Effective Health Related New Year Resolutions & How to Achieve Them

We can learn from the past, but the hope of a better tomorrow is what drives us forward in life!

Most of us become reflective at this time of year and set many new goals for the coming year. Health-related goals such as losing weight, exercising more and eating better are probably some of the most common New Year resolutions. This article is meant to help you set more specific and achievable health goals so your likelihood of success is much greater.

Harness your motivation and set goals for 2022!

However, merely resolving to "be more healthy" and "eating better" is not enough.  We need to set clear steps that you can refer to, such as not eating potato chips after dinner or walking to the corner store instead of driving.

With my sincere hope, you improve your health in 2022, I have taken the most typical health goals and provided examples of how to make them more specific, effective and achievable:

Typical health goal #1: "Start Working Out"

Many people make this resolution year after year without success. Don't plan on purchasing equipment or joining a gym since these goals in themselves are not exercise. Make one specific goal, write it down, make a wall poster of it and stick to it until you achieve it.  After that make another goal.  Having one goal at a time makes change clear and achievable.  Here are some sample goals to get you started.  Don't forget to write your goal down!

• "I will go walk 30 minutes after dinner, Monday, Wednesday and Friday"
• "I will take the stairs instead of the elevator when going to work."
• "I will jump on a rebounder for 10 minutes each weekday in the morning."

Typical health goal #2: "Lose Weight"

Again many people make this New Year resolution year after year often with minimal success! Losing weight is the objective but the goal should be to change habits that are not allowing your body to lose weight. For assured success weight loss goals have to be bite-sized and easy to achieve lifestyle or eating habit changes like:

• "I will reduce my unhealthy fat intake by eating fewer or no fried foods."
• "I will not eat anything after dinner"
• "I will pack a lunch instead of eating out for lunch"
• "I will stop snacking on nuts and bread between meals"

If you focus on changing your habits then your weight will go down gradually as long as you keep changing habits. Remember, after you have achieved one new habit, then work on another one. With good eating habits and more physical activity, you will see improvement.  (I must say, however, that detoxification, particularly of the colon and liver along with proper digestion (agni), are also essential to reach a healthy weight.)

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Typical health goal #3: "Eat Better"

Instead of thinking "I'm going on a diet" think more in terms of  "I'm going to change some of my eating habits." Then list specific habits you would like to replace. Replacing a habit is more effective than trying to remove old habits.

Try one of these:

• Replace coffee with green tea.
• Replace sweets with fruits.
• Replace chips with nuts.
• Replace fast food with homemade meals.
• Replace juice with herbal teas.

Other specific action steps can include:

• "I will stop eating sweets and eat fruit instead"
• "I will stop eating fast food and find healthier restaurants."
• "I will eat 2 pieces of fruit a day in-between meals instead of snaking."
• "I will eat meat just 2 times a week and have bean dishes instead."

Tip: Consider keeping a food journal to find specific areas you can change. Remember, drinking water and herbal teas in-between meals help with food cravings.

Dietary treatments & Testimonials

Typical health goal #4: "Quit Smoking."

Set a realistic quit date and give yourself time. Make sure you are not setting yourself up for failure by trying to quit during an especially stressful time. Of course, first of all, clear your home of all smoking-related paraphernalia (cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, etc.).  Other effective methods include writing down all the reasons you want to quit smoking on a small card, carry it with you every day and read it regularly.

Set action steps to reduce your tobacco intake slowly, like:

• "I will cut back by one cigarette every two days over the next two weeks."
• "I will eat fruit (or nuts) each time I feel like smoking a cigarette" (Dried fruit seems to work best for this purpose)
• "I will stop buying cartons of cigarettes and only by a pack at a time until I quit"
• I will completely stop smoking by the 1st of next month."

Also, think about a plan to deal with cravings and stressful situations. Start caring dried fruit or nuts with you and eat some each time you crave a cigarette.

Additionally, it is important to not spend time with other smokers and find new social environments that are smoke-free. Ask your family and friends to support you and even encourage you to stop.  Many people have found that replacing tobacco cigarettes with clove cigarettes and other smoking herbs like lobelia is an effective way to kick the nicotine addiction.  Ayurvedic Medicine does have herbal formulas that support the withdrawal from tobacco/nicotine addiction.

I always, educate my clients who wish to stop smoking on the many harmful health effects of smoking not only to the respiratory system but the long-term carcinogenic effects and the high cancer rate for those who smoke, etc.  Do some online research about the harm of cigarette smoking to further motivate yourself to stop.

Ayurveda Medicine does have herbal formulas that support the withdrawal from tobacco/nicotine addiction.

Typical health goal #5: "Reduce Stress."

Reducing stress is an elusive process at times but it can be achieved with small but consistent lifestyle changes. Identify and write down your stressors. Identify positive steps you can take and what sources of support you have when you are stressed.

Here are some suggestions:

• "During times of stress, I will practice deep breathing techniques or go for a walk."
• "I will get a massage once a week" (that's an easy one if you can afford it!)
• "I will stop watching TV particularly the news."  (Better yet, get rid of the TV!)
• "I will drink herbal teas to relax when I am stressed."
• "I will remain silent for 10 minutes each morning when I first get up and meditate.

Anxiety reducing program & Testimonials 

Typical health goal #6: "Give Up Fast Food."

It is not easy to give up all fast food because it's really a physical addiction to fat, salt and sugar. Begin by familiarizing yourself with healthier options when eating out like good Mexican, Indian, Chinese and health food restaurants. Instead of the old fast-food places try these new places until you find new favorites. Personally, I pack nutritious and delicious meals and snacks wherever I go to completely avoid eating out unless I know where I'm going to eat.

Set a specific, achievable action step like:

• "I will eat in healthier restaurants (instead of fast-food places)".
• "I will pack my lunch when I go to work".

Typical health goal #7: "Stop Drinking Soda."

It may be difficult to cut out all sugary drinks from your diet at once. Think about ways to decrease the amount of soda you are drinking. For example, drink sweet fruit juices instead to develop new tastes or try substitutions like flavored water, honey-sweetened tea or green tea. Slowly replace soda with juice and then eventually replace juice with water and herbal teas.

An example of a solid goal is:

• "I will stop purchasing soda when I shop and start purchasing juices and other natural beverages."

Typical health goal #8: "Drink More Water."

Ask yourself how you can increase your water intake. One of the easiest ways to keep hydrated particularly if you have dry skin is to eliminate dried fruits and even dry vegetables like mushrooms and eat more soups and wet dishes. For most people drinking herbal teas and green tea is easier and even healthier than just drinking water all day:  Set realistic, specific steps you can achieve, like:

• "I will get a refillable water bottle to carry with me."
• "I will replace calorie-laden beverages with water or flavored water."
• "I will drink a full glass of water upon waking before eating breakfast"
• "I will drink green tea while at work."

Typical health goal #9: "Get More Sleep."

Sleep is essential for good health. Conditions like anxiety, stress, and fatigue are exasperated by lack of sleep. Think about ways you can reach this goal. An example of an action step might be:

• "I will go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual and avoid caffeine in the day."
• "I will take herbal teas each night with hops, chamomile, passionflower and valerian root."
• "I will stop watching TV at night and just read."
• "I will get in bed at the same time each night."

Set a specific bedtime, and stick to a consistent schedule to enable your body's internal clock to get in into a sleeping rhythm. Children can especially benefit from having a consistent routine for getting to bed at the same time each night.

Typical health goal #10: "Get Healthy."

Forget this goal!  It's just not specific enough unless you really define it in some tangible terms such as:

• "I will call Khabir and set an appointment!!"
  

Common Health Concerns:

Do you have high blood pressure?

If so you want to reduce sodium and animal protein in your diet.

Cardiovascular Program & Testimonials

Do you have pain and inflammation?

If so you need to start with eliminating inflammatory foods like chocolate, coffee, citrus and nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, and chill peppers. Taking herbal formulas and reducing the toxicity level in your body can completely eliminate inflammation and thus pain.

Anti-inflammatory Program & Testimonials

Do you have diabetes?

If so, then you need to completely eliminate your sugar and starch intake as well as commit to healthy eating habits (without snacking) and the right foods to stabilize blood sugar. By combining dietary changes with the right herbal formulas and detoxification you have an effective program for stabilizing blood sugar levels naturally.

Blood Sugar Program & Testimonials

Do you have high cholesterol?

Of course, you want to increase your intake of soluble fiber like the fiber found in oatmeal, seeds and leafy greens because soluble fiber will significantly lower your cholesterol levels. You should reduce your intake of saturated fats and increase your intake of omega-3 essential fatty acids such as from flax oil.  There are also many effective herbal medicines that can further lower the level of fat lipids in the blood. Detoxification of the liver, however, will still be necessary.

Cardiovascular Program

Are you overweight?

Of course, you need to decrease your calorie intake and increase your amount of physical exercise, but just as importantly you need to cleanse the colon and detox the liver.

Weight-loss Program

Conclusion:

Author and time management specialist Stephen Covey, in his book First Things First, talks about the need to stay focused on the things that are truly important and not to give in to the time-consuming demands of things that might appear to be important but are really not crucial to your life's goals and overall mission. That's good advice when it comes to setting goals and particularly supports the importance of improving one's health since without good health all other goals become less achievable.  I wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year, Khabir. 

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