It happens every year, lot of good intentions and plans and in some cases a lot of pressure to do something new, change your life overnight and suddenly become a totally new you. All because we have turned a page on the calendar!
Although a new year can be good motivation to make some changes, it can also become too much, we try too hard and fail or set impossible goals that have no real chance of being achieved and we give up by mid-February.
Just because the calendar had changed a page, you don’t have to feel that you have to reinvent yourself!
What if your New Year’s resolution was to not make any extreme goals or plans to change? What if you decided to maintain they best version of you that you can? Small achievable goals with the feel good vibe that small wins can bring and encourage us onto the next one. Maybe it’s time to ignore the hype and take the pressure off.
New starts, changes and rearranging your life is not for everyone, and it is important to realise that it is okay to carry without drastic changes. On the other hand, if you want to make some changes, make it achievable, shorter goals that build up to one big one are far more likely to be achieved that setting one so big, that you can never see yourself really getting there.
Smaller goals that build to a bigger goal are far easier to achieve and just as valuable.
As an example, if you decide you want to run a marathon, you want to set smaller goals of a 5K then a 10k run rather than just the big one of a marathon. In some cases, maybe the first goal needs to be to join a running club and get in the zone of proper of structured training. You can then tick off the goals as you go. Much better than waiting for the one big one to arrive.
If your goal is to run a marathon, set yourself some smaller ones along the way such as planning to join a running club to get some structured training.
Many people set health goals, maybe eat more healthily, or take supplements regularly. Instead of an over arching ‘I want to eat more healthily,’ why not set goals of eating one piece of fresh fruit a day for a month. The second month your goal can be eat two pieces a day and so on. Small goals that can bring big changes.
When it comes to your supplements, make the first goal to clear out the cupboard and throw out anything that is out of date! We all have those bottles we have bought and then forgot. If they are still in date, but you don’t need that particular one anymore, why not see if a friend might like it and save it from adding to the out of date collection!
Why not identify an area of your health you would like to improve? It could be your skin, your digestive health or maybe you would like some support for your mental health. Rather than trying to do everything at once, picking one area means you can identify the areas in your diet and supplement regime that can support that issue the most. In three months’ time you can evaluate how you are getting on and maybe select another area to focus on.
A simple start could be to take a supplement every day, even a multi vitamin that provides something of all the major vitamins and minerals. Put a tick in your diary for every day that you take it or have a simple tick chart with a box for every day of the month. Once you start seeing the ticks build up, you won’t want to miss one and in turn will be reminded to take your supplements regularly. After the end of one month, maybe add in another supplement and so on.
Simple changes done regularly, soon become a habit, you can then introduce the next goal.
Here are a few ideas to get you started
Healthy skin: Start off with a vitamin C supplement every day. Vitamin C is needed for collagen production and also is needed for the immune system, so a good one for January. The add vitamin E or Borage oil to help with dry skin. Month three, you could add Astaxanthin, an algae supplement rich in carotenoids that are important for healthy skin.
Immune health: Begin with vitamin D, particularly good at this time of year when there is still not a lot of sunshine. The add a zinc supplement the next month. In month three you could add Quercetin, a bioflavonoid which has been shown to be helpful for allergy and hay fever sufferers. If you started in January, adding this in March will help set you up for spring allergies.
Nervous system: A B complex is the perfect start for the nervous system and also helps reduce tiredness and fatigue. Perfect for January when we can feel that the spring is never going to arrive, and we can feel stuck in dark days. The second month add in the mineral magnesium. This mineral plays a role in helping the nervous system and also helps muscles relax, great for those that always feel tense. In the third month, add L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea which helps calm and relax without making you feel drowsy.
If you are not use to taking supplements at all, start with a simple plan of a multi vitamin in month one, followed by adding in a friendly bacteria supplement in month two and an omega-3 supplement in month three. You will then have introduced a good nutritional foundation into your regime looking after your overall health.
However you start 2023, we wish you well in your health journey and hope you remember you are human and that we all have days where it looks like it’s not happening. The important thing is that you don’t give up and that you pick up where you left off.
