Healthy New Year’s Resolutions!

2017 is almost upon us and that means that the time to make your New Year’s resolutions is now! A resolution for the New Year is a great way to inspire yourself towards your goals, ambitions and aims for the year ahead. This can be in relation to your health, your happiness, your relationships, your career and more! 

When you make a New Year’s resolution you are making a promise to yourself to instigate a positive change. This could be something that you have been meaning to do for a long time, or it can be a new idea that you have decided upon recently. Your health is something that should always be a priority in your life and making a resolution to care for yourself better in 2017 is something that everyone can benefit from! This does not mean that you have to be unhealthy or unhappy to make such a positive change. Even the happiest and healthiest among us can stand to benefit from self-evaluation and making promises for the future. 

Going to the Gym

A new gym membership is the perfect healthy gift to yourself and can be a big step towards your future fitness. Making the resolution to get fit by going to the gym is a solid goal and one which you can schedule into your existing routine. You don’t have to break the bank with this gift as there are likely to be at least a few low cost gyms in your local area. If you do want to spend a little bit more on your membership then you can enjoy the added extras of a more expensive membership, which will generally include things like a swimming pool or a spa.

Personal Training

Hiring a personal trainer is one of the best ways to get into exercise, especially if it isn’t something that you have much experience with. A personal trainer will show you how to do the correct exercises to reach your health and fitness goals.

Personal training sessions can be quite costly but there is no need to do it more than you can afford. You can either choose to hire a personal trainer for every exercise session that you engage in, or you can simply check in with them every so often for advice, support and guidance.

A Healthy Diet

Most people find following a healthy diet to be easier said than done! However, the New Year is the perfect time to revolutionize your eating habits. Once you have finished consuming the indulgent leftovers from your Christmas meal, make sure you do not bring any more unhealthy treats into the house! Always make a list when you need to do your food shopping and be sure to stick to it. This will make temptation much easier to avoid as you won’t have anything in the cupboards that can sabotage your diet efforts.

As well as making an effort to leave unhealthy foods out of your diet, it is also a good idea to try new foods that are bursting with nutrients. Visit your local fruit and vegetable market and purchase things that you may not have tried before, or do not eat regularly. Keeping things interesting in this way will  help you to focus on your new diet and not be discouraged.

Body and Mind

Having a healthy body goes hand in hand with having a healthy mind. Taking care of your mental health will help you to feel motivated and energised, and therefore better equipped to stick to your New Year’s resolutions!

Self-care takes many forms and does not have to be as time consuming as you may first assume. Doing something kind for yourself every day is a great way to self-care. This can be as simple as taking a relaxing bath, spending some time in meditation or going to an exercise class that you enjoy. Simply having some time to yourself to process your thoughts and feelings each day is also a recommended self-care activity and can help to prevent stress from negatively affecting you!

Key to Success

Regardless of how your healthy New Year’s resolutions manifest, the key to success is through perseverance and an understanding that fitness results are never instant! It is also important to find ways to make your fitness activities fun so that you do not get deterred by boredom. Involving your friends or family members in your activities or healthy eating plans is a great way to gain support and also to encourage positive behaviour in others! You will soon find that being able to talk to someone else about reaching your goals for the New Year will make things much more fun. This in turn means you are much more likely to achieve the things you are striving towards and have a happy and healthy 2017!