The New Year inspires goals of renewal and change in many women. For some this means a long list of small changes but for others it may mean the huge task of quitting smoking, shedding a few dozen pounds or pursuing a new hobby more vigorously. It isn’t too uncommon for women to have a general resolution to start the New Year differently than any other year. If you desire to start the year fresh by improving your health through diet and fitness, then it is important to create a plan and incorporate small changes.
Clear out that kitchen
For an instant sense of accomplishment, spend some time ridding your kitchen of all the foods that encourage you to stray from your healthy diet plan. Toss expired or opened high-calorie, high-fat foods. Box up any other items and donate them to a local food pantry.
Examples of diet sabotaging foods include:
Sugary cereals
Cake and cookie mixes
Candy
Ice cream and
Foods that need to be fried before eating
Plan your meals
Find a recipe book or online resource with days and weeks of healthy food recipes mapped out. Review them and select the options that fit your food tastes the most but don’t be afraid to try something new. Make a grocery list of the foods you need to prepare these recipes.
Go local and go green
Shop local farmers markets or health-food stores to find organic and locally grown food items. The fresher and fewer the chemicals the foods are the more satisfying you will likely find them.
When you return from shopping immediately wash and prepare the produce so it is available to eat when you are hungry.
Having healthy convenience foods to grab in place of high fat foods will encourage you to stay on track with your goals.
Use available resources
Sign up at LIVESTRONG.COM or other similar sites that allow you to track your daily food intake. Seeing graphs and calculations can really show you how you are doing on your New Year goals.
Set a fitness goal
Assess your previous physical activity in the previous year and set a realistic small goal to gradually improve your activity. For example, if you were mostly sedentary it would be more realistic to have a goal of adding 15 minutes of physical activity at least three days per week. After two or three weeks of maintaining this goal, increase the number of minutes or number of days per week that you will work out. Continue doing this until you have met the American Heart Association’s guideline of 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days per week. Get a work out partner to help you stay on track. Track your physical activity on the same site where you are inputting your daily food intake.
Find new ways to relax
Take up a new form of relaxation to reduce the stress in your life. Sign up for yoga, pilates or even water aerobics. Reward yourself with a professional massage and/or pedicure for staying on track with your goals for several weeks. The Mayo Clinic suggests mediation to relieve stress. There are many forms of meditation but the simplest form requires that you focus on your breathing. Sit in a dimly lit room that is quite and comfortable. Close your eyes, place your hands on your stomach and focus on breathing deeply. Continue bringing your focus back to your breathing if you begin to stray.
Sarah Irene holds a master's degree in clinical psychology. She has been a psychology instructor since 2006 and is a doctoral graduate student. Having written stacks of research articles and consulted in a number of settings, she is able to be a resource for a vast range of topics.
