Hello Everybody and Happy New Year,

I hope you all enjoyed seeing in 2018 and are feeling refreshed and ready for a wonderful year ahead.

How to make your January healthy goals work

No doubt many of you have made the usual New Year resolutions/goals to eat healthy, lose weight and exercise more. Did you make the same resolutions last year? Did you stick to them?

By February, we’ve all usually forgotten or given up. So what can you do this year to make your goals work better?

To make goals and resolutions work, you need to think differently.

Firstly, be kind to yourself. Don’t focus on the negatives of your body or life. Instead focus on what you currently love about yourself, your life or your body (there will be something!).

Then you need to focus on your WHY.

Why do you want to get fit or exercise more? Don’t follow along with the usual January goals just because society dictates it at this time of year.

Think about what difference you want these resolutions/goals to have on YOUR life.

Do you want to be fitter so that you can chase your children around the garden?

Do you want to be fitter so that you can walk to a local landmark without getting out of breath?

Do you want to be fitter so you can enjoy time with your partner doing the same activities?

Many of the above questions will also apply to weight loss. Make sure you want to lose weight to make your general health better and not to fit social expectations or stereotypes of how you should look.

When you’ve established YOUR WHY, write it down and pin it somewhere prominent in your home. When you’re having a bad day struggling to stick to your new habits, it will remind you why you’re trying to do this.

Focus on ADDING to your life – not taking away.

I know when I did my 30 days without coffee challenge it was so hard taking away my morning treat of a cup of coffee. When I replaced it with a chai latte, the challenge became much easier. (30 days without coffee challenge)

Instead of telling yourself off for eating too much or eating “bad foods”, think “how can I eat to improve my health – which foods will nourish my body”.

Don’t start by restricting your diet and eating less. Begin by thinking of ways to add more healthy foods to your diet – more fruit, more vegetables and drink more water.

As you add more healthy foods, they will fill you up and push out the desires for the less healthy foods.

Cover half your dinner plate with vegetables or salad to make the portions of less healthy foods smaller.

Once you’ve begun to swap over for more healthy foods, then you may need to check your portion sizes. Sometimes too much of a good thing can still expand your waistline.

If you’re trying to do more exercise – take it one step at a time. Just put on some gear first. Once you’ve got your work-out clothes on, you’ll probably feel more inspired to do something.

Then, tell yourself you’re just going to do 10 minutes (it could be brisk walking, skipping, HIIT, anything). Something, no matter how small is better than nothing. Again, I think you will be surprised that once you start, you end up doing more than just 10 minutes.

Remember – don’t get caught up in the Perfection excuse. Making Progress is far better than not bothering because you think you won’t be good enough.

Finally, remember to tell yourself that your body is your home (or temple!). Look after it, treat it well – it’s the only one you have.

This week’s meal plan:-

Cajun Salmon, parsley butter and salad
Spanish Chicken rice dish
Chilli con Carne with a vegetable salsa
Lamb burgers with peppers and feta and coleslaw salad
Moroccan meatballs and rice
Quiche and salad
Seafood Linguine

I hope you all have a super week.

Why not join the free New Leaf ’52 week Healthy Motivation Group’ over on Facebook, and get regular inspiration, tips, advice and recipes to help keep your January goals flowing right through the year.