Healthy Resolutions You Can Make Stick

The New Year is a time when many of us reflect and resolve to better ourselves in some way. Health and wellness usually take the top spots for New Year’s resolutions. While at least one-third of Americans make resolutions, only a few stick to their healthy resolutions for three months. Here are some ideas for healthy resolutions that you can actually make stick.

Add Sticking Power to Your Healthy Resolutions

1. “Short” your exercise. Most resolutions involve 30 to 60 minutes at the gym several times a week. This resolution often fails for busy people. Strive for 10-minute exercise routines. Add exercise to your day by taking the stairs, parking further away, walking during lunch or taking exercise breaks at work. Short calorie bursts add up.
2. Swap a food. Whether you’re dieting or just eating healthy, it’s challenging to gives up your favorites and stick to a completely new menu. If this year’s resolution is about eating healthier, make a swap. Replace red meat with salmon one night each week. Or, choose berries with yogurt instead of a fast food biscuit. After your first swap becomes a habit, try a second swap. You’ll be surprised at how much healthier you’ll be eating in a few months. Best of all, it’s much easier to stick to one food swap at a time.
3. Find social activities. Social connections are important in a healthy lifestyle. But, meeting for dinner or drinks isn’t the only way to socialize. Identify common activities that you and your friends enjoy. Tennis, walking, swimming, Yoga, board games, biking, volunteering and more. Mix it up to learn new things from each other.
4. Kick a habit. Most people have one or two vices that they want to kick. But, it isn’t easy to kick a bad habit, as most of us know from experience. For example, let’s say you want to stop biting your nails. The first step is to identify when you do it. Maybe it’s when you are stressed or bored. Use the “bait and switch” method…replace biting your nails with something else such as celery.
5. Reduce stress. This is important for your overall health. Check out some of our tips in this video.

Make your healthy resolutions stick this year. If you need a little help in accomplishing your health goals, call Serenity Health Care Center. We are experienced in helping our patients accomplish their health and wellness goals. Here’s to your health in an awesome new year!