People often make resolutions for the new year, intending to eat healthier, get in shape, or otherwise improve themselves. In order to follow through on these resolutions, it’s important to set ones that are attainable. Here are three resolutions you can set that are sustainable and will make you feel like a new person.
Get better quality sleep
Poor sleep impacts all areas of your life. You’ll feel tired, obviously. But you’ll also be more prone to make mistakes or be in an accident, forget things and eat more. Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, depression, and other problems that take time to turn around.
Getting better quality sleep isn’t as hard as you might think. Turn off electronics at least an hour before you want to go to sleep. Take a warm bath to drop your body temperature, and wear socks to bed as cold feet can keep you awake. Don’t drink caffeine late in the day, and avoid heavy meals or nightcaps within a couple of hours of bedtime.
If you feel like there are bigger problems, such as insomnia, snoring, or other sleep issues, see your doctor. A sleep study can rule out or confirm sleep problems, and you can then work on correcting the problem to restore your sleep.
Work on healthy eating habits
There’s no need for a dramatic overhaul of your kitchen where you’re throwing out all the junk food and replacing it all with fresh, healthy foods. That’s a nice image, but when people do that, they often find that it’s unsustainable.
Instead, start with one substitution of a healthy food for an unhealthy one. Swap your morning coffee for a cup of bone broth. Swap your peanut butter cup for a small square of dark chocolate. Instead of French fries, eat baked sweet potato wedges instead.
Look for small, simple changes you can make. Once one has become a habit, make another switch. Over time, you’ll have gradually improved your diet in a way that you can stick with and that didn’t feel like you were depriving yourself.
Exercise anytime, anywhere
When people set a goal surrounding exercise, they often go big with plans to join a gym, take classes, or run a marathon within weeks. Again, these are goals that are huge changes and often end up being more than the person can handle.
Bodyweight exercises, on the other hand, are a simple, easy change that can be fit into your day because it requires no extra equipment and only a few minutes of your time. When you do a bodyweight circuit, you complete a series of exercises one right after the other without stopping. This gives you both a cardiovascular workout and builds muscle at the same time. You can check out calisthenics for beginners at athleticmuscle.net.
The exercises in a bodyweight circuit uses multiple muscle groups, while also getting your heart rate up and burning calories. You’ll burn more calories with a bodyweight circuit than you will with either interval or steady cardio. Additionally, after your workout, your body will spend the next few hours rebuilding your muscles, which will continue to burn calories.
A fresh new year is a great time to implement new habits that will create a better, healthier you. With goals like these, you can easily find yourself feeling like a brand new person in no time.
