A brand new year stretches before us, and it gives us plenty of potential to enjoy a world of possibility. If you’re ready to start an adventure toward better health, why not make the New Year the turnover point? When you approach the New Year with logical steps to make it healthy without being overwhelming, it’s easier to reach those goals that mean so much to you. Here’s how.
How can I improve my health in the New Year?
With the proper focus to guide you, the goal of improving your health for the year to come is about taking a look at those focus areas that matter most. When it comes to the average modern person, three main areas cause a struggle:
Vegetable ratio: Our plates tend to be heavily loaded with protein and starch but have little vegetable content. If there’s one thing that you can focus on to help you achieve your goals, it is the idea of increasing that vegetable ratio. By cutting back slightly on protein and starch, your plate space immediately opens up for vegetables.
Hydration needs: Most are dehydrated and don’t even know it. By adding hydration into our daily schedules, we can help counteract that! Something as simple as having a goal to drink a certain amount every hour is great to start. When we prioritize hydration, our bodies work much better.
Accepting weak points: All of us see our healthy journey differently. Some struggle to prioritize hydration. Others hate working out. The goal is to acknowledge those weak and problem points and find intelligent and enjoyable ways to work around them so that everything immediately becomes much more accessible
Top 10 tips for a healthy 2022
When it comes to the actual tips that you choose to lead you to a healthy and happy new year, these ten tips are designed to be customized to your needs as efficiently as possible for the right final effect!
1. Pick a realistic weight loss number
Most of us have weight loss as a goal for our new year. This is great -- but only if the number is realistic. Many feel that picking a challenging number will motivate them to work hard and shed those extra pounds, but this can often have the opposite effect.
Whatever that amount is that you’d like to lose, halve it. It immediately makes it easier to achieve, and you’ll feel that fantastic sense of accomplishment when you beat that number. This energizes you to keep going. It’s the best kind of snowball effect!
Also Read: Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work
2. Consider targeted supplements instead of multivitamins
Supplements are great choices when adding extra nutrition where you most need it. Many will automatically think that a multivitamin is best since it offers, well, everything. However, understanding where you need extra support and where you don’t is essential for a complete health profile.
Many will find that they’ll need support in focused areas, such as super reds supplements for those who dislike many red fruits or vegetables. Or, they’ll consider adding a probiotic and prebiotic supplement for digestive support. It’s all about understanding what your body lacks and how to care for it!
3. Make movement an hourly goal
Most of us have sedentary lifestyles where we spend an hour at a time behind a computer or hunched over books and paperwork. This means that all our exercise needs get squished into an hour a day -- if we have time for it. Instead of making time for an intense workout, ease the stress by making movement an hourly goal.
Every hour, for example, take 5-10 minutes to do a few stretches. Perhaps you want to do this by doing push-ups. Or going up and down the stairs a few times. Want to throw in a few yoga stretches instead? Go for it. Pick movement that works for you, as you’ll be more likely to do it even on those times when you perhaps aren’t quite as compelled to do so.
4. Take a look at your sweetening choices
Sugar is crucial in many of our diets. From toast toppings to baking, it’s something we can’t live without! However, how you sweeten can have a healthy twist.
Rather than going with classic table sugar, why not consider sweetening with NZ Manuka honey? It’ll offer a rich taste to your toast or cookie recipe, and it’ll also squeeze in some extra nutrition, primarily through antioxidants.
5. Focus on a quality sleep schedule
When sleep-deprived, we aren’t operating at our top speed. From cognition to physical strength to digestion, our bodies are compromised. Lack of sleep also contributes to lower immunity. Since COVID-19 is still a concern for many, keeping our defenses up should focus on not depleting them unnecessarily!
Try to focus on getting 8-9 hours of quality sleep as many nights as possible so that you can allow your body to rest and restore itself for another brand new day of potential!
6. Make self-care a priority
Self-care takes many forms, but any and all of them are very important for your comprehensive approach to better health. When you’re specifically looking at a strong body, relaxation and time for yourself play a crucial role.
Self-care can be anything from taking a bubble bath to making a detailed to-do list to keep yourself on track with your day. It could be in meal prepping or even unplugging for the day. Whatever form it takes for you, prioritize it.
7. Have fun cooking healthy, wholesome meals
Cooking can be a challenge, but learning how to cook healthy and wholesome meals also can be a lot of fun! Consider taking a cooking class (in-person or virtual) and learn how to prepare your favorite vegetables in delicious meals that you actually want to make (and eat).
Learning the technique of how to cook healthily helps you see how accessible healthy cooking is!
Also Read: Healthy Manuka Honey and Rolled Oats Cookies Recipe
8. Sit in the sunshine
Most of us don’t get enough Vitamin D. While supplementing in the diet is a great thing, there’s also nothing like sitting in the sunshine. An all-natural source of Vitamin D, time in the sunshine, will help you boost your naturally-occurring levels and also helps alleviate stress and boost mood.
Just don’t stay out too long so that you get sunburnt! This can worsen already present oxidation in the body.
9. Prioritize offline/at-home time
Work is important, without question. The same can be said for your online life on social media. However, making time and effort for your at-home life and offline life are going to be even more critical.
A vital source for relieving stress and increased quality of life, focusing on the right priorities can also help put things in perspective. Since most of us often are skewed towards too-long workdays, this is an excellent goal for 2022!
10. Bring your doctor into the loop
Many of us put off going to the doctor because we feel that we already know what they’re going to say about our so-called bad habits. However, doctors will be a key part of our health profile, and we must bring them into the loop to get professional opinions and feedback on our health!
Your doctor is also the ideal professional to ask for personalized suggestions and tips for healthy living and eating! They might be able to give you some more detail on whether you should go for a super reds supplement or perhaps if it probiotic and prebiotic supplement might be better, too!
What are some healthy New Year’s resolutions you can actually keep?
New Year’s resolutions are no fun when they are so challenging that we can’t possibly achieve them. To make 2022 the year you actually accomplish your resolution, start by making them smaller as far as their achievement status. They should feel somewhat “easy” so that you can see the pathway to completing them.
Another tip is to split your resolution up into small monthly goals so that you can see your progress regularly rather than a year from now when you just have to compare where you are with where you started. The more metrics you have to measure your success, the more successful you’ll be!
Lastly, try to make your resolution a family-oriented one. Or a trusted friend or colleague. When you have a buddy trying to achieve a goal, you can keep each other motivated on the more challenging days!
How can I add one new healthy food each week?
Suppose you’ve decided that you want to achieve your health aspirations by adding in a new vegetable weekly. There are two ways to do it; by picking choices out of a jar or a hat or arranging one letter of the alphabet per week. Either option organizes it logically to explore at your own pace.
You’ll also be able to learn how to cook your chosen vegetable in several different ways so that you can see what you like and what you dislike. Sometimes the method of cooking is all of the difference it takes!
Make this year a healthy one by properly understanding how to go after your health goals. From being careful in your scope to prioritizing the correct details in the actual resolutions that you make, coming at your plan from the right point of view will make all of the difference!
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Also Read: Health Benefits do Red Fruits and Vegetables
