Building consistency with these seven foundational health habits is the key to feeling and looking great.
Each habit plays a role, but the real power is in how they work together — almost like an operating system reset. Forget being someone who’s tired, anxious, skipping workouts, or making poor food choices. These habits will transform you into someone strong, capable, and disciplined — not just in your training and nutrition, but in every area of life.
That said, not all habits are created equal. Some are more foundational than others. So here’s my personal stack ranking — from most to least important.
1. Sleep
Sleep is the foundation. If all seven habits form a pyramid, sleep is the base everything else sits on.
When I sleep poorly, everything unravels:
- I skip training sessions
- I walk less
- I overeat
- My thinking gets foggy
- My mood tanks and I become anxious and irritable
Here’s a great example: Last year, I went on a camping trip and got two consecutive nights of under 5 hours of sleep. The two weeks that followed were incredibly difficult. It was a perfect illustration of how quickly sleep deprivation throws everything off.
The evidence is overwhelming. Sleep has a big effect on not only your physical health, but also your cognitive, and emotional health.
In fact, check this out. A 5% reduction in REM sleep increases mortality risk by 13%! [1].
Sleep is everything. You have to nail it and you have to make it non-negotiable.
I work harder on this habit than any other, and that’s why it’s number one.
2. Alcohol
Alcohol comes in a very close second.
Let’s start with the obvious: alcohol is a toxin. The evidence is clear that alcohol is bad for us:
- Drinking more than five drinks per week shortens life expectancy.
- Even light, regular drinking (a couple per night) can reduce your lifespan by 4–5 years
- Drinking alcohol is linked to all sorts of diseases, including cancer etc. [2]
But beyond the data, my personal experience was even more telling. When I drank, life would reliably go off the rails. I found it much harder to make good choices.
But, here is what really opened my eyes.
Wearing a WHOOP band revealed clear patterns between alcohol and health. Even a couple of drinks would tank my:
- Recovery scores
- Resting heart rate
- HRV
- Sleep quality
WHOOP didn’t know I was drinking, but my metrics said it all.
Eventually, I had to remove alcohol entirely to regain control. That’s why it holds the number two spot.
Before we jump into number 3 and go further down the list, a quick side note.
If you can nail just sleep and alcohol, you’re 80% of the way there. These two habits will drive the most visible and lasting change — and make all the others far easier to implement.
3. Steps
Steps are massively underrated.
I even used to ignore steps — but now I track them daily. They’re the ultimate baseline for movement and overall activity.
Walking is full-body movement. Add terrain, incline, or a weighted vest and you’ve got something close to Zone 2 cardio. Best of all, it’s low-friction and easy to build into your life.
It’s not uncommon to see people attribute their entire weight loss to building a habit of walking.
It’s also great for mental health. It improves mood, clears your head, and is the best all time generator of ideas.
I love this quote from Dan Go.

It’s so true.
Theres evidence to back that this whole steps thing is great for your health too.
Walking approximately 6,000 steps per day has a 40% lower risk of all-cause mortality — compared to those walking 3,500 steps. This risk reduction increased with higher step counts, reaching up to 53% for those walking close to 11,000 steps daily. [3]
That’s why steps is so high on the list.
4. Whole foods
Another obvious, but powerful one.
When I eat whole foods exclusively for a couple of days, I always feel sharper, leaner, and more energised.
When I slip into a bad habit of eating sugary, processed foods, the opposite happens — I feel tired, sluggish and bloated.
It’s literally a night and day comparison, over the period of just a few days.
Over the long term, this only becomes even more important. You’ll find yourself more easily able to maintain a healthier body weight. And, studies have shown that populations (blue zones), which eat 90–100% whole food diets, live the longest and have the lowest disease rates. [4]
5. Protein
This one hurts to put so low, especially as I’m a big fan of a high-protein diet. But, I guess it just shows how important sleep, alcohol, walking and whole foods are!
Why protein matters:
- It’s essential for building and keeping muscle — a huge marker of long-term health and longevity.
- It improves satiety and reduces overall calorie intake.
- Starting meals with protein (like meat or eggs) tends to “clean up” the rest of your plate.
Protein, in short, helps build a strong, capable body.
6. Water
Even mild dehydration causes fatigue and brain fog. When you’re well hydrated, you will feel sharper and make better decisions.
Also, you will perform better in the gym when you are well hydrated. I know most of us aren’t trying to win the Olympics, but every little bit helps!
So, stay hydrated if you want to feel sharper, have less brain fog and perform better in the gym,.
7. Caffeine
Last on the list — though still pretty important.
The main reason I include caffeine in my seven foundational health habits is because it interferes with sleep. And as we’ve seen, sleep is everything.
Caffeine has a quarter life of 10–12 hours. This means a midday coffee still lingers in your system at midnight.
To put them into perspective, it’s proven that one evening dose of caffeine can reduce deep sleep by 20% — the equivalent of aging 15 years! [5].
I personally tolerate caffeine fairly well, but I still respect it. Keeping it in check protects my sleep and holds me accountable.
Final Thoughts
If you’re just starting your journey with foundational health habits, start with sleep and alcohol. They will change your life faster than anything else and you will find it so much easier to unlock the rest of the habits.
Tackle those two, and you’ll feel better, look better, and show up stronger in all areas of your life.
References:
[1] A Prospective Study of Sleep Duration and Mortality Risk in Women
[2] Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2016 study (The Lancet, 2018)
[3] Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohort
[4] Blue Zones Study (Dan Buettner + National Geographic)
[5] Drinking just one dose of caffeine in the evening can decrease the amount of deep sleep by 20%
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