Dear Reader,

One thing I appreciate about life in Japan is how often healthy choices can feel pretty ordinary.

Like how a meal might naturally include rice, vegetables, soup, and a little protein, but isn't marketed as "health food". Or how walking isn’t necessarily thought of as exercise, but it’s just how you get to the station. It’s daily routine.

Of course, living in Japan doesn’t magically mean living healthfully, but the role of small daily habits and their impact over time has definitely influenced the way I think about my own health.

In fact, sometimes I think that the less something feels like a special “healthy habit,” the easier it is to keep doing.

So instead of trying to be more disciplined, I’ve found it more effective to be mindful of small ways to make taking care of myself feel like a natural part of everyday life.

Here are my four favorite ones.

4 habits inspired by life in Japan that make healthy choices easier

1. Always have a vegetable ready to go.

For me, recently this vegetable is broccoli.

It's accessible, quick to wash and chop ahead of time, and when I’m making lunch or dinner, I can put some in a bowl, microwave it for a minute, and it’s done.

I also like it because it goes well with a lot of different meals, like donburi rice bowls, pasta, and stir-fries.

Japanese home cooking has shown me that to eat more vegetables, they don’t necessarily have to be the centerpiece of a meal, but they can simply be one small part of it.

You don’t need to be eating giant salads every day. Find a vegetable you like and make it incredibly easy to add to whatever you’re already eating.

2. Keep simple foods that can become a meal

Two staples I almost always have at home are rice and eggs.

Sometimes I’ll make rice in the rice cooker even when I don’t have a plan for dinner. Once I have rice, then dinner suddenly feels much easier: add an egg or another protein, some vegetables (like broccoli), and maybe a little soy sauce, chili oil, or furikake.

Food doesn’t have to be elaborate to be a filling and healthy meal, but having a few simple “default meals” can make eating healthy feel much more easy.

3. Make starting exercise as easy as possible

The key is to start, and to not be concerned about the staying.

If I’m planning to work out, I’ll choose my clothes beforehand and have my water bottle filled and ready to go. But I also give myself permission to change my mind.

Sometimes I tell myself I only have to do something for five minutes. If I don’t want to continue or don't feel great, I just go home. The commitment is to starting, not staying.

But usually, staying feels a lot easier by then.

Rather than using discipline to overpower how I feel, I try to make the option feel as accessible as possible.

4. Pay attention to what feels good for you

I love stretching after a workout, when my muscles are already warm and moving feels good. But stretching first thing in the morning? Personally, I don't really love it. I’m often stiff, sleepy, and the floor feels especially cold after leaving a warm bed.

So I don’t force myself to become someone who loves a morning stretching routine, I stretch later in the day.

I think this is something we can easily forget when we're surrounded by advice about the “best” time to eat, exercise, sleep, or build a routine. And while there may be a scientifically optimal way to do something, most of us don't need optimal, we just need something.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t always have to feel like a project of self-improvement, but it can be slowly built into the way you already live.

Wash the broccoli ahead of time. Start the rice cooker. Put your workout clothes out. Stretch when stretching feels good.

Maybe the goal isn’t to become better at forcing yourself to be healthy, but rather building a life where taking care of yourself feels a little more natural.

Warmly,

Kaki

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this, please forward this email to your friends and family (or share the article) 🌱

If this email was forwarded to you, it's nice to meet you 😊

Follow on Instagram for more health tips, tricks, and inspiration:

​