How to Achieve your 2020 Health Goals
- Nadia Kawash
- Changes
Welcome to 2020! This is the beginning of a new decade and many of us are making resolutions and hoping to follow through with them. I will be discussing what you could do this year that is different than the previous years and will enable you to stay more focused and on track to achieve them!
For resolutions to take hold, one needs to be consistent and set realistic goals and expectations. These goals are essential in forming new healthy habits. Without them it can be difficult to achieve optimum wellness.
- Look deep within ourselves and decide what we truly want to work on to help us feel better. Choose a maximum of 3 things.
- Figure out how we are going to achieve this.
- Keep track of the progress we are making.
- We need to eat healthier.
- Prioritizing sleep is essential.
- Relieve stress using many options available.
- Find a support system and utilize them.
1. Choosing the 3 things that you need to work on.
Begin to define exactly what it is that you want to change or improve. By defining these things, you are forced to recognize that you have an issue. Write it down. Try to understand how it took hold of you. How does it manifest in your life and what you need to do to control it in order for you to feel better? Whether it’s a thyroid issue, an autoimmune issue or just simply weight loss. Own your problem, face it, and begin to implement the necessary steps you need to make the proper changes.
2. Setting your goals.
Take each issue you have and begin to break it down into the basic needs in order to conquer it. We call these SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. You begin to break it down into baby steps that are more achievable. If you are trying to lose weight for example, then begin to cut down and slowly remove sugary snacks. Then begin adding in healthier foods consisting of more vegetables and salads and avoiding fried foods. Eventually replace your morning breakfast with a protein smoothie instead of skipping meals or eating foods rich in processed carbs. Achieve one goal and you then begin introducing another one until you are comfortable and ready to move on to the next one.
3. Keep track of your progress.
Write your goals down on paper. This helps you get a clear picture of what you want to achieve and accomplish. It is a way of checking in with yourself to help motivate you. Record what is going well and working for you. Record ways that you need to improve or things that aren’t easy to implement. This exercise will keep you motivated to help achieve your goals. “I exercised today and felt good, next time I want to push myself a little harder” or “I felt so good eating clean but when I ate some fried food, I felt unwell and got heartburn.” You are figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
4. Eating healthier
Adding in the good clean foods vs. processed, fried, and sugary foods will help you get healthier and introduce nutrient-dense foods into your body. Eating smaller portions and focusing a lot on food hygiene is one of the main principles I discuss with all my clients. The importance of sitting down for a meal in a relaxed manner and chewing properly vs. eating on the go. This will help reduce inflammation and help breakdown and digest the food more efficiently and optimize better absorption.
5. Prioritize sleep.
This is such an important issue that I see in my practice and focus most of my time to help educate my clients to understand the impact and importance of how sleep effects the body. If anything, I would highly recommend that your number one resolution for this year should be getting an adequate amount of sleep and working on sleep hygiene.
6. Relieving stress
This, as you have heard me mention, the “HPATG – axis” so many times impacts everything in our body. It is vital that we work hard to prioritize reducing stress. I love how Dr. Hyman summarized it with emojis on his Instagram page. He explained that in order to relieve stress one can incorporate EXERCISE, do some DEEP BREATHING such as yoga or just learning some deep breathing techniques, TAKING AN EPSOM SALT BATH and soaking in it for 20 min, and getting some QUALITY SLEEP.
7. Find a support system.
It is always more fun when you surround yourself with likeminded friends that can help support one another. This is because you set the stage for a sense of belonging. This has a positive impact on your mental and emotional health. This way you don’t feel alone, and you encourage each other to eat healthier, exercise together, and have fun together. This makes all the difference.
If you feel uncertain about your health and want to change, now is your chance to take back control. Download my health history here, and take the first step to making 2020 the year that everything becomes easier! This is your chance to begin to understand all the dynamics in play AND do something about it! Clicking on the link could be the first tiny step towards re-energized, re-vitalized, happier, healthier YOU.
Small changes for a healthier “U”
