With the new year rolling in, our thoughts begin to turn to our resolutions and what goals we would like to set for ourselves for our ‘new start’
It's become a bit of a running joke that many of our New Year’s resolutions peter out by about March, lost in the dust of unrealistic expectations, being too hard on ourselves, or a lack of motivation.
If you’re sick of the hubbub and the let down and want to create a real and lasting change in your health in 2025– I’ve got a few New Year’s resolution ideas for you!
A note on goal setting: we set ourselves up for failure when we set unrealistic, or intangible goals. The best goals are small, easy to follow through with, buildable, and measurable. This allows us to constantly ‘win’ and continue to expand from there— the secret to long term success!
- Create a Nighttime Routine
Sleep is an often under prioritized foundation for good health. Be honest, how many times have you skipped out of an adequate amount of sleep, in order to get a little more work done or have a little more down time? Unfortunately, lack of sleep is cumulative and can create long lasting impacts to heart health, immunity, cognitive function, and hormonal balance that you can’t really ‘catch up’ on.
A good way to set yourself up for getting good regular sleep is to set yourself up with a solid nighttime routine.
The number one aspect of a good night routine is to go screen free at least 30 mins before bed— better yet an hour. Some ideas on what to incorporate into your nighttime routine:
- Unwind with body care such as gentle yoga, grooming, or self-massage to promote relaxation.
- Read a book or listen to an audiobook or podcast to help shift your focus away from the day.
- Meditation or a gratitude practice
- Connection time with your spouse to talk about the day, or be intimate.
- A gentle evening walk
The goal here is to feel unwound and ready to hit the hay, so don’t approach this time with the goal of trying to get another thing ‘done.’ So, choose something that calms you.
- Go for a Walk 3x a Week
Exercise is a crucial foundation for health in our sedentary culture, and a goal that many people find overwhelming to start. Many people make the mistake of setting a goal of strenuous workouts every day that leaves them feeling like they went from 0-60 and hit a wall, burning out quickly.
Start with a 30-minute walk 3x a week. I promise you can find the time, and the benefits to your health are worth rearranging or re prioritizing your schedule!
You’ll find you actually have more energy by getting moving regularly!
- 5 Minute Daily Meditation
Stress is one of the biggest detriments to good health, with links to almost every illness and disease to some degree. A stressed body is not a body that can function optimally, and as a modern world we are more stressed than ever, despite having things quite a bit easier than we did in the past.
One of the biggest ways our world has changed is we no longer really take the time to just BE.
And that is the gift meditation can give us. Science has shown that meditation can reduce physiological signs of stress such as increased heart rate, and can reduce symptoms of stress induced conditions. It can also help promote better emotional and mental well-being and even help improve attention span and cognitive function.
Meditation doesn’t need to be scary. Just start with 5 minutes a day, sit down and focus on your breath. You can’t do it wrong. It’s okay if your mind won’t ’shut off’ just keep sitting and breathing. With practice, you’ll begin to notice a shift.
- Drink 1L of Water Daily
Did you know that being even slightly dehydrated can make you feel sluggish, unenergized, slow down digestion, and even age you faster?
Water is life. Water will help bring you that glow and vitality you’ve felt missing.
Some major functions include flushing toxins and waste from the body, regulating body temperature, and lubrication within the body, but water really plays a role in every function in your body.
Aim to drink about 1L of water daily and notice how your body is feeling if you feel like you need more or less. Reusable water bottles are a great way to track your water intake.
- Eliminate Processed Food from 1 Meal/ Day
It’s scary to see how much of our modern diets have become processed food— much of which doesn’t even contain any food at all. Nutrient void, chemical laden, serving only to fill our bellies and satisfy taste buds. It’s become possible in our world for someone to be close to nutritionally starving while consuming thousands of calories daily.
While you may be someone who considers yourself pretty health conscious, there are still dozens of ‘healthy’ processed foods that have snuck their way into our daily lives.
The most nutrient dense foods are whole foods— our basics, our tried and trues: meat, fish, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. These foods are ONE ingredient.
Start by picking one meal of the day and making it processed food free. Have fun getting creative in coming with whole ingredients and let your taste buds guide you!
Pick one of these goals, or let them inspire you to create your own, but only start with committing to ONE, and when that one feels like second nature, you can add more or adopt a second goal to work on.
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The benefit of these particular New Year’s resolutions is that they are each a starting point on mastering our Foundations for Health: sleep, exercise, rest, hydration, and nutrition.
Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!
