5 Simple Habits For A Healthier New Year

Daily Hydrate

Our nightly slumber can leave us quite dehydrated upon rising each morning. This is why you are likely used to waking up ready for a tall glass of water. Hydrating first thing in the morning is an incredible healthy habit to make a part of your daily routine.

Even better, starting your day off with a cup of warm lemon water has tremendous benefits. This simple trick helps boost your system for the day, cleansing out toxins, jump-starting healthy digestion, infusing your system with some beneficial vitamins and of course, helps re-hydrate you from your night of sleep.

If you aren’t a fan of lemon water, you can add a small teaspoon of raw honey to sweeten things up a bit and add in some extra health benefits from the raw honey. Infusing your water with cucumber and mint, berries, or orange slices are also fun, delicious options if you’d like some different flavors to choose from.

NEXT STEPS:
If you don’t have a water bottle you love, get one. (Camelbak and Swell bottles are great!) Take it with you everywhere, and be sure to drink it throughout the day.

Try warm lemon water tomorrow morning and see how you feel afterwards.

Small Changes

Does overhauling your entire life seem incredibly overwhelming? You aren’t alone. Changing your entire eating habits in a blink of an eye, going from the drive-thru window to eating only raw foods can leave you feeling overwhelmed and confused.
That’s exactly why I don’t recommend it. Drastic changes often lead to giving up, because one “wrong” decision leaves you feeling like you’ve failed. (PS – not true!)

The far more beneficial way to transform your habits so that you have lasting results is by making smaller changes over time. What do you want to achieve, ultimately? Jot your ultimate goal down and brainstorm ways that you can get there, step by step. Start with one step at a time, and forward movement will get you to those goals.

You are much more likely to succeed with your health goals if you make them reasonable to achieve. You cannot lose 40 pounds in a month, but you can take steps each and every day to reach that goal. So, what is that ultimate goal of yours?

NEXT STEPS:
Sit down and brainstorm your goals for the new year. What are 1-3 long term goals you want to achieve? Break these long-term goals down into smaller steps and start moving forward with them. Celebrate yourself after you achieve each small goal!

Intentional Eating

If you don’t already plan your meals ahead of time, this year is a perfect time to start. Recipe and grocery list planning provides you the feeling of organization, being in control of your meals for the week, and helps alleviate the stress of having to figure out what’s for dinner every day. This will save you so much money, time and sanity.

Start your Pinterest board now if you haven’t already, look through your favorite cookbooks, call Grandma for her favorite family recipes and create a list of your favorite ones to add to your arsenal. Use these to plan out your weekly menus so that you know what to expect each week and know how to shop at the grocery store.

It’s important to use recipes that are healthy, including whole foods that provide you with the healthiest nutrients. Providing your body the best fuel possible is incredibly important, and you’ll soon be addicted to feeling incredible!
NEXT STEPS:
Sift through recipes and compile a list of recipes you would like to make your staples in the kitchen. Get in the habit of writing a grocery list and sticking to it, and start weeding out any processed foods that are lingering in your kitchen and replace them with healthier alternatives.

Meaningful Movement

Without a plan of action and creating a routine, the days can slip away with rapid speed. Is movement a part of your current routine? If not, it’s time to start finding time in your schedule, a non-negotiable time, that you know is there for movement and fitness. If an intense hour at the gym isn’t a possibility for you — you do not have to cut the idea of fitness out of your lifestyle! This is a common misconception, but the reality is, the majority of people do not spend two hours sweating buckets at the gym daily to stay healthy and fit.

When you make movement mandatory and enjoyable, you will find yourself looking at it as part of your routine as opposed to a pesky task you must undertake (and ultimately, procrastinate on — we’ve all done it.)

If you aren’t an intense workout type of person, enjoy a stroll around your neighborhood or favorite park daily — or on a treadmill while listening to your favorite podcasts or an audiobook of a book you’ve been meaning to read. Find something that works for you and make it a habit, step by step.
NEXT STEPS:Consider what type of movement you enjoy. You don’t have to love it, but you do have to not want to avoid it. Think of 1-3 types of movement (yoga, walking, swimming, dancing, etc) that you enjoy and put them into your routine.

Portion Sizes

Chances are, wherever you are in the world, supersized meals and large appetites are the norm for your society. Our plates grow as the years pass, and it can be difficult to break the habit when it’s all around us.

Tinkering with your portions to figure out the perfect amount to satisfy you, without overeating, is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health and well being.

You can go as far as measuring your food, but for a more simple approach, my favorite way to lessen my consumption is by using smaller plates. It’s such a simple solution that works extremely well. When we use large dinner plates for our meals, the temptation is there to fill every square inch of it. This leads to overeating, even when we aren’t consciously making that decision. When using a smaller plate, such as a salad plate or mid-sized saucer, you can fill your plate while eating less, and leaving your meal feeling satisfied instead of stuffed.
NEXT STEPS:
Evaluate your plate-ware. Do you have smaller salad plates or medium sized saucers that you can use for your meals? If not, grab some from the store, and get ones you really enjoy the look of. Making your meals an enjoyable enhances your experience.