Sometimes New Year’s resolutions can be a little problematic, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t use a new calendar year to prompt us to do good things for ourselves. The key is to be gentle with yourself – a resolution is something that you break and then you get down on yourself/never try it again. Our top nutrition tips are things you can just re-apply over and over again – so no pressure!
1 – Drop the Extremes and Be Reasonable
Eight per cent of people are successful with their New Years resolutions – that’s right, eight. Not eighty. Instead of making a huge lifestyle overhaul, aim to set reasonable and measurable goals for yourself. Small, sustainable behavioural changes are the ones that tend to last over time.
2 – Practice Mindful Eating
This doesn’t have to be a crunchy-granola type of mindfulness (unless that’s what you’re into). Being mindful just means considering what you’re doing before you do it. Meal planning in advance is a great way to practice nutritional mindfulness. So is taking time to eat and enjoy your food. Studies suggest that the average bite of food is chewed 32 times – so aim to chew longer than that. Enjoy the aroma and texture of your food. Eat slowly and savour each bite. Mindfulness can also mean giving yourself time to sit with a craving before indulging. That doesn’t mean you don’t indulge – just that you think about it before you do.
3 – Eat More Fish
Fish is great for you – it’s full of Omega-3 and Omega-3 fatty acids help keep your heart healthy. Some examples of great, safer low mercury fish are canned skipjack tuna, salmon, herring, sardines, char, Atlantic mackerel and rainbow trout. The other great thing about fish is that it is SUPER EASY to make. You can just wrap halibut in parchment paper and toss it into the oven with veggies and herbs. You can try out these tasty tuna burgers! Fish also works well with all sorts of different flavours – try lemon, garlic, dill, ginger, teriyaki, orange, soy and beyond!
4 – Reduce your Refined Sugar
The nice thing about reducing your sugar is that, generally, the less sugar you eat – the less sugar you crave. Some easy ways to start: taking less sugar in your tea or coffee; swapping out a dessert with refined sugar for fruit; drink more water and less soda and juice. If you’re making something sweet, you can experiment with substituting your white sugar with agave, honey or other options.
5 – Add Veggies to Every Meal
Lunch and dinner are easy candidates for veggies, but breakfast can be a challenge. It doesn’t need to be! There are tons of ways to add veggies to your breakfast: add spinach to your smoothies, make omelettes or frittatas with veggies in them, or make my favourite egg cups! You can also just toss some cut veggies on the side of whatever you’d normally have!
6 – Eat A Little Less Meat
I love meat. Like, a lot. But it can help to expand your culinary horizons to take meat out a your main meal (or to have a meat-free day). Beans, lentils, tofu, nuts and seeds are all wonderful sources of protein. You can: add chickpeas and beans to soups or salads, try a tofu stir-fry with lots of veggies, enjoy a big salad with nuts, seeds and/or edamame.
7 – Stay Hydrated
Hydration is so important for pretty much everything your body does. It’s great for your skin, hair, nails, digestion and so on. It helps to fight hunger, helps to decrease fluid retention. Treat yourself to a cool water bottle, and set a goal for how much you’d like to drink each day.
8 – Eat 3 Meals a Day (Minimum)
I can’t say it enough – eating in regular intervals will make a big impact on your nutritional health. Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, gain weight, maintain weight, increase performance – no matter what your goal, this habit will help. It’ll help to stabilize sugar and energy levels, and eating more often gets you into other good habits like meal planning, meal prep and mindfulness.
Which tip will you be working on this year? Let us know!
Please comment below and tell us your biggest priority for your nutrition in the coming months…