like to eat good food. Food is meant to be nourishment and food should make you feel sexy! W:  When you fill your body with good foods most of the time, you don’t have to worry about being out to dinner and what you are going to eat. This gives you the freedom to be present with your company and to indulge! How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY? D:  I am disorganized! But I call it creative chaos and I try not to judge my own “messiness.” W:  I only buy things I absolutely love so it’s hard to get rid of anything because anything I have I love, and I have an emotional connection to it, but this also makes me not wasteful. How do you LOVE MORE? D: Whitney taught me this one: to understand that everyone is doing their best. Life is a process and we all have our own path. By understanding this you can come at everything from a loving place. W: Daniele taught me this one: to be vulnerable. Fall into yourself and let your wall down. You then show your soul and have the right energy to tap into others. How do you NURTURE YOURSELF? D:  I take mineral soaks for detoxifying. This forces you to relax! W: I get special facials at the Ash Center that really work the muscles and tissues. How do you SLEEP DEEP? D: I always try to fall asleep thinking beautiful thoughts. W: I create a space that imitates nature. Dark and quiet. Which isn’t the easiest to do in New York City, but blackout curtains and eye masks help. How do you STRESS LESS? D:  I believe having a morning ritual is important. My fiance and I start the day with kisses and a deep breath together. W:  I like to find time to disconnect from technology in order to connect to the moment that I’m in and the people that I’m with. How do you SWEAT OFTEN? D:  I think everyone should know the why behind what they are doing. The why motivates us and keeps us mindful of our actions, in exercise and elsewhere. W:  We incorporate exercise into our lives by doing things like hosting class in our space  with some of our favorite instructors. Recipe: Sakara Power Smoothie 8 oz almond milk 1 frozen banana 1⁄2 cup frozen strawberries 1 Tbsp. hemp seeds 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp Maca powder Dash pink Himalayan salt Instructions Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth and serve immediately.