4 Daily Habits

Intro

There are a few things that I do every day - just like I make sure to brush my teeth, take a shower, kiss Taylor goodbye, and take my supplements in the morning. I feel routine is definitely important and I'm always working to improve my routine so I can make sure my energy level and mood is consistent.

Morning Water

This was brought to my attention mainly by Shawn Stevenson. He shares a lot of great health tips and one episode worth listening to on The Model Health Show is the Hydration and Water Masterclass. I always aim for around a gallon of water each day (about 130oz), and one reason why I drink about 30oz before I head to work is to get a jump start on that. A couple other reasons are because it is very refreshing and I think it is good to flush your system a bit first thing in the morning.

Daily Reading

Each morning, before I head to work, I make sure to do some daily reading. This is a new habit I started a few months ago but I've been enjoying reading a page from The Daily Stoic​ by Ryan Holiday each day. Each excerpt starts with a quote from a Greco-roman philosopher who taught stoicism. Usually, I find myself reflecting for a minute and it usually gives me a good mindset at the start of the day. Sometimes they are small things I can improve on things like self-control and others are so powerful I almost feel like no matter what obstacle comes up that day, I'll be prepared.


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​Here is one of my favorite excerpts so far..

Being a Construction Manager, dealing with my client's safety and quality standards and making sure the contractor holds up to them is the main focus outside of documentation and reporting. Having standards for your personal life is very important as well. One thing I need to do better personally is actually establish my principles and set clear standards while standing up for what I believe in.

2 Cups of Vegetables (Minimum)

Mainly from Dr. Gundry's books, Diet Evolution and The Plant Paradox, I realized how important vegetables are as a daily staple in order to keep a healthy gut. Every day, I try to make sure to have at least 1 cup of vegetables with my lunch and 1 cup with dinner. Usually my dinner includes leafy greens like lettuce and spinach while my lunch includes veggies like onions, peppers, corn, carrots, etc. Multiple health experts have explained that vegetables are MUCH more important than fruit even though we usually stick them together as "fruits and vegetables." Most fruit is overloaded with sugar and lacks much nutrition, so you should not have more than 1 serving a day (this is advice from Dr. Gundry, Dr. Cate Shanahan, Ben Greenfield, and Shawn Stevenson).

Consistent Calories

Mike Matthews and his book Bigger Leaner Stronger really pushed the point that, while nutrition is important, it is important to know your calorie intake and make sure it is aligned with your goals. If you are trying to cut weight, you need to make sure you are not overeating and if you are trying to gain muscle, you need to make sure you are eating enough calories to do so. From playing around with my diet just over these past 10 months, I've learned how to be comfortable whether I want to do either - when I want to gain muscle, like right now, I aim for at least 3,500 calories per day and when I need to cut some of the fat off, I will go back down to around 1,800 calories per day. By just counting calories and macros for a month, I learned where my macros should be and how to easily keep track of both calories and macros.

Conclusion

Take these habits as you will - I'm sure there are ways I could improve them. For instance, I could write a reflection after each daily reading or possibly increase my number of vegetable servings. There really is no excuse not to include these daily habits or your own version of them into your routine - they don't take much time and if you try it, I'm sure you will find it's time well invested.

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Discussion Question:
What are your daily habits that you swear by?