Why do we have to go on yet another diet in January? We don’t have to and don’t need to allow our lives to get out of control for our health.  The New Year’s resolution or diet that many of us attempt to take control of our health again does not always serve us very well. However, the steps you take are the key to your success, and I’m sharing 5 small healthy habits that you CAN stick to in 2022 and beyond.

The constant marketing from the diet and fitness industry can be exhausting. Right now, we are bombarded with healthy recipes to make during the holidays.  Also, new fitness gadgets come on the market, and old ones are rebranded to entice you to buy them. However, on the positive side, there might be a recipe you’ve never tried before, and you love it, and new gadgets also keep you exercising. Plus, we all want some gift ideas for the people we love.

You hear about all those free challenges that you can do and classes to join. But, to be honest, you’re not going to, or you start only to stop because of being too busy during the holidays. Also, accountability is lacking, so you don’t stick with your efforts to stay healthy and move forward; instead, you may move backward in your wellness.

The New Year and New You slogan is BIG, but why is the old you not good enough? 

Why will the New Year be different this time?  Why do we need a New Year’s resolution?

People always assume that I get a massive influx of new clients every January, but I don’t because I don’t offer any 6-week-get-fit-quick programs. My clients are all long-term because I work with them for lasting change that takes time and dedication. I am more interested in working with someone to achieve ongoing health and wellness goals and habits. Most of my clients stay with me for years because I tell them how it is and what will work and will not work for each individual based on their body type and lifestyle. I do not do one-size-fits-all quick-fix programs. Even my group program, the Pursue Your Spark Blueprint, is very individualized. 

Why are we letting the diet industry dictate our health?

I get it. It all sounds fantastic and a natural progression from what we experience year after year. Let’s break that cycle and stop treating our bodies with less respect than they deserve.

Just like a good mom, I’m preaching to the choir and hope you’ll hear me and follow my advice, at least a little, on how to modify ingredients for dishes so that they have fewer calories and fewer unhealthy fats. Don’t let go of your exercise routine; adjust it to your environment. Perhaps when visiting your kids and grandkids, adapt your exercise routine so that you can hang out more with them.

Despite all our efforts and good intentions, we most likely eat a little more and move a little less during the holidays, and that’s ok, but only for a few days. So, a while back, I wrote: How To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain For Good and 3 Reasons Why It’s Time To Stop Falling Off The Diet Wagon in the hopes that you will never go on another diet again but instead choose your long-term health. 

Let’s do something radically different this year! 

We are all a work in progress, and that is ok. Trying to be perfect is unrealistic and creates more stress and unhappiness than not. Creating small habits that you can do without even thinking about them and can be done consistently over time will produce results. First, let’s ask ourselves what areas in your life need attention. You can’t do it all at once, even if you want to, because it can be overwhelming, and we give up sometimes before we even start.

5 Small Healthy Habits That You Can Stick With In 2022

Let’s look at 3 areas in your life that deserve your attention:

1. Your home

You know the saying, ‘Home is where the heart is.’ Home is like a sanctuary for many of us, and now that you’re an empty nester, you can design it any way you want. For example, you can downsize and move to a smaller or different location. 

You can decorate it to your taste and eliminate the clutter the kids might have created while living with you. You might be hesitant about taking over your kid’s bedroom; I know I was when my daughter moved out. I worried about changing her room into my office for a long time before I asked her, and she told me, “Sure, go ahead!” She stressed that she no longer lived with me and that the space was mine to do with as I liked! So it’s ok to turn their unused bedroom into an office or whatever you choose to turn it into.

Start by decluttering your home of things that no longer serve you and your happiness. Coming home to an organized, peaceful, and fun place reduces stress and creates a sense of well-being and harmony. 

2. Your Time

You can’t take back time. Be clear on how you spend your time and what you waste it on. Mindlessly scrolling through social media with no purpose can take away HOURS of your day without you noticing. 

Are you living your daily life according to what’s important to you, or are you busy doing obligations for others or so you can tick things off your to-do list? Unfortunately, we are busy buying gifts and preparing meals to make everything just perfect and, in fact, driving ourselves crazy in the process.

If you feel that you never have time for the important things to you and keep making excuses for not reaching your goals, then it’s time to take a hard look at your priorities. Do those priorities serve you well, or do you need to sit down and clarify your goals? 

3. Self-Care

I know there is a lot of talk about self-care and how to reduce stress. I have even written another blog post about 5 Strategies To Get More Done With Less Stress. Putting yourself first after all the years of being a mom and caring for others is essential. You may have neglected your body and mind for a long time and don’t even know what self-care might look like or that you even deserve it. Self-care might sound like an overindulgence or might make you feel selfish, but neither is true. 

Instead, it’s about caring for your health and well-being so you can live a healthy and happy second half of life just as you imagined. It doesn’t have to be a spa day, although that would be nice. Instead, talk kindly to yourself (I’m strong, I’m able, I’m clever) and create some positive affirmations that you post/write anywhere you can see them. When did you last look in the mirror and say nice things about your body?

Exercising regularly, eating healthy meals, and surrounding yourself with a positive community are all part of self-care. When you feel your best, you’ll make better choices and create a positive life.

5 small healthy habits that you can stick with in 2022 and beyond!

What is the difference between a habit and a goal? 

A habit is a behavior that is repeated over and over consistently. It is a fixed way of thinking or a feeling acquired through previous experience repeated over an extended period. 

Examples:

Drink a glass of water after waking – a habit

Drink 8 glasses of water each day – a goal 

Start with the smallest step possible and build from there to create lasting change. If you want to change everything all at once, you’ll feel overwhelmed and may not even start. 

Habits are something that will become automatic over time, like brushing your teeth. At first, you brush for 30 seconds, and you love how your teeth feel, so you want to do more. The next time you brush your teeth for 1 minute, that feels even better, and your teeth have fewer stains. After that, your goal is to brush for 2 minutes, so you continue brushing your teeth until you reach the 2-minute mark. Your reward is that everyone notices how white your teeth are. 

Let’s apply that to the 5 small healthy habits you can stick with in 2022 and beyond

1. Drink a glass of water before you have your coffee or tea in the morning.

After a good night’s sleep, we are dehydrated, and starting the day dehydrated is not a good idea. Most women have trouble drinking 8 glasses of water per day. As your habit, start with 1 glass of water; your goal is eight glasses a day over time.

2. Exercise every day.

We often put exercise as the last thing on our list because we think, ‘Ah, no problem, I can do it anytime.’ Eventually, the day is over, and you don’t exercise again. This pattern develops into an unhealthy habit. So instead: Get up and stretch for 1 minute right in bed every morning. Your goal: 5 minutes of stretching every morning.

3. Eat more protein.

Many women tend to undereat protein. Carbohydrates are often easier to find but are primarily in processed forms. Therefore, it is important to add protein to each meal to help you stay full longer, build lean muscle mass, and boost your metabolism to have more energy. Habit: Add a scoop of whey protein to your morning smoothie. Goal: Eat protein with every meal: e.g., eggs, chicken, seafood, beans, and other protein sources. 

4. Reduce stress.

We are dealing with way more stress than we need to have in our day. Stress creates many health problems, from high blood pressure to stroke and raised cortisol levels, making it hard to lose weight and body fat. Surprisingly, reducing stress can be stressful in itself. A great habit you can form is to start breathing when you feel stressed and take 5 deep breaths instead of reacting to the stressor at the moment. Your goal can be to create a strategy for reducing your biggest stress offenders over time. We talk in detail about stress-reducing strategies in the Pursue Your Spark Blueprint.

5. Gratitude.

Recognize and acknowledge the things you are grateful for by tracking them in a journal. When we write things down, they become more evident in our minds. This is a great way to make gratitude a habit and recognize good things more clearly when they appear in our lives. An excellent habit to start: Pick one thing you’re grateful for per day. The goal could be to write in your journal every day and list 3 – 5 items you’re thankful for.

So you see, these are 5 small healthy habits that you can stick with in 2022. They are not significant and overwhelming.  Instead, we start with baby steps and, if practiced over time, generate the results we’re looking for in our health.