Health is an important part of life and encompasses a wide range of factors. From diet to exercise, healthy living can transform your mind and body. With the new year just beginning, there’s no better time than the present to take your health in a new and positive direction.
Below are the top 5 healthy living New Year’s resolutions to start today.
Losing Holiday Weight
The holidays are often defined by heavy meals and special sweets you only get to have once a year. It’s a celebratory time that leads to the occasional guilty pleasure or food splurge. However, once this season passes, it can be discouraging to find that you’ve gained weight. One New Year’s Resolution for healthier living is to lose the weight you gained over the holidays.
With all the sweets eaten and gone, you can begin to choose healthier options. Just by going back to your regular routine and eating a few additional helpings of fruits and vegetables, you can start to get back on track. There’s no need to overdo it in the gym either. Try to work out a few times a week by doing cardio or strength training. Just by getting your heart rate up, you’ll start burning calories and losing the unwanted pounds from the holiday festivities.
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Consistently Exercising
It’s one thing to exercise a few times to lose the holiday weight, and another to stick to a workout regime. Exercising consistently is a great way to improve your health and increase your physical ability. Whether you have a goal of running a marathon, bench pressing double your weight, or just getting into the best shape of your life, starting an exercise routine in the new year can help you get there.
Start where you’re capable. Don’t workout five days a week if you haven’t done consistent exercise in two years. Work your way into it. When you add weights, a slow progression is the best option for safe and healthy exercise. Start with smaller weights or do fewer reps. Your exercise routine should be custom to you, not a ripped trainer on youtube with years of experience. As long as you are consistent with your efforts, you’ll see your health skyrocket.
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Eating a Clean Diet
Another New Year’s resolution to try for healthy living is adapting your eating habits. What you eat is a huge part of your overall health and a great thing to pair if you are also focusing on exercise. Clean eating will fill your body with the right vitamins, minerals, and the correct amount of protein, fibre, and fats.
Clean eating doesn’t mean you can’t have a splurge meal or a sweet snack here and there, but your New Year’s resolution should be focused on an overall revamping of your diet. The other 90% of your eating should be clean foods such as fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, and bananas; vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and carrots; carbs such as potatoes and rice; fats such as olive oils, avocados, and nuts; Proteins such as chicken, beef, and fish.
Try to avoid processed foods but be sure to eat what you enjoy. Don’t force yourself to stuff down chicken if you hate chicken. Find the clean eating that works best for you.
Getting More Sleep
When life gets crazy, sleep is the first thing to go. Whether it’s waking up early, going to bed late, or a combination of both, you most likely haven’t been putting sleep at the top of your priority list. However, sleep is vastly important and a great healthy living facet to focus on for your New Year’s resolution.
Sleep is involved in the healing and the repair of your heart and blood vessels. When you aren’t getting enough sleep, you put yourself at risk for heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. A good night’s sleep can even help you look better. Sleeping relaxes the muscles and tightens the skin in your face, making you look like you got work done, a facelift or Morpheus8. London based doctors recommend adults around 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. This means if you go to bed at 10 p.m. you should sleep until around 5 to 7 a.m.
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To start the new year out right, set a specific time to go to bed and to wake up each day, and try to keep this time as consistent as possible. By having a set schedule, you’re more likely to not stay up late or rise too early.
Limiting Screen Time
Screen time, while not inherently bad, screen time can lead to many unhealthy consequences. Limiting screen time is a great New Year’s resolution to take back control of your health. Excessive time on your phone or laptop can lead to a risk of obesity, diabetes, and sleep problems.
Set parameters on your phone to close certain apps after a specific period of time. Plan times that you can first look at your devices in the morning and when you should be off of them at night. This will help you stay intentional with your screen time and never abuse it.
Limit screen time – especially before going to sleep Credit: Canva
Health is a very important thing to focus on as the new year begins. Whether you want to focus on one or all five of the above mentioned New Year’s resolutions, your health will greatly benefit. However, take everything at your own pace and remember to live life, and enjoy a few guilty pleasures along your health journey.
