Jan

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year to you.

It’s that time of the year again – January. The start of a new year. A chance for new beginnings. And of course, for those all important New Year resolutions.

New Year resolutions are a great motivator to make changes in your life – however, no-one seems to be able to keep them for very long.

I want to look at the usual suspects – being giving up smoking, cutting down drinking or “being healthier.”

Giving up smoking is a choice that only you can make and it isn’t always an easy thing to do.

My only advice is do it because YOU want to and not for someone else and get as much support as you can.

The NHS Stop Smoking Service are good at what they do

Cutting down drinking. Did you overdo it during the festive season and now think you want to stop drinking all together? Or are you looking at moderating your drinking?

Either way – you should be realistic in setting your goals.

Stating that you aren’t going to drink for a month is all well and good, but can be hard to achieve and if you fall off the wagon then it can feel like you’ve failed and that can lead to a whole host of other emotions.

Make the resolution viable for you. If you usually have a beer or 2 at the weekends, then resolve to not drink during the week.

Also make sure you have a substitute to hand such as fruit juice and sparkling water, so that you can alternate between an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic one.

“Being healthier” is a vague resolution at best. Are you planning to undertake more exercise – perhaps join a gym or go for a walk in the snow? Or are you going to eat more healthily?

Find an exercise that you enjoy, that you will find time in your busy schedule to do and that you won’t get tired of in 2 weeks.

Kickboxing is a great way to burn calories and build up your fitness levels. SAMA offer kickboxing classes for all levels of fitness across the Sussex area.

Yoga is another great form of exercise. The Holistic Health Clinic Brighton offers a range of classes.

If you have vowed to eat more healthily, then I advise you to be specific about what this means to you.

If you are planning to cut things out of your diet, then make sure that you replace them with something else.

For example, if you are cutting out coffee/caffeine, make sure you have plenty of herbal teas/red bush/green tea or coffee substitutes with you so you won’t be tempted.

If you are cutting out dairy, then goat’s, soya or rice milk all make good substitutions.

If you are cutting out wheat – then make sure you know what you can replace it with.

The key for me to healthy eating is moderation. It’s about making sure you get your 5 a day and you drink your 2 litres of water, and then everything else will follow.

It’s also about eating in a healthy way. Check out my post on How to Eat Healthily for more info.

It’s also about remembering that it’s ok to enjoy yourself occasionally.

I run a virtual drop-in clinic where you can ask your nutrition questions.

I hope that 2010 is a very happy and healthy year for you all.