The New Year is all about reflecting on the past, creating goals for your future, and oftentimes setting unrealistic expectations for yourself. Don’t worry, I’ve been there, too! I’m going to share with you FIVE health tips that I know you are capable of following, and that I think will make your life a little more nourished. Ready to get started?
What Does it Even Mean to Live Nourished?
This can mean different things for everyone but to me, living nourished means that you are making efforts to improve all aspects of your health. It DOES NOT mean that you have it all figured out and are living perfectly, whatever perfectly even looks like.
There are many ways you can improve all aspects of your health and you know better than anyone what would have the greatest impact on you, but here are 5 tips that I think will help you towards living more nourished throughout the new year.
5 Tips for Living More Nourished in the New Year
Create a Self-Care List –
Whatever self-care looks like to you, write it down so you can quickly find activities or ideas to help you in your greatest times of need. Are you stressed and can’t unwind? Check your self-care list. Feeling overwhelmed? Anxious? Depressed? Happy but with nothing to do? Check your list for ideas of how you can take care of YOU. What are some ideas on my self-care list? Call my mom (this one always helps); Ask my hubby for a foot massage; Take 5 minutes to do deep belly breathing; Bake a new recipe; Go for a walk in nature.
Shut Off Social Media 1-2 Hours Before Bed –
I know, this one is asking for a lot! But trust me on this. Looking at our phones, consciously or subconsciously obsessing over someone else’s life, constantly scrolling looking for something more interesting to stare at, etc, can all do a number on our minds. Having a good night routine is essential for getting a good night’s sleep, and not staring at your phone or computer is a great place to start. Avoiding the unnatural light from the screen will help your body produce melatonin, and not worrying about what everyone else is up to will help you feel more calm and ready to shut your mind off and fall asleep. Try it and let me know how it goes!
Try One New Vegetable a Month –
Vegetables are just one way to add more nutrients to your plate, but they are often the most difficult. Some people love vegetables so this tip is a great way to try new ones! For those who despise vegetables, this tip is to help you get outside of your comfort zone and discover new foods. Now, you don’t have to eat the veggie plain! Look up a recipe that incorporates the vegetable, preferably a recipe with pictures that you think looks yummy! This is what Google is for. 🙂 Try out the recipe and see what you think. By the end of the year, you’ll have learned 12 new recipes for cooking vegetables! If you want to try kale, I have some tips for making it taste good here. One of the first vegetables on my list to try is eggplant. I’m not gonna lie, I find eggplant a little intimidating. Any recipe suggestions for me? Leave them in the comments below!
Explore New Ways of Moving Your Body –
This tip is gonna take some trial and error because the goal is to find a form of physical activity that you enjoy. If you don’t feel comfortable going to the gym, don’t worry because you don’t need to in order to get in shape! But I should remind you that everyone there is focused on themselves and not you. 🙂 I suggest writing out a list of activities that you enjoy. Do you love being in nature? Look up hiking trails on the app, The Outbound (I’m not sponsored, I just love this app). Do you prefer to be indoors, or maybe it’s hard for you to leave the house? Look up home workout videos on YouTube, or look up Yoga With Adriene (she has great yoga videos!). Maybe you find being with a group of people motivating? Sign-up for a bowling league, take a kickboxing class, invite your friends to go bike riding every Saturday morning, etc. You may not love every activity you try, but eventually you’ll find something that you enjoy and gets your body moving.
Reject the Diet Mentality –
This tip is hard because recognizing diet talk is a skill! For years we have all had the diet mentality drilled into our brains, and diet talk is sneaky. It can be as sneaky as forcing yourself to drink water when you feel hungry in order to fill your stomach. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this “tip.” Hydration isn’t bad for you, but telling yourself to ignore your body’s hunger cues in order to avoid the calories in food puts you out of touch with your body’s own intuition. It also reinforces that you can’t trust your body.
So how do you reject the diet mentality? Start by recognizing it in your daily life. Diet mentality is all over social media; Eat This, Not That, Fit Tea, Whole30 Do’s and Don’t, “never skip a workout on Monday,” “guilty pleasures,” “cheat day,” etc. Once you can recognize these dieting tricks you can then avoid them and catch yourself before you fall into the dieting trap. Don’t feel bad if it happens from time to time; I’m still learning to recognize these tricky dieting traps, too! As you reject the dieting mentality you’ll free up more space in your mind for things that bring you joy and comfort. Eating and physical activity will no longer feel so confusing and you’ll find yourself more physically and mentally nourished than ever before.
If this all seems very overwhelming just focus on one tip at a time. The goal is to make positive changes, not feel too overwhelmed to even begin. And, as always, you can leave questions and comments below!
Have a Happy and Nourished New Year!
Need More Health Tips?
My Top 5 Morning Routine Habits
My Top 5 Tips for Relieving Stress
Pin For Later!
Leave a Reply