If you are planning ways to improve your life in the coming year, you’re among the roughly 45 percent of U.S. adults who make New Year’s resolutions. While resolutions run the gamut from saving more money to becoming a better person, polls show that every year, some of the most popular are health & wellness resolutions. From losing weight to getting fit, when thinking about turning over a new leaf, health issues are a high priority.
Here are just a few of the reasons our Members gave when asked what motivated them to make a commitment to improving their health:
- “I saw a picture of myself and decided it was time to do something.”
- “I went for my routine checkup and my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic”
- “I want to be around to walk my daughter down the aisle”
- “I’m turning 50 next year. The party’s over, time to get serious about my health”
- I can’t face another winter huddled & cold in doorways to have a smoke. I give up, I need to quit”
In making a resolution, it’s good to be realistic and not bite off more than you can chew. The hard part often isn’t resolving to do something, it’s sticking with it. In a recent newsletter, we outlined 8 common reasons why resolutions fail. Here are four simple suggestions for New Year’s health & wellness resolutions.
Be more active. Add 10 or 15 minutes of activity to your day. It could be by taking the stairs or taking a brief walk during lunch or exercising a few minutes before your shower every morning. A mere 10 to minutes a day would add up to a big part of the recommended guideline of 150 minutes a week.
Eat healthier. Add one serving of a fruit or vegetable to every meal. You can’t have too many fruits and vegetables. Another goal would be to fill half your plate at each meal with fruits and vegetables instead of meats, grains or dairy. Fruits and veggies are fewer calories than most other foods.
Get more sleep. If you frequently get less than 7 or 8 hours of sleep, try this: add 10 minutes of extra sleep to your day each month until you work up to an hour more. Sufficient sleep is not just important to your health, it can help reduce stress, improve your moods and sharpen your thinking.
Take a Health Risk Appraisal. If you haven’t taken a Health Risk Appraisal, why not take one now? It will help you get a baseline on health risk areas that could use some improvement and help ensure that your goals will be targeted to areas that can make a difference.
In a past post, we talked about how to bolster your motivation. Check it out, the post includes a video on the science of motivation.
If you’re looking to set some goals, why not give a call to your wellness coach to develop realistic goals and set a custom plan.
Here’s another tool that might help – this great infographic from The Fix.com offers a seven-day meal plan and weekly interval training plan.
Source: Fix.com Blog