Let’s celebrate everything positive that we do for our health today and try to put into perspective all the self-improvement promotion that follows the ball drop, confetti and champagne.
Let’s Celebrate:
1. You like vegetables.
Congratulations. You eat vegetables. You have been spotted in the produce section a time or two and you know that you feel great when you eat plants. Rock on! Why not try to eat leafy green vegetables every single day. Enjoy more salads, soups, stews and green drinks. Every vegetable is amazing but green vegetables are the “gate-way” vegetable. Eating more greens will lead to more vegetables in your diet overall. What am I talking about: spinach, kale, romaine, collards, swiss chard, spring mix etc.
2. You don’t drink sugary drinks.
Except for the occasional festive hot toddy or pumpkin spice latte during pumpkin season you avoid sugary beverages. This is terrific. Let’s see what happens if we add 5 more of any of the following health drinks into your diet each week: green tea, black tea, chamomile tea, a homemade greens drink (see point #1), apple cider vinegar “juice” or lemon water. If you are already a good water drinker let’s celebrate that! Keep drinking that water and add in strategic pre-meal glasses of water to help with calorie control and weight loss. See a greens drink recipe here. Apple cider vinegar “juice” here. Study on pre-meal water and weight loss here.
3. You are active.
Whoo hoo! Gosh, nothing helps the skin glow and elevates the mood quite like a good sweat. No matter what you do I’m glad you do it. Next time you are hard on yourself if you miss a workout celebrate that you like working out and that you protect your brain and body by exercising. Why not build more activity into your workday? Go for a walk at lunch. Walk the stairs after eating to help digest and bring down blood sugar. Schedule your gym trip either right before or right after work. Grab a buddy and work it!
4. You enjoy home cooked food.
I’m so glad you prepare meals at home. Having the control of the quality of your ingredients and the preparation of your meals is so helpful for weight control and reducing inflammation. Don’t you love that feeling of standing over a warm stove when it’s cold outside or heating up a fragrant hot delicious lunch on a gloomy day? Elevate your cooking game by continuing to try new recipes and finding new (fast) favorites. Join my cooking club for endless ideas and lots of conversations about delicious eats.
5. You go to bed early.
Am I the only person who wants to go to bed at 7:00 pm with my son? Geez winter you cold dark season of hibernation. Sleep is essential to good health and if you naturally like to sleep and allow yourself 8 or so hours to sleep each night, kudos to that! Treating yourself like a toddler helps. Establish a good sleep routine that may involve some hot tea (see point #2), a warm shower or bath and some kind of non-facebook book. Meditation also has amazing research to support its influence on weight loss and health. Maybe some meditation since it feels like midnight but it’s only 8:30?
6. You like yourself.
This is the best part about getting older. At some point it becomes okay to like yourself and celebrate… you! Maybe in 2017 instead of trying to transform who you are, spend more time doing what you love in a healthier way. If you love to watch really bad tv (who doesn’t) have a watch party with friends to add meaningful social interaction. If you love to read try reading on a stationary bike. I have a friend who loves to quilt and to her I would say a) your quilts are fabulous and b) try to build more activity into your workday and enjoy the pleasure quilting brings you after work with a hot cup of tea. I would also tell her Chamomile tea fights cancer and probiotics are awesome.
Here’s to you!
Happy New Year,
Katherine