Before there were electrolyte powders, there were the classic electrolyte drinks: Gatorade, Powerade, and Pedialyte. But in recent years, the category has exploded. In line with other health and wellness-related food and beverage products like protein powders and collagen supplements, there are now enough electrolyte powders, tablets, drops, and ready-to-drink bevs to make anyone’s head spin—including mine.

Though I’m someone who likes to start her mornings off with a good sweat, I never thought much about what all these products marketing themselves as “hydrating,” “energy-boosting,” or “replenishing” actually did for my body, or whether whichever option I’d selected that day would taste good.

That’s why I went looking for answers to three questions:

1. What do electrolytes do?
2. Who should be drinking them?
3. Which ones taste the best?

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Our top picks

• The best electrolyte powder overall: DripDrop
• Another overall favorite electrolyte powder: Cure
• The best unflavored electrolyte powder: Moon Juice
• For the person who’s a stickler for ingredient labels: Nectar Essential Daily Hydration
• For the person who likes it salty: LMNT
• The best magnesium-rich electrolyte powder: Magna
• The best electrolyte powder for kids: Hiya
• The best electrolyte powder with probiotics: Blume SuperBelly
• The best electrolyte powder with caffeine: Factor Form

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I spoke with a registered dietitian about the science behind these beverages before taste-testing 17 popular brands to find the best electrolyte powders for lots of different active lifestyles, whether you’re crushing HIIT classes on the daily or you’re more of a weekend pickleball person.

But first, what are electrolytes?

“Electrolytes essentially help with the fluid balance in our bodies,” says Taylor Grasso, MPPD, RD, a registered dietitian and host of the podcast Simply Balanced. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride are some of the most common electrolytes. They play a key role in many of our bodies’ functions, including maintaining the balance between the fluid outside and inside of our cells.

“When we have a balance of [electrolytes] in cohesion with proper hydration, then our body is going to actually be able to absorb that water,” says Grasso. That absorption happens through the process of osmosis: When a cell is concentrated with electrolyte ions, water will move into the cell towards that more concentrated solution.

Now that we have a better understanding of what electrolytes are and why they matter, let’s get into the fun part: which electrolyte powders and drinks taste good?

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Best electrolyte powder overall: DripDrop

If you’re a longtime Gatorade devotee looking for an alternative that may be better suited to the average active person, the doctor-developed electrolyte packets from DripDrop are the choice for you. With seven grams of added sugar and a more modest amount of sodium than some of the other options on this list, they’re an ideal pick for anyone who’s exerting themselves to a decent extent, but not at the intensity level and duration of a pro athlete. Most importantly, DripDrop was one of the tastiest options I tested: sweet but not overly so, incredibly refreshing to down post-workout, and available in 13 different flavors. It’s the option I’ve found myself reaching for after my own workouts since conducting all this testing. They also make a sugar-free version sweetened with sucralose, which I did not try.

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Another overall favorite electrolyte powder: Cure

Cure’s electrolyte powder packets are a longtime favorite of senior commerce editor Olivia Tarantino’s, and after taste testing them for this story, I can see why. They’ve got a short ingredient list that includes coconut water powder, fruit juice powders, pink Himalayan salt, and citric acid, plus some monk fruit and stevia. They’re sweet without being too sweet, refreshingly tart, and subtly salty without tasting like glorified seawater. And while I’m usually averse to monk fruit for its aftertaste, I don’t mind it here at all. If you’re new to Cure, I’d opt for the brand’s Starter Kit variety pack, which includes nine of their most popular flavors.

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The best unflavored electrolyte powder: Moon Juice

If you want the benefits of an electrolyte powder without the need to down a sweet, fruity drink, Moon Juice’s unflavored Mini Dew is for you. In addition to pink salt electrolytes, Mini Dew has added minerals that are meant to promote energy and help with brain fog and fatigue. The moderate amount of sodium makes it suitable for people engaging in all levels of activity. Prefer something flavored? Moon Juice also makes this powder in watermelon and pomelo varieties, both of which are available in jars or single-serving packet form.

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For the person who’s a stickler for ingredient labels: Nectar Essential Daily Hydration

If you glance at the nutrition labels of the options on this list, you’ll notice that these types of products tend to have pretty short ingredient lists. But if you’re looking for a very natural option that also tastes great, Nectar Essential Daily Hydration packets fit the bill. With only seven ingredients (all of which have names you can pronounce), this electrolyte drink mix makes use of organic fruit rather than any sort of artificial flavoring. I liked the slight tartness that comes from an addition of acid (citric or malic, depending on the flavor), and the fact that it’s not super sweet, which makes it especially downable. Note that Nectar uses organic stevia rather than sugar as its sweetener, and it only contains 100 milligrams of sodium, which means it’s best suited for very mild levels of exertion or everyday drinking. For heavy sweating and intense exercise, you might want to consider an option with more sodium and some added sugar to help replenish those glycogen stores.

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For the person who likes it salty: LMNT

If you live for the salted rim on a margarita or you find yourself adding a pinch of flaky salt to everything you eat, you’ll love this drink mix. LMNT is one of the big names in today’s hydration game for a reason: It’s got a straightforward ingredient list that separates itself from the rest of the pack with the amount of sodium it contains. At 1000 milligrams per packet, this is the kind of hydration drink you’ll want to save for those extra sweaty sessions, or opt for if you’re prone to heavy sweating in the warmer months. It’s so notably salty that its flavor is quite polarizing, though it has plenty of staunch fans (including Grasso). Note that LMNT is sweetened with stevia and has zero sugar, so if you are using it after intense exercise, you’ll likely need to replenish your glucose in addition.

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The best magnesium-rich electrolyte powder: Magna

Magna’s thing is that their electrolyte powders contain three different forms of magnesium: magnesium L-threonate, magnesium malate, and magnesium glycinate. Combined with potassium, sodium, and vitamins D, B6, and B12, the formulation is meant to “promote focus and recovery,” along with the usual hydration you’d expect from an electrolyte supplement. While we can’t really speak to whether this powder made us feel noticeably different than the others on this list, the main reason we’re recommending it is because it tastes great. I’m partial to the watermelon lime flavor, but the powder is also available in lemon lime, iced tea lemonade, mint lemonade, and unflavored.

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The best electrolyte powder for kids: Hiya

Hiya’s electrolyte powder is formulated specifically with kids in mind, meant to be a more natural, no-sugar-added alternative to traditional sports drinks or juices. The balance of electrolytes includes a pretty modest amount of sodium at 85 milligrams, which is part of what makes this powder more suitable for young ones than some of the others on this list. That, and the fact that the bright blue canister comes with a sticker pack to decorate with.

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The best electrolyte powder with probiotics: Blume SuperBelly

Blume’s SuperBelly powders are designed to simultaneously promote hydration and gut health by combining trace minerals with prebiotic fiber and clinically studied probiotics. There are a handful of fun flavors to choose from—my favorite is the mango passion fruit—and I like that the amount of sodium is low enough that I can drink multiple packets throughout the day without overdoing it. This is the kind of powder you’ll want to incorporate into your daily routine, rather than using as a post-strenuous workout rehydration aid—for that, opt for something with more sodium and perhaps a few grams of sugar.

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The best electrolyte powder with caffeine: Factor Form

If you’re trying to wean yourself off your pre-workout energy drink habit, try this electrolyte mix from Factor Form. It includes 50 milligrams of caffeine from green coffee and L-theanine, which is about half the amount in a cup of coffee, and a bit less than what you’d get from a shot of espresso. The caffeine content, plus the 500 milligrams of sodium, makes this a great option for consuming before or during your daily workout. The caffeinated variety only comes in a passionfruit guava flavor (which is, I will say, delicious), but Factor Form also makes an orange yuzu immunity-boosting flavor and a lemon lime flavor that’s solely for hydration.

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The best electrolyte tablets, drops, drinks, and gummies

The most portable electrolyte solution: Waterdrop Microlyte

While most of the options on this list come in packet form and are easy enough to take on the go, the tablet-style “Microlyte” cubes from Waterdrop are even more compact and portable—plus you won’t need to worry about spilling powder everywhere when you go to mix up your bev. Just peel open the packaging and drop one into a bottle of water and you’re good to go. The one thing I didn’t love about this option is that the tablets take a fair amount of time to dissolve—but once they do, you’ll be left with a lightly sweet, pleasantly fruity, and ultra refreshing drink that’s ideal for all of you flavored water fans.

For the person who hates flavored water: Buoy Hydration Drops

Maybe the thing you truly crave after a workout is good old-fashioned water. If that’s the case, Buoy Hydration Drops are a great way to get a tiny electrolyte boost without any added flavor or sweetness whatsoever. Now, when I say “tiny,” I do mean it—these drops only contain 50 milligrams of sodium (and similarly small amounts of other electrolytes). That’s because they’re meant to be added to multiple beverages throughout the day—for a total of four to seven servings, to be exact. They’re a great option to keep by your desk for all-day hydrating, or to bring with you on that next road trip.

For the person who’s obsessed with gummy vitamins: Plant People Wonder Hydrate

If you’d rather consume your electrolytes in gummy form, allow me to introduce you to Plant People’s Wonder Hydrate. These lychee-flavored gummies have a small amount of electrolytes per two gummy serving, so they’re best used as an everyday boost rather than for post-exercise rehydration. Oh, and they taste really good. So good that we’ve taken to passing the bag around at the office when we’re in need of something sweet in the afternoon.

For the coconut water fiend: Coco5

If you, like me, crave ice cold coconut water the minute you feel parched, you’ll love Coco5. Made up primarily of coconut water concentrate and filtered water, you can essentially think of this as a coconut water-based sports drink. Coco5 makes use of the electrolytes found naturally in coconut water (like potassium, calcium, and magnesium) and adds salt for an extra hydration boost. Available in six flavors, I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of each one I tried. The passion fruit flavor tasted remarkably of passion fruit for something that doesn’t have, well, real passion fruit in it, and I liked the addition of citric acid for the welcome tartness it brings.

For athletes and intense exercisers: Gatorade

As Grasso mentions above, there is a time and place for this OG sports drink. It contains more than triple the amount of added sugar as Liquid I.V., with 34 grams per 20-ounce bottle; but for serious athletes, pro football players, and the like—that is, people who are exercising for hours at a time every day—that sugar is absolutely necessary.

A lower-in-sugar alternative to Gatorade: Gatorlyte

Another option from the Gatorade family is Gatorlyte. With far less sugar than traditional Gatorade (12 grams versus 34) and more sodium (490 milligrams versus 270), it’s a great pick for those looking for a widely available, ready-to-drink hydration solution. Do note that the extra sodium does mean Gatorlyte tastes a bit saltier than normal Gatorade.

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How I tested electrolyte powders

To test electrolyte powders, I did what was necessary: tasted a lot of electrolyte drinks. In my taste tests, I took note of how well the powders dissolved in water, how balanced the flavors were, and whether there was any weird aftertaste. I tried to sample multiple flavors from each brand when available, and have other people taste alongside me when possible to get multiple opinions.

In a world recalibrated by a global health crisis and shaped by constant connectivity, a powerful new aspiration has emerged: not just to live longer, but to live better. “Longevity is not simply about adding years to life, but about adding life to those years,” says Dr. Jair Olivares, clinical director at wellness clinic SHA Mexico. “It’s the profound difference between lifespan — how long we live — and healthspan — how well we live during those years.” The ultimate luxury, he notes, isn’t a designer bag or a corner office but time, health, energy, and mental clarity.

Wellness tourism is booming in response to this growing demand. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the category was valued at $651 billion in 2024 and is projected to rise by 16.6% annually through 2027. From luxury hotels to clinical-grade wellness centers, a new wave of programs is promising more than a temporary postvacay glow; they aim to recalibrate your biology. “With breakthrough science hitting mainstream media every week, it’s natural that premium resorts are turning into mini health-innovation hubs,” says certified nutritionist and longevity wellness adviser Serena Poon. “Travelers now want holidays that deliver a measurable return on health.”

Of course, not all properties and programs are created equal. Poon urges consumers to do their homework and prioritize offerings rooted in science, not hype. “Beware of clinics promising age reversal in a weekend,” she says. “If a treatment lacks peer-reviewed human data or ignores personal biomarkers, I’d rather see clients invest in evidence-backed options like red light, low-level laser therapy sessions or a peptide program with proven metabolic benefits.”

The health pro recommends asking tough questions and requesting the research behind bold claims. Red flags include one-size-fits-all peptide stacks, generic IV drips sold without lab work, unregulated stem cell or exosome injections, and flashy devices that lack proper Food and Drug Administration clearance. It’s also crucial to confirm that ozone, hyperbaric oxygen, and extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation (EBOO) therapies meet medical-grade dosing and equipment standards. “Otherwise, the risks can outweigh the rewards,” she warns.

Andy Galpin, Ph.D., a human performance scientist who recently developed a bespoke program for the Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica, echoes the need for personalization over generalization. He says charging an expert with orchestrating precise protocols and “hyperspecific solutions” based on your data is worth the investment, as throwing trendy (and often expensive) treatments at the wall can lead to poor results or, worse, extreme problems.

Galpin’s curated experience includes multiple physiological assessments before arrival, three days of private consultations, and six months of postretreat support. Price tag? A cool $125,000. But despite the high cost, demand for longevity-focused escapes continues to rise. “This isn’t a trend that’s going away anytime soon,” he says. “The field is only going to get better.”

While none of the ultra-luxe destinations ahead boast a fountain promising eternal youth, the path to a longer, stronger life has never looked more enticing.

SHA Mexico

Just 30 kilometers from the bustling tourist hub that is Cancun lies SHA Mexico, a verdant sanctuary offering targeted programs that address everything from physical and mental performance to hair health. This year, the wellness destination debuted its Women’s Comprehensive Health Unit, which is designed to tackle concerns like fertility, menopause, and bone health with support from a team of gynecologists, osteopaths, and hormone specialists. SHA also rolled out its new Tailor-Made Program, which leverages a “smart algorithm” to analyze personal data and build fully customized wellness protocols. Regardless of the path you choose, every guest receives an “advanced preventative diagnosis,” including a 3D body scan, a cognitive domain test, a detailed analysis of cardiovascular and nervous system function, and more.

San Clemente Palace

Tucked away on a private island in Venice, Italy, the 900-year-old San Clemente Palace is steeped in history, but its newly unveiled Longevity Spa brings something far more futuristic to the table. Here, cutting-edge diagnostics meet centuries-old traditions. The spa’s signature DNA testing — conducted via a saliva sample — decodes how your genetic blueprint influences everything from physical performance to gut health. Complementing the high-tech offerings are immersive Blue Zone-inspired rituals drawn from longevity hotspots like Okinawa, Ikaria, Nicoya, and Sardinia. Treatments range from cryotherapy and thalassotherapy to cacao exfoliations and seaweed wraps, with local elements like volcanic mud, fermented rice water, and Mediterranean sea salt woven throughout.

Canyon Ranch Tucson

Canyon Ranch Tucson — a longtime pioneer in the wellness space — recently launched Longevity8, an immersive four-day program set against the stunning landscape of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. The experience includes more than 15 advanced diagnostic tests analyzing more than 200 biomarkers, with assessments ranging from electrocardiograms and vascular ultrasounds to sleep screenings and DEXA scans. Guests receive 18 one-on-one consultations, plus three months of virtual follow-ups with a team of board-certified physicians, exercise physiologists, spiritual wellness experts, and other licensed professionals. At $20,000 per person or $36,000 per couple, it’s a serious investment, but one that’s attracting a wide range of participants, from late 20s to late 70s, says Dr. Jennifer Wagner, Canyon Ranch’s chief health and performance officer. “We’ve even seen intergenerational families, like a son in his 30s who brought both of his parents,” she adds.

Lanserhof Tegernsee

Nestled in the storybook setting of the Bavarian Alps, Lanserhof Tegernsee continues to push the boundaries of integrative medicine with a new slate of advanced treatments focused on preventative wellness. This year’s highlights include INUSpherese (a blood-purification procedure that filters out heavy metals and microplastics), Echolight screenings (for early osteoporosis detection), and Echosens liver detox treatments. These therapies are available à la carte or as part of more comprehensive offerings like the Longevity Program, which combines state-of-the-art diagnostics — such as telomere length testing and in-depth blood analysis — with restorative treatments like healing massages and foot reflexology. Particularly noteworthy is the clinic’s new Brain Health Program, which targets dementia risk and cognitive performance through memory and focus assessments, microbiome analysis, blood tests, and personalized risk profiling.

Four Seasons Hotel Singapore

This past January, the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore unveiled a new destination for science-backed self-care: the Chi Longevity Clinic. Guests can choose between fully bespoke flagship packages tailored to individual goals or specialized programs centered around gut health, physical performance, sleep quality, and more. Standout offerings include the Biological Age Reveal, which measures how quickly you’re aging on a cellular level using epigenetic and inflammation markers, and Gene Insights, a deep dive into how your DNA affects metabolism and long-term disease risk. Among the clinic’s most innovative tools is the Age Reader, which uses ultraviolet light to analyze skin and deliver an instant cardiovascular risk assessment in just 12 seconds.

Vitamin D sufficiency is vital for optimal musculoskeletal health—especially as you get older. “As we age, our cutaneous production, or the skin synthesis, goes down naturally,” mindbodygreen’s former vice president of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, says on the mindbodygreen podcast. “Older age is a major vitamin D deficiency risk factor6 to be mindful of—for yourself and your loved ones,” she adds.

Beauty & Health Editor

Hannah Frye is the Beauty & Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including beauty, women’s health, mental health, sustainability, social media trends, and more. She previously worked for Almost 30, a top-rated health and wellness podcast. In her current role, Hannah reports on the latest beauty trends and innovations, women’s health research, brain health news, and plenty more.

In November 2014, Jason Phillips, a fitness and nutrition trainer, was so broke that he couldn’t afford a cup of coffee. One year later, he banked a million dollars, and after 10 years, he founded Nutritional Coaching Institute and scaled it to a reported $15 million valuation. These days, he’s embarking on a new venture that promises even greater success.

Phillips is guided by an almost instinctual level of business acumen, enhanced and fueled by his relentless drive for happiness, profitability and desire to help others. And his story is rooted in the most unlikely of circumstances—a battle with anorexia.

Whole body health

The journey to well-being is anything but linear. For roughly 30 million Americans, that path can include an eating disorder detour, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. And Phillips was among them.

“I was a typical all-American, healthy kid. Then I developed an eating disorder and became fully anorexic,” Phillips recounts. “When I overcame that, I discovered that health and wellness saved my life, and I wanted to use that vehicle to pay it forward to help others.”

After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in exercise science and a concentration in fitness and nutrition, Phillips bounced from gig to gig. It wasn’t until that fateful November in 2014, when he was faced with his grim financial reality, that he recognized a crossroads—either get a conventional job or leverage his knowledge and passion to move forward.

Providence came that same week in the form of his first consultation call from a national championship weight lifter. After listening to her story, Phillips’ desire to help overrode his need for money.

“When it got time to pitch the price,” Phillips says, “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what if she says no? That’s not OK. She really needs my help.’ I was like, ‘You can’t pay me.’ Over the next week, she referred me to 12 people who did pay.”

Those 12 new clients sparked his coaching company, IN3. Named for nutrition in performance, aesthetics and life, IN3 quickly ramped up to help 3,000 people each year. Then in 2016, a friend challenged him to scale. If Phillips could shift to a business-to-business model through certifications, he could reach millions more.

Inspiration hit during a six-hour car ride. “I’ve never had more clarity in my life,” Phillips says. “I pulled into the driveway and didn’t even get the bags out of my car. I ran into my office, sat down and wrote the whole outline. And to this day, [in] 2025, it hasn’t changed.”

Round two

That outline sat in his notebook until April 2017. Phillips was home sick one day when, on a whim, he made a social media post floating the certification class before taking a nap. He woke up to 200 replies.

Phillips then sprang into action, booking a friend’s facility in Chicago to host the class. Four hours after posting the $1,000 payment link, all 40 spots were filled. Phillips organized two more dates and locations after that, and by the end of the next day, all seats were sold.

“We delivered the first-ever certification and never looked back,” he says.

During those early years, Phillips was juggling IN3 and NCI. Sensing that his brand identity was getting confused, he decided to sell IN3 even though it subsidized NCI’s payroll. The decision put him back into a financial conundrum.

“I was probably going to miss payroll by $70,000,” Phillips confesses.

In a stroke of genius, he developed a “rapid cash scholarship framework” and facilitated an injection of capital by opening applications to a full-ride scholarship to NCI’s program. One person earned the scholarship, and other applicants were offered an irresistible rate, thus generating a massive cash influx. The strategy proved so successful that other online businesses adopted it too.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Phillips warns. “You get a lot of money, but it takes the warmest leads out of your funnel. There’s definitely some nuance to it.”

Despite NCI’s rampant financial success, by 2023, Phillips decided to sell it too. Burnout played a role, but he also no longer felt aligned with the direction of the industry. He needed some space.

A little over a year later, though, Phillips bought NCI back.

Full circle

Selling a company to purchase it back may sound like an odd way to go all-in on profits and happiness, but Phillips’ internal compass always pointed to what felt morally right.

“I sold a company that was connection-driven, and they tried to turn it into an e-commerce company,” Phillips says. “It was never going to work as an e-comm company, and so we’re bringing connection back.”

Phillips, however, remembers why he sold in the first place. For this iteration of NCI, he is completely reimagining the certification model. Access to NCI’s material is now free, and instead of paying for information, clients can purchase a mentorship that supports their business development, execution and success. NCI, according to Phillips, is rolling out the red carpet.

The annual fee provides access to all of NCI’s resources, including specialty topic calls, business development calls and 24/7 support. A monthly membership fee lets clients stay at NCI’s home base, where they can film content in a studio and host events.

“NCI was always formed on the ‘billion-person mission,’” Phillips says. “We want to change a billion lives through the vehicle of health and fitness.”

Success and wisdom

Phillips is improving lives at scale. At a personal level, he’s identified four integrated dimensions of success: physical development, personal development, connection to loved ones, and business. Underpinning all of these is the idea of personal control.

At one point, Phillips found himself in a scary situation on an airplane. His inability to change the outcome came into sharp focus—and after a safe emergency landing, Phillips left the experience with a searing impression.

“I will never take control for granted in my life,” he says. “I am in control of how I move my body, what I feed my body, what I feed my mind, the connection I have with my daughter and the direction of my business. I promise anything that you’re envisioning, it can be done as long as you take charge and take control.” 

This article originally appeared in the July/August issue of SUCCESS® magazine.

Photo courtesy of Jason Phillips

Last Updated May 23, 2025 (originally published November 21, 2018)

Key Takeaways Helping clients develop nutritional habits may be the key to long-term behavior change success. You can empower your clients by teaching them how to develop new habits and helping them embrace the power of process goals as steppingstones to longer-term objectives. The 5 keystone habits covered are: Increase awareness of current habits. Plan dinners for the week. Sit down to eat, share and connect with others. Enjoy food. Begin with the end in mind.

 

When it comes to discussing behavior change and nutrition with your clients, it is outside of your scope of practice as a health and exercise professional to provide psychological counseling or detailed menu plans (unless you have additional credentials in those fields). However, if you aren’t talking to your clients about their health behaviors and nutrition, you could be missing important areas of potential improvement.

According to Charles Duhigg, author , nearly half of the decisions we make in a day are not actually decisions—they are habits. That is, we complete tasks without conscious thought (brushing your teeth and backing out of the driveway, for example, require almost no effort). 

If this same theory holds true for food decisions, many people probably put little to no thought into half of their intake. The decision to stop on the way to work for a coffee drink or eat candy in the afternoon may not be a conscious thought, but a habit driven by a cue. And, unfortunately, as Duhigg writes, some habits are “so strong, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else… including common sense.”

Thus, if you want to encourage your clients to adopt a healthier lifestyle, focus on the process. Adaptation is a process, and being process-oriented rather than results-oriented may actually lead to better long-term results (and therefore, better client retention). Clients may be looking for immediate results, but they typically hire a health and exercise professional to help them learn, grow and progress in multiple areas of health and wellness.

What are the associative habits that lead to healthier behaviors? Your clients undoubtedly know they should eat a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, but how do you help them turn choosing whole foods into a daily behavior?

In other words, what are the keystone habits for improved nutrition? Exercise is certainly one. According to researcher James Prochaska, lead developer of the transtheoretical model of behavior change and author of Changing to Thrive, when people start exercising regularly they also start eating better, become more productive, smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and families.

Advising clients to adopt the following five habits may help improve their chances for success for healthy eating:

Advising clients to adopt the following five habits may help improve their chances for success for healthy eating:

• Increase awareness of current habits. The first step in changing a habit is recognizing the cues and rewards that accompany it. Because many people have a tendency to mindlessly consume food, awareness is the vital first step in developing healthier habits. Help your clients recognize and care about what and how much they are (and are not) eating. Calories count, but you do not always need to count them. Understanding patterns and triggers/cues is far more useful than calculating calories and macros. Keeping a detailed food record (either on paper or online) that allows for subjective comments for two to three days is a great starting point.
• Plan dinners for the week. Clients may notice that it’s easier to make healthy lifestyle decisions early in the day. Making smart choices is especially challenging when life becomes hectic. Consider a typical evening after a long day at work, picking up the kids, sitting in traffic and arriving home at 6:00 p.m. Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, many people are far more likely to heat up a frozen pizza or grab fast food rather than decide what healthy food to make and then actually cook it. Planning a dinner menu for the week removes the energy associated with making a decision when you are tired and hungry. In addition, it helps create a shopping list for the week. Urge your clients to plan to use fresh foods (e.g., salads and fish) early in the week and foods that last (e.g., frozen vegetables and meats) later in the week. 
• Sit down to eat, share and connect with others. According to the World Happiness Report, one in four Americans report eating all their meals alone the previous day, which is a 53% increase from 2003. Eating in solitude is associated with  cognitive decline and an increased risk of depression, as well as decreased food diversity, lower vegetable and fruit intake, reduced caloric intake, skipping meals, and over– and underweight. Approximately 50% of parents report having family meals seven or more times per week. Sitting down to eat with family or friends can coincide with a cascade of healthy behaviors. One study, for example, found that children who eat dinner with their families have higher dietary diversity, lower ultra-processed food consumption, and a healthy body mass index. In addition, frequent family meals may contribute to the emotional and social well–being of the parent.
• Enjoy food. Eating indulging foods should not produce guilt. When referring to foods and behaviors, throw out the words good and bad. Instead, consider what should be done more frequently and what should be done less frequently. Encourage clients to eat a variety of foods.
• Begin with the end in mind. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, urged, establishing a long-term goal and creating a series of small goals to progress toward that end goal develops consistent behaviors that develop into habits. One example is to sign up for a race or event (e.g., a half-marathon in six months with a 5K and 10K along the way). This “carrot” is what leads to those extra 20 minutes of exercise that might not otherwise have been done. And those 20 minutes, a few days a week, over the course of a year add up to a significant change and hopefully new habits. Additionally, encourage a growth mindset; that is, do not allow your clients to define themselves by their shortcomings or failures. After a hiccup, do not wait until Monday (or the 1st of the month) to reboot, but instead start back up on a healthy eating plan after those last few bites of dessert.

The simple truth is that no single secret or keystone habit exists. Hard work, consistency and patience—on both the health and exercise professional and client’s part—are vital to fostering lasting results. Above all, establish a consistently healthy culture that becomes contagious.

 

To learn more from Justin Robinson and other nutrition experts, register now for the ACE Health and Fitness Summit: Evidence-Based Nutrition for Coaches and Trainers. This event takes place on May 30, 2025, from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT. In addition to Justin’s session on optimizing fitness and well-being through gut health science, the event will explore everything from plant-based nutrition to obesity medications. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to elevate your coaching game with science-backed nutrition insights from our panel of experts.