January is almost over – can I just say ‘yay’??? I find January to be the longest month for me. It’s cold, dark and quite blah, especially here in Canada. No one wants to go outside that much. We seem to hibernate and avoid seeing friends or doing anything fun. So, I am glad that it’s over.
I also find January a really hard month to get started on new goals or ambitions. I guess I don’t feel that ‘new beginning’ that a lot of people do come January 1st. For me, as a student at heart, my ‘new beginning’ is always in September. That is when I’m most ambitious and ready to rock.
On the other hand, now that January is almost over, I am starting to get excited for new beginnings. Signs of spring will soon be upon us. The days are ever-so-slightly getting longer, and I feel the tug of the joys and romance of a new season in my heart.
Which makes this a great time to sit down and figure out how to make 2019 an awesome year!
Are you ready to achieve your goals? Hit that weight you’ve been dreaming of for years? Finally fit into those jeans that hang teasingly over your closet door?
Me too! Let’s get there together, shall we?
Secret #1 – Let Go of Old Habits and Ideas
When it comes to how we eat and how we exercise, how we’re ‘supposed’ to reach our goals, there is actually a lot of really wrong information out there.
Instead of focusing on that old ‘eat less / exercise more’ mindset, this year, focus on eating the right foods and listening to your body’s energy levels.
Stop dieting. Stop counting calories. Stop looking at the fat content of the food labels (because I know you do). Stop listening to Weight Watchers, Oprah, Jenny Craig or whatever the big weight loss trend has been for years.
Start eating. Eat enough foods, especially healthy fats. Focus on eating healthy fats at every single meal and snack. Replace processed low-calorie snacks with whole foods-based healthy fats, like nuts, seeds, nut butter, coconut, and avocados.
Avoid exercising a certain way because a magazine tells you to. Instead, wake up each day and listen to your body. If your energy is amazing, do that HIIT workout you planned for the week. If your energy is in the toilet, simply go for a walk. If your body isn’t up for the intense workouts you had planned, avoid feeling guilty; instead, feel empowered because you’re honoring your body and doing what’s best for it.
Secret #2 – Focus on whole foods first
When your body is nourished and well fed, you will stop overeating and you’ll have way more energy. It’s that simple.
When you feed yourself processed, packaged (aka cheap) foods, you’re not giving your body the nutrients it needs. So, you end up hungrier, craving more energy, feeling ‘blah’, and suffering.
Focus on eating whole foods at least 80% of the time. You’ll notice improved sleep, energy, workout performance, fat loss, complexion, digestion and so much more.
And, when you eat a whole foods-based diet, your grocery bill won’t increase either! In fact, from my experience, because you eat less food overall, the bill goes down! Win-win, right?
Secret #3 – Prioritize self-care
Nothing sabotages your health more than the effects of stress. And, yeah, it’s tough to avoid all stress in your life (plus, you actually need some stress to feel balanced and motivated).
However, too much stress and not enough proper management of this response can cause all your health initiatives to backfire. Stress causes weight and fat gain, poor energy and sleep, premature aging, and digestive issues.
Therefore, if you really want to jumpstart your 2019 health goals, you need to put yourself and your self-care first! Every. Single. Day.
Conclusion
Too many women focus on weight loss for new year’s resolutions and health goals. Unfortunately, they neglect the 3 main things that are needed in order to actually achieve weight loss. Not to mention just looking and feeling better overall.
This year, instead of counting calories and killing yourself at the gym, focus instead on 3 super easy, way more effective goals:
- Eat enough food to keep you feeling full, focusing on whole foods 80% of the time
- Listen to your body and exercise according to energy levels each day
- Put stress management activities first – every day
Now, doesn’t this sound WAY easier than calculating macros and calories, stressing about how you can’t fit in that run because you’re so tired, and just feeling like crap when you don’t see that scale move???
