New Year’s is traditionally a time when people make resolutions to ‘do better’. Yours should include promises to eat better, exercise more, take full responsibility for your own health and well being, and look to the future…
Walk for at least an hour each day. A brisk morning walk is best.
You’ll probably feel better physically and emotionally
through the morning. And you will lose weight!
Eat better
Such an easy thing to say; not so easy to do. Target the much lauded Mediterranean Diet and follow your national Food Guide. Try to fill your dinner plate allotting 50 percent to fresh fruits and veggies, 25 percent to whole grain products, and 25 percent to ‘clean’ proteins. You can hardly do better than that.
But can you afford it? Those are mainly ‘premium’ foods, and some are not always easy to get. The obvious thing to do is commit to buy ‘the good stuff’ while cutting waste. Eat more home-made meals. Plant a veggie garden. Even apartment dwellers can put in some balcony boxes of tomatoes and herbs.
Eat less. Come to think of it, you need less to eat well when you eat healthy. And you cut costs in other ways. Fewer or no supplements needed. Less ill health (for example, less systemic inflammation, which is believed to lie at the root of many common ills). A sleeker, more energetic you!
Exercise more
We’ve said it before, but it bears saying again: It doesn’t take expensive gym memberships or exercise machines. Just walk for at least an hour each day. A brisk morning walk is best, and lengthening it gradually is also a good thing. Believe it or not, if you walk first thing in the morning, you’ll probably feel you need to eat less for breakfast, and feel better physically and emotionally through the morning. And you will lose weight, while building cardio and muscle strength!
Best way to hold yourself to the regimen? Get a dog, and walk her. Every day. Maybe even twice a day. The more the merrier!
Take more responsibility for yourself
Come on! You’re an adult! Take responsibility for your self; your physical and emotional well being. No more blaming others (who you fancy control or influence you) for your ills and unhappiness. Make your own decisions, do the right things. And DO take credit for it.
You’ll soon realize that you can make the biggest positive impact on your life by improving the quality of your diet and eating habits. They impact all aspects of your life.
You’ll be proud you have taken control of your life, and that you look and feel your best. Those under your wing will thank you (if not sooner, then definitely later) for your wise stewardship of the household. And you’ll learn a lot about life along the way.
Look toward the future
Plan for dealing with the coming food climate-driven social and cultural revolution. Maybe changing where you live and work. Even what you do for a living. And definitely consider carefully how your diet and eating habits will change as many conventional foods become unsustainable.
Don’t do what human nature will try to dictate! Make the inevitable change smoother and easier by starting to ease into new habits and routines this coming year. When the crunch comes – maybe as soon as the end of this decade – you’ll be on top of it!
~ Maggie J.