Elizabeth Rider - The Health Habit: 7 Easy Steps to Reach Your Goals and Dramatically Improve Your Life

Praise for

THE HEALTH HABIT

Elizabeth Rider has cracked the lifestyle and diet code in a way that will work for anyone, including you! Ive worked with Elizabeth for yearsshe is the real deal. Every woman should get this book.

CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, M.D.

New York Times best-selling author of Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom and Goddesses Never Age

Elizabeth has written the ultimate guide to holistic health! The Health Habit not only demystifies nutrition, but it also offers up practical and inspiring guidance on every element of well-being.

GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN

#1 New York Times best-selling author of The Universe Has Your Back

The Health Habit is a brilliant book for any woman seeking better health without shame or guilt. Elizabeth delivers a clear, compassionate, and actionable plan that will serve you for life.

MARIE FORLEO

star of MarieTV, entrepreneur, and philanthropist and author of Everything Is Figureoutable

The Health Habit is a must-read for anyone looking to better their health. Elizabeth is the queen of mastering simple, practical, and sustainable healthy habits that last.

JAMES COLQUHOUN

filmmaker of Food Matters, Hungry for Change, and Transcendence; founder of FMTV; and author of Hungry for Change

The Health Habit is the best healthy eating and lifestyle book Ive read in a long time! The simplicity of the steps and flexibility of this approach will help anyone move toward healthier habits in a realistic manner to create lasting results. This book is now at the top of my list of recommendations to set people on the road to better nutrition and health.

SUE WARD, M.S., CNS,

director of Nutrition and Education, Sanoviv Medical Institute, and author of Cruising for Fitness or Finish Lines

Copyright 2019 by Elizabeth Rider

Published in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover and book design: Shubhani Sarkar, sarkardesignstudio.com

Cover photo: DArcy Benincosa, darcybenincosa.com

Interior photos: Samantha Lord, orangephotographie.com and Elizabeth Rider, elizabethrider.com

Indexer: J S Editorial, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rider, Elizabeth, author.

Title: The health habit : 7 easy steps to reach your goals and dramatically improve your life / Elizabeth Rider.

Description: Carlsbad, California : Hay House Inc., 2019.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019014140| ISBN 9781401956981 (hardback) | ISBN 9781401956998 (e-book) | ISBN 9781401958435 (audiobook)

Subjects: LCSH: Health behavior. | Nutrition. | Weight loss. | Gluten-free diet--Recipes. | Milk-free diet--Recipes. | BISAC: HEALTH & FITNESS / Nutrition. | HEALTH & FITNESS / Healthy Living. | HEALTH & FITNESS / Weight Loss.

Classification: LCC RA776.9 .R54 2019 | DDC 613.2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019014140

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-5698-1

e-book ISBN: 978-1-4019-5699-8

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-4019-5843-5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1st edition, August 2019

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to you, dear reader. May your Health Habit bring you a higher level of well-being and more joy to your daily life. You deserve it.

If youre like me and want to be healthy without giving up everything you loveand not feel guilty for messing upthen this book is for you. Before I tell you my story, I want you to know that I dont expect it to be yours.

This book is designed to meet you where you are, whether you have thyroid problems similar to mine, or youre prediabetic, suffering from an autoimmune disease, looking to lose weight, hoping to lift some brain fog, or simply in the market for tips to improve an already healthy lifestyle. The steps in this book are here to help you jump out of bed on Monday mornings regardless of where you start. In case weve never met before, let me back up a little.

Hi! Im Elizabeth. Its so nice to meet you. Im a health coach, nutritionist, recipe blogger, and host of the cooking show Elizabeth Eats on FMTV. I grew up in the biggest town in Montana (80,000 people strong), where I lived in a quaint little postwar house with my mom, dad, and two older sisters. We didnt have loads of money, but our home was full of love (and fighting teenage girls from 1994 to 1998). I was a cheerleader (dont judge me) and took dance lessons every week for 18 years. Overall I was a pretty average healthy, happy-go-lucky kind of kid. Until I wasnt.

It started in my early teen years with what seemed to be strep throat every month, followed by antibiotic round after antibiotic round. The doctor decided it was best to take my tonsils out when I was 15, and for years I never fully felt like I recovered from the surgery.

As luck would have it, I got mononucleosis the next yearand not even from kissing (because I was such a prude), which felt even lamer to teenage me. If I had to get sick, I wanted a cool story about it. I contracted mono most likely from sharing sugary drinks with my fellow cheer friends at football games. But how I contracted mono doesnt really matter, whats important is I was so sick I missed almost an entire semester of my junior year of high school. And although I started to recover slowly but surely, I did not regain full steam.