Episode 95: New Year’s Resolutions That Are Sustainable

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Welcome to Let’s Talk Wellness Now. I’m your host, Dr. Deb. This is where we talk about everything wellness, and learn to defy aging, and live our lives on our own terms. This is Dr. Deb and this is the let’s talk wellness now podcast where we talk about everything that helps us defy aging, and teaches us to live life on our own terms.

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Well, it is coming to that time, it is time to bring in a brand new year. And it is an exciting time because we are going to look at getting rid of 2020, which I think so many of us are ready to get rid of 2020. This pandemic has created a lot of things for all of us. And we’re ready to open up our hearts, our minds and our souls and bring in an amazing new 2021. So today, I want to look at healthy New Year’s resolutions with you. And actually New Year’s resolutions that we can keep. You know so many times a new year signifies a fresh start for many people. And it seems like setting health goals such as losing weight following a healthier diet and starting an exercise routine are common for us to look at for that new year. You know, health and wellness resolutions can be very highly restrictive, and oftentimes unsustainable for many of many people. And it leads us to break those new year’s resolutions within just a few weeks of actually setting them. And this is why many people make the same New Year’s resolution a year after year after year. And in order for us to be successful with our new year’s resolutions, we actually have to break that cycle and to improve our health and wellness, but also have it be a sustainable life choice that we’ve made. So here are a couple of my top picks for New Year’s resolutions that we can actually keep.

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Number one: eat more whole foods. So instead of saying I’m going to eliminate all these foods that I love that are not healthy for me and go on this really strict diet. I think if we look at it and say I’m going to make a conscious choice to eat more whole foods, that’s a sustainable goal for us. This is the easiest sustainable way for us to improve our overall health by eating more whole foods. So things like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, fish. These are all nutrient dense, good food for us. And did you know research actually shows that whole food based diets significantly reduce your risk for heart disease, lowers your body weight, gives better control over blood sugar, and actually can decrease your risk of certain diseases, especially things like type two diabetes. This is an easy, attainable goal for you, even if you just start by eating vegetables, or adding one serving of your favorite veggie, veggie to your diet every single day. You’ve already succeeded that goal of improving your diet and eating more whole foods.

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Number two: sit less move more. You know what when we’re working from home, I’ve noticed even for myself, I’m more sedentary in the office. I’m getting up and I’m moving and I’m walking back and forth and I’m running errands and talking to people but when I’m working from home, I find myself stuck in my chair for literally eight hours a day, except for if I get up to take a potty break or grab some water. But it’s that simple being of inactivity that causes us to have negative health effects. So we want to get up and move our bodies as much as we can. Making this resolution to sit less is an easy, attainable resolution that you can tailor to your lifestyle. For an example, while we’re all working from home right now, and this requires long periods of time for sitting, set a timer for you to get up and go for a 10 or 15 minute walk, get up and walk five minutes every hour, if you can. You know we have mobile devices, we have handheld devices. So if you can’t get up and move that much because of your job, get a handheld device and get up and walk around, get a headset for yourself, set your desk up to be a standing desk so that you can be more mobile and move and up and down instead of just sitting.

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Number three: cut back on sweetened beverages. Cutting back on sweetened beverages is really a smart idea, considering the sugary drinks are linked to an increased risk of obesity, fatty liver disease, heart disease, insulin resistance, and of course, cavities, right? So I gave up sweetened beverages about five years ago. And I used to say, I’m going to die with them running Coca Cola through my veins, it was my last thing on my health journey that I was going to give up. And it was not going quietly, let me tell you, but I did it. And I’m really grateful for it. And occasionally I’ll have something when I’m out. And it doesn’t have the same distinct taste, it doesn’t have the same feeling that it used to give me you know, I used to love pouring it and listening to the bubbles and the glistening of the the drink. And I mean, it was just all there. It was crazy, right? But we all have that. So go ahead and just, you can get rid of it all together cold turkey, that’s an option. That’s what I did. Or you can gradually minimize your intake to cut that sugary drink habit. So if you’re used to drinking two or three a day, and some people maybe even more than that, get rid of one. If you’re down to only drinking one or two, a really great tip that my dear friend Dr. Kay taught me many years ago was to take your your soda and dump out a shot glass, pour it in a shot glass, and dump that out. And don’t drink that and every day you reduce your drink by the size of a shot glass. So the next day, it’s two shot glasses that get poured out of that. The next day, it’s three shot glasses that get poured out and you get to drink the rest. And that was a really great way for me to look at it is like I’m just drinking less of it and and I’m okay and then you don’t go through the withdrawals. And you don’t go through all of the the emotional and physical things that have you connected to that sweetened beverage with caffeine.

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Number four: get more quality sleep. You know this is on everybody’s radar these days is sleep. But it’s essential for us to get quality sleep, not just length of sleep, sleep. It’s an essential part of our health. Sleep deprivation can lead to serious consequences for people. It can cause you to gain weight, it can have heart disease and depression. And there are so many reasons why people don’t get enough sleep. But it’s important for us to focus on this and create a good lifestyle change. Decreasing screen time before bed is a great way to get you to calm down at night. If you can’t reduce screen time, at least put your blue light on your screen so that it’s not stimulating you, reduce light pollution in your bedroom, I have dark shades, they’re cellular, they are dark, dark. So it doesn’t let any light in. That’s helpful for me. If I travel, I sleep with an eye mask so that I get that same darkness to produce all of that good melatonin that I need in my body. Reduce or cut back your caffeine intake. It’s amazing how many people can drink caffeine right up until the time they go to bed and they fall asleep just fine, while others can’t have caffeine after 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning or two in the afternoon. So really paying attention to that caffeine intake and what that’s doing to your sleep is important because it will change your sleep hygiene.

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Number five: find a physical activity that you enjoy. You know being physically active is so important for us. But you have to really enjoy the activity if you’re pushing yourself to do a workout routine and you hate it. Well, you’re not going to want to continue to do that. You want to find something that you can do that you enjoy. And give yourself a lot of variety. Especially right now with a lot of gym memberships being cancelled, or gyms being closed, we have to find things that we can do in the home. So if you like to walk, take a walk, or a jog, get on your bike, take a ride before it gets dark out, or before you start working. Go swimming, if you can, if there’s a gym open that allows you to swim, that’s a great way of doing it. These are all attainable goals that you can do. There’s a lot of apps these days on our computer or on our phone that we can do I know Fitbit has a great app that links you to different activities and workouts. And most of the gyms are offering some form of virtual workout class, I think that’s a great option too. But give yourself some variety so you don’t get bored.

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Number six: take more me-time and practice self-care. Oh, this is a great one. This is at the top of my list for 2021 is more me time. I never feel like I have enough me-time I feel like my to-do list is always growing. I can’t ever get everything done that I need. It’s just overwhelming. So it’s not selfish time. It’s optimal health and well being time, whether that is going out and getting a massage, or it’s getting your nails done or getting your hair done or taking your favorite yoga class. There are all kinds of different things that we can do that constitute as me time. But remember, it’s me-time so nobody gets to interrupt your me-time. If you’re going to take a hot bath, then close the door, put on your music, maybe light, some candles, whatever you need to do to make it feel good. But then make sure everyone knows that is off-limits. That is your time where you’re nurturing yourself, you know, an extra hour of sleep, sleeping in or maybe even going for a walk in nature, where you can just casually walk where you’re not being rushed and raced. These are all great me-time activities. The last thing that I’m going to tell you about me-time activities, and this would not be LTW Now, if we didn’t talk about sensuality, and Me time, take that time for yourself to be sensual with your partner with yourself to be selfish and get your sensual needs met as well.

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Number seven: cook more meals at home. Well, we’re kind of all stuck in that mode, right now. We’re all cooking meals from home. There’s a few takeout restaurants that are still around and we love to support them and promote them. But cooking from home is always better than eating out because you’re going to cook healthier foods, you’re not going to overeat, it’s better quality, less body fat for you than the meals on the go that you typically do. In fact, there was a study of over 11,000 adults who found that those who ate five or more home-cooked meals per week, were 28% less likely to be overweight compared to those who ate fewer than three home-cooked meals per week. So this can definitely change the way your body composition is. And it can change your health. So start by making one meal a day and then increase your frequency over time until you’re making the majority of your meals and snacks at home. This is also called food prepping. It’s a really great technique that bodybuilders and people that are gym rats do. But you can prepare all of your meals for a week. And you just rotate them and if you don’t want to eat those same things for an entire week. prepare them, freeze them, and each week make a new food prep. So then you have say 10 different things to decide on what you’re going to eat because it’s all fresh in the freezer, and you can just grab it and go and if you’re running late, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got it.

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Alright, Number eight: spend more time outside. You know spending more outdoor time can be healthy by helping you relieve stress, elevate your mood and lower your blood pressure. Making a new year’s resolution to spend more time outside every day is a very easy, sustainable, healthy goal that most of us can benefit from. Regardless of where we live. You can take a walk outside during your lunch break. You can hike on the weekends, you can go camping with friends, or simply soak up the beauty by sitting in your yard or sitting on a park bench and noticing all the beautiful things around you. I don’t always have the opportunity to spend time outside but my office at my house was set up so I could enjoy a very gorgeous setting of woods and nature and I set up birdhouses and feeding centers so that I can watch the birds and I can watch the animals and I get that feeling of being outside while I’m working, even though I’m actually inside. So there are ways that we can spend more time outdoors even if you can’t actually physically get there.

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Number nine: limit your screen time. Many people depend on phones, computers for work and entertainment. However, spending too much time on electronic devices, particularly social media has been linked to depression, anxiety and loneliness. Sitting at a single resolution, setting a resolution to just cut back your me time and spend less time scrolling social media, or less time watching TV or playing computer games can enhance your productivity and boost your mood.

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Number 10: meditation. You know, meditation is something that I’ve been trying to master for years. I’m not a good meditator. I do better with guidance, guided meditation, instead of having to be quiet in my own mind. It’s very hard for me to be quiet in this mind sometimes. So guided meditation actually works much better for me. But there’s a lot of evidence that shows that this promotes mental well being for us. And trying out this practice is perfect New Year’s resolution, because there are many ways that you can meditate. And you can find books and podcasts and apps. And I love some of the guided meditation apps and some of the YouTube videos that are free to watch and check out. So give them a try. Just don’t do them while you’re driving, okay?

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Number 11: rely on less convenience food. So this is an easy goal. When we’re talking about getting rid of all the junk food in our diet in the new year. It’s very hard for us to consider doing that. But if we rely less on convenience, food, so much better. So many people rely on these packaged chips, cookies, frozen dinners, fast foods for a quick snack or even sometimes a meal. But there are ways that you can find to make healthier fast food snacks to be eaten on a regular basis. For example, frequent fast food intake is associated with poor overhaul, diet, quality, obesity, and including risks of heart disease and diabetes. So cut back those consumptions of convenience food for your New Year’s resolution.

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Number 12: grocery shopping regularly Oh, this is a tough one, right? How many of you put off going to the grocery store and sometimes it’ll be three or four weeks and you won’t get there and you’re just grabbing whatever you have in your pantry. Well, this happens quite often. But if you have a well-stocked pantry and fridge, you can prepare healthy home-cooked meals for you and your family. If you’re not going to go grocery shopping on a regular basis now, make it a new year’s resolution to do that. I love this one thing that has come out of 2020 is the ability for us to order our groceries online, pull up, get them, have them put them in your car and you go home it It cuts back on so much time if you’re a busy mom, and looking for ways to reduce grocery shopping or exposure or anything. I’ve done this several times at Costco where I order online and actually they’ll deliver to your house or your office so you don’t even have to get there. It is a great opportunity for us to be able to order groceries online. I know even Amazon has their fresh department now. And you can even order groceries on Amazon so you can shop on a regular basis. You just need to fit it into your schedule.

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Number 13: use healthier household products. You know it’s obvious that what we put in our bodies can have significant impact on our health. But things that we have around us in our environment or products we put on our body they matter to so make a new year’s resolution to purchase more natural health and beauty products, household cleaners, laundry detergents, personal care products, this leaves our environment healthier and you healthier. One of my favorite places to purchase from is growth. And they have a whole list of all organic natural products for cleaning and body products and they deliver to you once a month and you don’t even have to think about it.

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Number 14: add more produce to your diet. So adding more cooked and raw vegetables as well as fruits to your diet can go a long way towards improving your health in the new year. Numerous studies have shown that eating a diet rich in produce helps protect against various illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and obesity, as well as overall mortality.

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And my last tip for the New Year’s resolution that you can keep, is probably going to be for some of you the hardest…number 15: cut back on alcohol. You know, although alcohol can certainly fit into a healthy diet, too often it can negatively affect your health. What’s more, drinking alcohol frequently may help keep you from reaching your health and wellness goals. If you think cutting back on alcohol may be helpful for you set a reasonable goal to keep yourself on track, such as limiting drinking to the weekend nights or setting a drink limit for the week. If you need a non-alcoholic beverage idea to replace your usual cocktail choice, try fruit-infused sparkling water kombucha, or create one of your own fun mocktails.

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So I hope that these new year’s resolutions are getting you thinking of healthier options that are attainable for you. Although most new year’s resolutions are kept for only a short period, the healthy resolutions that we’ve just talked about are ways to improve your physical and emotional health that can be followed for the rest of your life. Creating a healthier relationship with food and taking better care of your body. And mind can drastically improve your health in various ways. This new year, try out a few of the resolutions that we’ve talked about. And follow them for years to the healthiest and happiest possible you and I’d love to hear what your New Year’s resolutions are, what your goals are. So please leave us a review on let’s talk wellness now podcast wherever you subscriber list from iTunes or Google Play. And share with us reach out and tell us what you’re working on. And what you think is going to be a struggle for your New Year’s resolution because we would love to bring in guest speakers to help you be successful on your New Year’s resolutions for 2021. This has been Dr. Deb, your host at Let’s Talk Wellness Now. Until next time, live every day to the fullest.

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