“This year, I’m going to lose 20 pounds!” ~Anne
“Starting January 1st, I’m gonna exercise for an hour each day.” ~LaDawn
“I plan to quit eating sweets this year.” ~Marta
Have you ever made grand New Year’s resolutions like these? An ambitious goal can be a motivator that energizes you to make a big change. Or it may set you up for disappointment halfway through January when you realize your goal is unrealistic.
If you’re not feeling the “New Year, New You” vibe as the calendar turns, it’s totally OK. After decades of New Year’s resolutions, the pressure to reinvent yourself through a lofty goal can feel like a punishment. And who needs that?
If you want to take your self-care to the next level without feeling pressured, try taking baby steps to nurture your body and soul. Start with a small change that you can stick to on most days. What’s one positive way you can be kind to yourself? Here are some ideas to get you started.
Drink more water
Water makes up about 60% of your body weight. But during busy days, it’s easy to forget to drink, so many of us walk around partially dehydrated. And that’s a problem because even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, headaches, and impaired memory and brain performance. The last thing we need during menopause is more brain fog!
Women need 11.5 cups of water daily from food and beverages. If you struggle with this, drinking even just one extra glass a day is a good start. Put a glass on your dresser and drink it as soon as you wake up. Drink a glass between meals – that’s actually 2 a day. If you don’t like plain water, use a flavoring or add lemon juice.
Upgrade your nutrition
Food directly affects your energy and how your body functions. That’s because what you eat is broken down and then used as building materials for your cells, tissues, and organs.
An easy upgrade is to add a nutritious food each day or swap out a so-so food for a nutrient-dense option. Depending on what you usually eat, there are lots of ways to do this:
- Eat a fruit and a vegetable at each meal.
- Swap out your sugary breakfast muffin for protein-rich Greek yogurt or eggs.
- Instead of chips, munch on a handful of nuts.
- Replace your sugary flavored creamer with coconut milk.
- Keep a big bowl of salad in the fridge and eat some every day with dinner.
- Ditch the bottled salad dressing and make your own with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
Declutter something
Too much stuff can negatively affect our well-being and how we view our homes. Tossing or donating things you don’t need can make you feel lighter and free. Pick one space and clean it out. Maybe a kitchen drawer or your coat closet. Or go through your shoes and get rid of pairs you don’t wear. Sort through a pile of papers — file what’s important and throw away anything you don’t need.
Do exercise snacks
A new buzzword in the fitness world is “exercise snacks,” which are short bursts — like 1-5 minutes — of vigorous exercise. Studies show that just 3 exercise snacks a day is linked to improved heart and lung health and a reduced risk of dying from cancer or heart disease.
What counts as an exercise snack? Jumping jacks, stair climbing, jogging in place. You can even put on music and dance around! Experts suggest doing a short warm-up before you go all out with the vigorous activity.
Resurrect a hobby
As women, we tend to push aside our own needs and care for those around us, so doing things we love can fall by the wayside as time passes. But hobbies can nourish our emotional health and be an outlet for creativity.
If you used to be a knitter, buy some yarn and carve out time to work on a scarf. Is there a pile of books gathering dust? Go to bed a little early each night and read a few pages. Sketch a portrait. Go line dancing. Play the piano. Do the feed-your-soul thing you’ve been missing. As you hang a new wall calendar, look forward to a year of wellness and hope. What positive change will you make?
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