The Healthy Habits I Refuse to Overcomplicate as a Nutritionist and Busy Mom

There is so much noise in the health and wellness world.

Take this supplement.

Don't eat that food.

Wake up at 5 a.m.

Fast for this many hours.

Track your macros.

Hit 10,000 steps.

Drink this green powder.

Do this workout.

Avoid these ingredients.

Buy this wearable.

Follow this morning routine.

And before you know it, taking care of yourself feels like another full-time job.

As a Nutritionist, I love learning about health. I could spend hours reading about nutrition, metabolism, women's health, exercise, sleep and longevity.

But as a busy mom approaching 40?

I also live in the real world.

I have kids. A business. A house. Appointments. Sports. Groceries. Laundry. Workouts. Meals. Emails. And approximately 500 other things competing for my attention on any given day.

So the older I get, the less interested I am in making health complicated.

In fact, some of the habits I believe matter most are incredibly boring.

Drink water.

Eat enough protein.

Eat plants.

Lift weights.

Walk.

Sleep.

Manage your stress.

Repeat.

They're not flashy.

But they're the habits I keep coming back to again and again.

And they're the healthy habits I refuse to overcomplicate.

1. Drinking Enough Water

Hydration doesn't need to be complicated.

You don't need a perfect hydration schedule.

You don't necessarily need a fancy drink.

And you certainly don't need to obsess over exactly how many ounces you've consumed by 10:37 a.m.

Your individual fluid needs can vary based on your body, activity level, environment, diet, pregnancy or breastfeeding status, medications and health conditions.

But the foundation is pretty simple:

Drink water consistently throughout your day.

One of the easiest habits I've developed is drinking water early in the day rather than realizing at 4 p.m. that I've basically survived on coffee.

Keep a water bottle with you.

Drink with meals.

Drink before and after exercise.

Drink more when you're sweating heavily or spending time outside in the heat.

And pay attention to your body.

Make hydration easier:

Fill your water bottle the night before.

Put it beside your coffee maker.

Keep another one in the car.

Add lemon, cucumber, berries or mint if plain water bores you.

Eat hydrating foods like watermelon, cucumber, oranges, berries, soups and yogurt.

The goal isn't perfect hydration.

It's making water something you consume consistently without having to think about it all day.

2. Eating Protein Throughout the Day

If you've read some of my other blogs, you've probably noticed that I talk about protein a lot.

There's a reason.

Protein provides amino acids that your body uses for countless functions, and getting enough protein is particularly important for maintaining and building muscle.

And as I approach 40, maintaining muscle has become a much bigger priority for me than simply trying to make my body smaller.

But protein doesn't need to become another thing you obsessively track.

One of my favourite approaches is simply asking:

"Where's my protein?"

Breakfast?

Where's my protein?

Lunch?

Where's my protein?

Snack?

Can I add some protein?

Dinner?

Where's my protein?

Easy protein options include:

• Eggs

• Greek yogurt

• Cottage cheese

• Chicken

• Turkey

• Fish

• Lean beef

• Tofu

• Tempeh

• Lentils

• Beans

• Edamame

• Nuts and seeds

• Protein smoothies

You don't need to eat plain chicken breast six times a day.

You don't need to turn every meal into a mathematical equation.

Just start becoming more intentional about including a meaningful protein source throughout your day.

3. Eating More Plants

This is another area where wellness culture can make things unnecessarily complicated.

You don't need exotic powders or expensive "superfoods" to eat a nutrient-dense diet.

Start in the produce section.

Vegetables.

Fruit.

Beans.

Lentils.

Whole grains.

Nuts.

Seeds.

Herbs.

Spices.

These foods provide combinations of fibre, vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds.

Instead of constantly asking:

"What should I eliminate?"

I love asking:

"What could I add?"

Can you add berries to breakfast?

Spinach to your eggs?

Peppers to your sandwich?

Broccoli to dinner?

Chia to your yogurt?

Beans to your soup?

An apple with your afternoon snack?

Healthy eating becomes much more enjoyable when you focus on adding nourishment instead of constantly removing foods.

4. Walking

Walking might be one of the most underrated health habits we have.

It doesn't require a gym membership.

You don't need special equipment.

You don't need to be athletic.

And it can fit into almost any stage of life.

I love strength training, but I also value simply getting outside and walking.

A walk can support your physical health while also giving your brain a break from the constant stimulation of everyday life.

And your walk doesn't need to be an hour.

Ten minutes counts.

A lap around the block counts.

Walking while your child is at practice counts.

Parking farther away counts.

Walking after dinner counts.

This is something I remind clients of constantly:

Movement doesn't only count when you're wearing workout clothes.

Your body doesn't know whether your walk was part of an official "exercise program."

It just knows you moved.

5. Strength Training

This is one I have become increasingly passionate about as I've gotten older.

I don't strength train because I'm trying to punish myself for something I ate.

I strength train because I want muscle.

I want strong bones.

I want to maintain my independence as I age.

I want to carry groceries.

I want to travel.

I want to play with my kids.

I want to keep doing the things I love decades from now.

Muscle mass and strength naturally become increasingly important as we age, which is why resistance training is something I encourage women to consider as part of a long-term health strategy.

But again...

It doesn't need to be complicated.

You don't need a two-hour workout.

You don't need seven different machines.

You don't need to leave the gym unable to walk.

A simple full-body strength routine performed consistently can be incredibly valuable.

Squat.

Push.

Pull.

Hinge.

Carry.

Build gradually.

Get stronger over time.

That's enough.

6. Eating Regular Meals

This sounds almost ridiculously basic.

But you'd be surprised how many women I work with who barely eat during the first half of the day.

Coffee.

Maybe breakfast.

Skip lunch because work gets busy.

Grab something around 3 p.m.

Then arrive home absolutely starving and spend the entire evening feeling like they can't stop eating.

And then they blame themselves for having "no willpower."

Sometimes the solution isn't more restriction.

Sometimes it's simply:

Eat.

Feed your body consistently.

Build balanced meals.

Include protein.

Include fibre.

Include carbohydrates.

Include healthy fats.

Stop expecting your body to happily run from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. on caffeine and good intentions.

7. Getting Enough Fibre

Fibre is another nutritional foundation I pay a lot of attention to.

Fibre supports digestive health, contributes to satiety and plays an important role in overall health.

But you don't need to immediately start measuring grams of fibre.

Start with food.

Add berries.

Eat vegetables.

Choose whole grains.

Add beans or lentils.

Use chia or ground flax.

Eat nuts and seeds.

Leave the skin on your apple.

And increase fibre gradually while also making sure you're drinking enough fluids.

Your digestive system usually appreciates consistency more than a sudden overnight transformation.

8. Going to Bed

Sometimes the most groundbreaking wellness advice I can give someone is:

You need to go to bed.

Not another supplement.

Not another morning routine.

Not another cup of coffee.

Sleep.

And believe me, I understand how tempting it is to stay up after everyone else goes to bed because it finally feels like your time.

The house is quiet.

Nobody needs anything.

You can finally scroll, watch a show or just sit there without someone asking you a question.

But when that consistently turns into staying up much later than your body needs, tomorrow becomes harder.

You wake exhausted.

You want more coffee.

Your workout feels harder.

Your appetite can feel different.

Your patience is shorter.

And you're trying to function from a depleted state.

I don't have a perfect sleep routine every night.

But I respect sleep much more than I used to.

9. Managing Stress in Small Moments

When people hear "stress management," they sometimes picture an hour-long meditation or a silent wellness retreat.

Lovely.

But that's not happening at 7:42 a.m. when someone can't find their backpack.

Stress management can happen in tiny moments.

Three slow breaths before you eat.

Five minutes outside.

A walk without your phone.

Reading before bed.

Stretching.

Sitting in silence for a few minutes.

Saying no.

Asking for help.

Turning off notifications.

Putting your phone down.

Taking one thing off your schedule instead of adding another.

You don't always need to eliminate the stressful circumstances in your life—which isn't always possible anyway.

Sometimes you need to give your nervous system more opportunities to come down from them.

10. Preparing Food Before You're Starving

This might be one of the most practical healthy habits I've learned.

Do not wait until you're exhausted, starving and standing in front of the fridge at 6 p.m. to decide what you're going to eat.

That's asking a lot of yourself.

Instead, make tomorrow easier today.

Cook extra chicken.

Make twice the rice.

Wash your berries.

Chop vegetables.

Boil eggs.

Prepare overnight oats.

Make enough dinner for lunch tomorrow.

Keep easy foods available.

You don't need to meal prep seven days of perfectly portioned containers.

Even preparing a few ingredients can completely change your week.

This is why I love what I call a Power Hour approach to meal prep.

Do enough now to reduce the amount of work you'll have to do later.

The Healthiest Routine Is the One You Can Repeat!

This is probably the biggest lesson I've learned both personally and professionally.

You can have the most scientifically perfect wellness plan in the world.

But if it requires two hours every morning, expensive ingredients, seven supplements, complicated recipes and a life with absolutely no interruptions...

it's probably not going to last.

Your healthy habits need to survive:

Busy work weeks.

Kids' sports.

Vacations.

Holidays.

Stressful seasons.

Bad nights of sleep.

Days when you're motivated.

And days when you're absolutely not.

That's what sustainable health looks like.

My Personal "Back to Basics" Checklist:

Whenever life gets really busy and I feel like my own routine is slipping, I don't add more.

I simplify.

I come back to:

Water.

Protein.

Plants.

Regular meals.

Strength training.

Walking.

Sleep.

Breathing.

Food preparation.

That's my foundation.

Everything else is extra.

And there's something incredibly freeing about knowing exactly where to return when life gets messy.

Stop Trying to Do Everything at Once!

If you're reading this thinking:

"Okay Lindsay, tomorrow I'm drinking three litres of water, eating 120 grams of protein, walking 10,000 steps, lifting weights, meal prepping and going to bed at 9."

No.

Please don't take that away from this article.

Pick one thing.

Maybe September is the month you start eating breakfast consistently.

Maybe you commit to a 10-minute walk after dinner.

Maybe you fill your water bottle every morning.

Maybe you strength train twice a week.

Maybe you add a vegetable to lunch.

Do that until it feels normal.

Then add something else.

This is exactly how I approach health with my clients.

We build.

We layer.

We adjust.

Because when you're already a busy woman carrying a full plate, the answer isn't handing you another overwhelming 47-step health plan.

It's helping you identify which few things will make the biggest difference right now.

As I Approach 40, Simpler Feels Better!

The closer I get to 40, the more my definition of health continues to change.

I'm less interested in extremes.

Less interested in quick fixes.

Less interested in making my body smaller at any cost.

I'm thinking about how I want to feel at 40.

And beyond.

I want to be strong.

Energetic.

Mobile.

Independent.

Clear-headed.

Well nourished.

And able to enjoy my life.

I'm playing a much longer game now.

And when you look at health through that lens, the basics suddenly become incredibly powerful.

You don't need to do everything.

You need to do the important things often enough, for long enough, that they become part of your life.

That's it.

No perfection required.

Want Someone to Help You Simplify Your Health?

If you're overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and wellness information out there and you're thinking, "I don't even know what I should be focusing on anymore," this is exactly the work I do with women inside Elevate Your Health.

Rather than giving you another generic checklist, I take a bird's-eye view of you: your current nutrition, symptoms, sleep, stress, digestion, movement, lifestyle, routines and goals.

Then we build your plan in phases so you know what to focus on first, what can wait, and how to actually incorporate these habits into your everyday life.

Because you don't need to become perfect at health.

You need to know which habits matter for your body, and you need a realistic way to do them consistently.

That's where lasting change begins.