Need some help kicking your New Year into gear?
I'm not as big on resolutions as I am on lifestyle changes. Here are some of the ones I recommend to all of my new clients to get them off to a good start.
Eat a balanced diet - Choose vibrant carbohydrates from colourful fruits and vegetables and whole grains such as oats, brown rice, quinoa and whole wheat products. Add natural healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado's and quality oils such as extra virgin olive oil and the others listed above. Choose healthier proteins from legumes/beans, tofu, organic free range eggs, and natural cheese such as cottage.
We have lots of healthy eating plans available to get to you started, click here to find the one that suits you best.
Reduce your Meat Consumption - Go meat-free one day a week and cut carbon emissions. "Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once." - Paul McCartney's Meat Free Monday. Or, join us for a 7-day No Meat Challenge and experience how to make food more important, not less and save ourselves by doing so.
Say NO to trans-fats - You'll find man-made trans-fats in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and in lots of packaged foods. Replace solid vegetable shortening with healthier liquid oils such as expeller pressed high oleic sunflower, high oleic safflower, sesame, olive or peanut oil. Choose real butter or all natural, non-hydrogenated margarine over typical store-bought margarine, butter-flavored sticks, and solid shortening in a can.
Add berries - fresh or frozen to your diet – remember: color is key when it comes to good health. Berries are great alone, on cereal, in whole grain muffins and quick breads, with yogurt, and with nuts.
Eat your greens! This can't be overstated! Eat some kind of green every day. Experiment with new greens - maybe try one new green vegetable for each month on the new year: January: Mange Tout, February: Spinach, March: Green Beans, April: Broccoli, May: Brussels Sprouts, June: Celery, July: Swiss Chard, August: Asparagus, September: Artichokes, October: Courgettes, November: Peas, and December: Cucumber.
Make the switch to healthier whole grains - brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats, whole wheat bread and spelt pasta as well as buckwheat, millet and wild rice. Try making your own muesli and this recipe for Thai Sweet Potato and Buckwheat Soba Noodles.
Cut back on refined white and brown sugar - make it the occasional treat, not the norm. Choose fresh fruit, dried fruits, a little honey, some naturally dehydrated cane syrup, or pure maple syrup in small amounts. Learn to sweeten cookies and baked goods with dried fruits and a minimal amount of natural sugars.
Say NO to high fructose corn syrup, which you'll find in all kinds of commercial baked goods, fizzy cold drinks, yogurt, pudding, bread, etc.
Limit snacking - and when you do get the munchies, try raw nuts, fresh fruits, sliced veggies with hummus, whole grain crackers and a slice of natural cheese.
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse - Recycle means to process old, used items in order that the material can be used to make new products. Over and above the more common items we recycle like glass, plastic, newspapers, cans, used motor oil, batteries and cellphones, consider also recycling your wet waste by feeding it to the worms. Link to worm farms here. Reduce refers to lessening the amount of items or resources that are consumed, using only the amount that is needed, and looking for alternatives that will lessen our use. Reuse means extending the 'life' or repurposing an item rather than discarding or throwing it away.
Fun recycling/reusing projects to do with your kids:
How to turn a pizza box into a solar oven
Turn a plastic cold drink bottle into a drip irrigation system for the garden
Bic pen reused and turned into a vase
Lots of other creative re-uses for common objects
Ideas for recycling and reusing some “hard to recycle” items
How to compost organic waste at work
Manage your Energy, Not your Time - to recharge yourself, you need to recognise the costs of energy-depleting behaviours and then take responsibility for changing them regardless of the circumstances you're facing. Rituals and behaviours established to better manage your energy can transform your life. Set an earlier bedtime and give up stimulants that can disrupt your sleep. As a consequence you will wake up earlier, feeling rested and more motivated to exercise. Make time to sit down and have breakfast with your family. Leave your desk for lunch and take a walk every afternoon.
Establishing simple rituals like these can lead to striking results leaving you emotionally present to those most important to you.
What healthy changes are you planning for the New Year? I'd love to hear! Click here and let me know on our facebook site
