A Healthy New Year: 4 Keys to Staying Nourished

Trying to start the New Year with a healthy focus?

 The New Year is always a good time to focus on making changes.  If you are looking to make changes to your health and diet, then this article has some great keys that will help you in reaching those goals. I am passionate about helping others to live a healthy life. These 4 keys to staying nourished will help you focus on your hopes of building a healthier life.


Many people make resolutions focusing on health every time a new year rolls around. Whether it is losing a few pounds or radically changing daily eating habits, the idea of making big changes seems irresistible—at first. Big, dramatic changes are bold statements of fresh starts, but a large number of those making resolutions often tire of them quickly. True changes take time. A study shows that it takes on average about 66 days for the human brain to form a new pathway for a behavioral change.
Most importantly, you need to shift your perceptions before you lace up your running shoes. The way you think of a change such as building an overall healthy lifestyle ultimately determines your success as well as your contentment with yourself and your life in general. The good news is smaller steps can lead to changes. Here are four changes in both actions and perceptions that can help you make your hopes of building a healthier life a reality.

1. Eat well as part of your healthy lifestyle.

Food is your body’s fuel, and it should do much more than simply quell hunger pangs. What you eat needs to feed every cell in your body. A balanced diet of mostly fruits and vegetables combined with smart carbohydrates and careful amounts of healthy fats is the best way to eat the nutrients your body needs to thrive. When you decide you want to change the way you eat, there are a few things to consider.

• If you eat in restaurants, be careful of how much you ingest. Portion sizes have grown large. Eat about half of your serving, and take food home with you.
• Cook at home. You will know exactly what goes into your dishes this way, and you will grow to appreciate your food more. If you are not accustomed to cooking, start by doing it once or twice weekly.
• Focus your meals around fruits and vegetables and non-meat protein sources, of which there are many healthy options. For convenience, try buying vegetables already slice or chopped.

Incorporate healthy eating into your daily life rather than perceiving it as temporary. If you consider eating nutritious whole foods as a special diet rather than a lifestyle, you are less likely to maintain a nourishing plan of eating.

2. Get exercise intelligently and naturally.

Society in general today has become sedentary. Getting quality exercise does not mean you must go to a gym five days a week for intense sweat sessions. A 15- or 20-minute walk or a relaxing swim will do wonders for your body. Another good form of exercise is performing heavy outdoor gardening chores such as mowing. The main key to having a regularly active lifestyle is working movement and muscle strengthening into your daily life. Chores are a great way to do this.

3. Choose supplements wisely.

Supplements are just that—an addition to a healthy diet. Even if you do your best to eat a balanced diet, a good multivitamin ensures your body gets important nutrients. Other additions such as cocoa flavanol supplements can give your body extra benefits. Check out some of my favorite supplements for ladies who are over 50 HERE.

4. Feed your soul as well as your body.

You are more than just a physical being. For a content, joyful existence, you need to nourish your spirit also. Whether it be daily meditation, movement such as Yoga, with a focus on its ancient spiritual origins rather than as mere exercise, regular time spent in nature, or other forms of contemplation, your heart needs attention as much as your hamstrings.

Meaningful and Lasting Changes

If you want to start building a healthier life, focus first on perception changes that lead to a different lifestyle. They, in turn, create new actions. Small shifts can change the long-term trajectory. Today’s choice to eat a whole-food-based meal and walk around the block can lead to a healthier life in years to come.