4 Healthy New Years Resolutions That Will Actually Stick
National Diet Month is upon us… but diets are supposed to be out right?
Day one of January and already like fans at a football stadium yelling a team name back and forth “Wolf” and then “Pack” and then “Wolf!!” and then “Pack!!” (I went to NC State btw). I hear “Diet” and then “Don’t Diet” and then “Diet!” and then “Don’t Diet!!” yelled back and forth across the social media field.
Maybe you are someone that has had many previous New Year’s resolutions that were related to weight loss and fitness.
In year’s past the excitement of a new beginning was palpable once the confetti settled - the promise of a new, fitter, thinner, healthier version of yourself.
But maybe now you are someone that is beginning to question all the hype around weight loss resolutions.
After all, once that confetti settles you are left with food rules that feel boring, restrictive and exhausting and feel hard to maintain when life happens, and you are finding yourself “cheating” more and more on your healthy eating plan.
But if you are someone that has relied on the “guard rails” of food rules from following a certain plan or diet to know how to eat, you may be finding yourself asking…
If I don’t diet, then what?
The answer is lots of awesome stuff with nutrition and exercise that is far less distracting and harmful and is more sustainable than focusing on weight loss, but I’ve narrowed it down to four for you to consider for 2024.
1) Find Movement That You Enjoy
There are a lot of rules out there about exercise and how long it should last and how intense it should be. The reality of it is, if we are moving our bodies, regardless of time and intensity, we are benefiting from it.
And we are more likely to move our bodies regularly if we like the movement. The way it feels while we are doing it, and the way it makes us feel after. So explore what this is for you.
Do you like being indoors or outdoors? Do you like being by yourself or with others? Some of both? Start with these questions and identify some types of movement to try. Maybe try a new type of movement once a month. Eventually you will have your go-tos.
So the three criteria you are looking to fill are 1.) Is my body moving? 2.) Does it feel good? 3.) Do I like it?
That is all.
2) Switch It Up
One of the hallmarks of dieting is eating the same foods over and over again. The same salad or sandwich with carrot sticks for lunch, pretty much the same grilled chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli for dinner, the same Kind Bar for snack day after day after day…. playing it safe so as not to make a "wrong" move.
The problem with this (probLEMS, there are multiple) is that even though you might feel like you are eating “healthy” foods, your diet is likely lacking in nutrients because you are not eating enough different types of food.
And you know what you are also likely lacking in?
Satisfaction. Flexibility. Joy.
And when you are lacking in these things one of two things (or both) usually happens. You are more likely to overeat because your body is looking for a variety of tastes, textures and nutrients, your body is looking to be satisfied.
You have experienced this if you have ever said “I do good all day (or all week) and then it falls apart.”
OR, you are exhausted and eating feels like a job because you are so restrained in your choices. If you choose food solely based on its perceived nutritional value of what you think is important as in choosing the lowest calorie option, or lowest carb option, or most nutrient dense option, then you are missing out on other components of nutritional health.
You are missing the forest for the trees.
TLDR, dieting or otherwise, if you are in a rut with your food, switch it up.
3) Practice Mindfulness
Have you ever been driving somewhere and end up at your final destination but you don’t know how you got there?
We do this with eating all of the time. We eat while studying, working, watching tv, surfing the internet, and driving. Often we don’t get to really look at, smell, taste and enjoy our food.
Sometimes this leads to regularly over or under eating, most of the time this just leaves us unsatisfied and looking for more food to enjoy later.
Often the pace of our lives doesn’t lend itself to routinely experiencing food mindfully. But we can take steps towards being more engaged when we eat. Maybe it is eating one meal or snack a day or a week while not doing anything else. Maybe it’s eating dinner one day a week at the table if you usually eat on the couch. Maybe whenever you have a snack or a meal that you are excited about eating, you slow it down and really savor it.
Or maybe it is just pausing for a moment at the beginning of each meal to notice the appearance and smell of it before taking that first bite. This is my favorite way.
Try on different things and see how it changes your eating experience. Take note of what increases your satisfaction.
4) Be Kind To Your Body
When you feel better about your body, you inherently treat it better.
And honestly, the way we feel about our bodies has very little to do with what they actually look like. And if loving your body feels about as realistic as your laundry learning to do itself...then maybe start by resolving to hate it less.
Take one step towards body acceptance by not participating in the things that leave you feeling in despair about the way you look. Body check in the mirror less, unfollow that person that posts half naked pictures of themselves sucking in and flexing on Instagram, and hide those people from your Facebook news feed that keep talking about their body transformations.
Even better, add some in that encourage you in trusting and accepting your body instead. Make a goal of finding one new body positive, Health At Every Size® or intuitive eating blog, podcast, or social media outlet a month to check out and maybe even follow.
Or dig a little deeper by getting my free masterclass, 4 Steps To Becoming Body Confident., You can click here to get it for free.
Whatever you do to care for yourself in 2024, just remember to do it compassionately.
It can feel exhilarating to go gangbusters and change a bunch of things at one time, but rarely is that sustainable for anyone, and can leave you feeling defeated when you can no longer juggle many changes at one time.
Instead be curious, go slow, try some things out, and be forgiving to yourself if a change that makes you feel good doesn’t take a permanent hold immediately because we are all practicing in life. It is possible even when you are not dieting to fall into that black and white, rigid thinking of a diet mentality.
Embrace curiosity and flexibility… maybe that is resolution number five!
Hi! I’m Meg. I am a registered dietitian nutritionist and coach and I help women stress and obsess less about food and their body so that they can enjoy life more and make a bigger impact on this world!
If you want to become more nutrition and body confident, click the button below to get my free video and workbook series, 4 Steps To Becoming Body Confident.