8 Tips For A Healthier New Year

But did you really stick to them? You might have said to yourself “I am going to exercise daily to lose some weight” but you end up giving up on your goals due to some bad eating habits or cheer discouragement.

Only about nine percent of people in the U.S. achieve all of their health-related resolutions. If you are part of this group, congratulations! But if you find it difficult to stick to your diet and health goals, then this blog post is meant for you.

You can follow these simple tips to help you have a healthier New Year.

1. Set your goals

First, you need to review the previous year and ask yourself some sincere questions. Write them down so you can come back to them after the end of this year:

Any of such reactions weaken your mental state, as well as your physical strength. Your immune system takes a beating, which makes you susceptible to infections and illnesses especially during the cold season, or during those months when the common cold and flu go rampant across many states affecting thousands of people.

•    How do you compare your present weight with that of last year?

•    Do you exercise regularly?

•    Do you smoke and drink alcohol?

•    How much alcohol do you consume each week?

•    What types of foods do you eat most? Boxed foods, whole fresh foods, or TV dinners?

•    Are you always energetic or do you feel tired all the time?

When you give honest answers to these questions, it will help guide your decision about what you want to achieve this New Year. Do you want to lose weight, reduce cholesterol or lower your blood pressure? Write it down.

2. Mix up your health goals

Write out a list of beneficial changes you want to make to live a healthier life. Then, try focusing on one each month. Don’t try to do too much because you can easily burn out and give up. For example, if you have a goal of losing weight, you can choose to focus on reducing your sugar intake in the first month. The next month you can focus on exercising. The next, you can focus on eating breakfast early, and so on.

When you mix up your health goals each new month, getting back on track and staying positive will be more achievable. When you are consistent with these short-term resolutions, it can easily become a year-long habit.

3. Consider your dietary needs

For example, if your goal is to reduce your blood pressure, you may need to reduce sodium in your diet. You have to consume less canned and packaged foods. If you are suffering from diabetes or you are overweight, then, you need to increase your exercising and reduce your sugar intake.

4. Design your healthy new diet

To design your new diet, you need to determine:

•    The number of calories you need daily to attain your weight loss goal

•    The right eating pattern that suits your lifestyle

•    The types of fruits and vegetables that you prefer to eat

•    Whether you will feel better with three large meals per day or five smaller meals per day

Your diet should give you 25 to 38 grams of fiber per day, five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day, a small amount of omega-3 essential fatty acids and five to six ounces of protein per day. Additionally, adults should consume no more than a total of 28 grams of sugar per day.

5. Use dietary supplements

When you eat a healthy diet and exercise, you get all the necessary minerals and vitamins to have a strong immune system. However, there are some immune attackers like stress, bacteria, newly mutated viruses, and toxins in our water, food, and air that constantly reduce our level of immunity. You can use dietary supplements to strengthen your immune system to live a healthier life.

You can use some of our immune-boosting products including:

•    Oregano Oil – it helps to battle microbials, allergens and candida. It also wards off inflammation and infections and supports a healthy gastro-intestinal tract

•    Olive Leaf Extract – it also helps with microbials and candida, and protects against oxidative stresses on the body, which can strain neurological functioning and cause inflammation

•    Milk Thistle Extract – it contains silymarin, an antioxidant, which helps protect and purify the liver, strengthen a person’s immune response and fight off infections.

6. Exercise regularly

Apart from good nutrition which is required for a healthy lifestyle, exercise is also a very important component. You will need to increase your aerobic activity to meet your weight-loss goals. Also, you may benefit from resistance training to build strength. Some people prefer to sign up with some health clubs and gyms or hire a personal trainer to help meet their fitness goals. Others may benefit from simply from getting out and walking briskly on a consistent basis.

7. Stay motivated

There are some occasional roadblocks like busy schedules, weight loss plateaus and loss of motivation that may discourage you. When they come, it is important that you remind yourself of the purpose of your goals. Don’t give up, find inspiration in your goals and always stay on track.  More so, remember to celebrate your small successes.

8. Reduce your stress

After making your new healthy diet and fitness plan, make sure you reduce your stress level. Some factors like drive time with excess traffic, emotional trauma, constant deadlines at work, bulky workloads etc. can contribute to stress. Step away and recognize these factors, and try reducing anything that causes stress to ensure you live a happier, healthier life.

Happy New Year!