12 Realistic Resolutions a Nutritionist Recommends  

Have you made a resolution each year to become more active, fit and to eat healthy? It’s important to make New Year’s resolutions to yourself that are doable and in line with what you truly want for yourself. It’s important to always keep at it even if you find yourself falling back into old habits, because you probably will at various points throughout the year. Improving your health is always a learning and forever evolving journey, even the most experienced health professionals are always learning new things.

Making a healthy commitment to yourself for 2016 is certainly top of the list in my books.

I’ve always loved the expression and heard it back in my college days and it’s a timely reminder – If you can’t find time for health you will have to make time for illness. It’s a great reminder to always make time in your schedule to care and nurture your wellness. What would you think if someone told you that you could feel well nearly every day, full of energy, happier with more positive thoughts, calm, and you would experience restful sleep, a healthy weight that is managed easily, and your digestive system would feel healthy rather than not? Getting healthy can provide all of these things and a Reboot is a great way to jump start your 2016!

If you want resolutions you can stick to, here’s what I recommend adding to your list:

1. Cut the Crap

We know that a little fun is okay but we also know too much and you will feel tired, moody, lethargic and struggle with your energy and cravings. Avoid these foods and these as much as possible for 2016: Processed packaged foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed vegetable oils, GMOs, food additives and artificial anything.

2. Eat the Rainbow Every Day

This is one of my favorites and one I’ve been preaching forever! Consuming an array of color daily will enhance your health and wellbeing, ensuring you are consuming a broad range of plant nutrients and specialized compounds. Check out our infographic on why eating the rainbow is so good for your health.

3. Eat Fermented Foods

The importance of a healthy microbiome cannot be understated. Eating fermented foods regularly supports this along with all the associated health benefits such as a healthy weight, improved digestion, a healthy immune system and improved mood.

4. Go Organic & Shop Local

Reduce the burdens on your body and health by consuming non-pesticide, non-herbicide fruits and vegetables where possible. Avoiding the dirty dozen is a great place to start and buying local sourced produce.

5. Learn to Cook & Prepare Healthy Food

Many people who aren’t so interested in cooking or don’t really know how to make healthy food, tend to just eat what’s there, what’s easy and often it’s not great! I’ve seen this with many of my patients. Until something really inspires them to eat well it can be a constant back and forth situation. If you don’t know how to prepare healthy food then 2016 is a great time to learn! Perhaps the healthy dishes you know are a little on the bland side? Sign up for a healthy cooking class, get in the kitchen with our healthy recipes or join a Reboot to get you back into the kitchen learning how to prep and make the healthiest of foods, juices and smoothies.

6. Use Only Natural Products

Skincare and natural homecare are as important as what you put in your mouth. We absorb fat-soluble chemicals easily via our skin (these are the nastiest ones), we absorb airborne chemicals easily via the lungs. Using natural and environmental cleaning products can help our homes become a healthier environment and using plants to keep our home as healthy as possible is smart too.

7. Moderation Isn’t Always the Answer

Don’t necessarily rely on moderation to help you lose weight (here’s why), because moderation, as we know it, can set you up for unhealthy habits that don’t serve you well and allow you to eat all the wrong things too often. Eating unhealthy foods really needs to be on a minimum and working on filling yourself with nutritious healthy foods that you enjoy is top of my list.

8. Get Active

Exercise and get that body moving! This is certainly top of my list for good health and well-being. Whether it’s dancing in your living room, walking one bus stop further away, jogging, gyming or any other physical hobbies, it’s all about the movement.

9. Be Kind and Patient with Yourself

This has a very positive impact on your general happiness so just like you would treat those closest to you, treat yourself exactly the same way.

10. Reduce Your To-Do List

Having a long list of to-do’s tends to make us feel stressed and negative and can create a constant focus on everything we need to. Stress that is chronic has a long list of health implications combined with lethargy and poor mood associations.

11. Learn to Be Present

Being present and more mindful has been shown to bring greater happiness and improved weight control. We all live in our heads too much looking back to our past and ahead into our future, missing the right now moment! We know that the happiest moments are the little things and if we are stuck in the past or the future, we will miss them! Be present and enjoy right now!

12. Work on Positive Thoughts

Don’t let guilt be a part of your 2016! When we don’t do exactly as we planned we tend to give ourselves a hard time about it by making ourselves feel guilty then we often give up! Does this sound familiar? It’s important to truly appreciate yourself for exactly who you are.

Imagine right now and see yourself having achieved all your 2016 News Year’s Resolutions! Keep that thought and vision in the forefront of your mind all year.