5 Ways To Jumpstart Your New Year's Resolution

Many times, we make resolutions to ourselves in the beginning of the year, but a majority of these resolutions slowly dissipate after the first few weeks. Why is that? Well, we assume we can quickly and easily make significant changes and we’ll be able to stick to them immediately. This is not true. In fact, it takes about 21 days to adopt new habits. With that being said, the first step in keeping your New Year's resolutions is to create a plan, hold yourself accountable, and be patient. It’s easier said than done, but here are 5 ways to start to help reach simple, realistic goals.

1. Meal Prep. Eating healthy is the number one resolution that almost every individual makes. It’s challenging to do a 180 turn on your diet, so it’s best to start slow and simple. The most efficient way to ensure you’re boosting your nutrient intake is by meal prepping. This helps you to cook healthy foods, avoid purchasing convenient unhealthy options, saves you time, and helps with portion control. For breakfast, overnight oats is a super quick, easy method to ensure that you don't skip breakfast and have a nutrient-rich start to the day. For lunch and dinner, you can whip up together a grain bowl consisting of your choice of rice, protein, vegetables, and healthy fat. Choose your favorite foods that you enjoy eating so that you will look forward to eating a healthy, delicious meal. While meal prepping for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can always throw in some snack combos, such as apples and peanut butter, vegetables and hummus, or a protein shake if you’re on the go!

2. Exercise More. Exercising can be tedious or dreadful for many people. So the best way to stay active is to discover a sport or physical activity that you genuinely enjoy. This will encourage you to make it a priority to get moving on your own, which allows you to actually look forward to exercising. Reach out to friends and family who may enjoy similar activities and sports at you and make it a fun, social outing!

3. Prioritize Mental Health. What have you done in the past few days for yourself that has made you feel happy, content, and relaxed? Whether it’s sleeping well, journaling, listening to music, going to the beach, hanging out with friends, cooking new recipes, or meditating, these all play a part in improving mental health and boosting your overall mood. Mental health has been a huge challenge these past few years, so it’s important to make sure you are prioritizing your overall health so that you can enjoy each day of your life.

4. Subscribe to Healthy Habits. Everyone has busy schedules, which makes it hard to make time for staying healthy. This leads to eating unhealthier foods that are convenient, processed, and calorically dense. Lacking the proper nutrients throughout the day can have an impact on the other components of your life. One important nutrient that’s essential for providing energy and achieving fullness and satiety is protein. One great way to ensure that your protein needs are being met is through whole foods and supplements. Subscribe to OWYN and vitamin and mineral companies so that you are stocked and ready to go for the new year! Plus, it’s a great way to save money too!

5. Good Sleep. Getting a good night’s rest is easier said than done. We often become too busy to sleep the full 7-8 hours, making sleep the last priority of our to-do list. At times, it may feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, which leads to an increase in overnighters and lack of sleep. Prioritizing sleep plays an integral role in our short and long term health. It should be transferred from the bottom to the top of your tasks. Not only will you feel energized, but you will be in a better mood, which translates into your connections with others, and you will have more energy to exercise more, hang out with friends, and accomplish your goals for the day.

You can start with 1 or 2 of these resolutions early by putting small practices so that your goals are less daunting in 2022. In fact, you will look forward to making positive changes in your life! When we become excited about achieving our goals, we are more likely to accomplish them. Additionally, we begin to gain confidence in ourselves and in our relationships. This ensures that you are continuously striving to be better each and every day, not for anyone else but simply because you want to.