The new year is finally here! For many, this is the time to begin thinking about how we would like this year to look. With record coronavirus cases rising, staying healthy is at the top of everyone’s list. What does this look like coming into the new year? Are your goals focused on losing weight, building muscle, or improving overall health? We have compiled a list of 10 healthy habits that are easy to incorporate during these uncertain times. These habits are meant to be creative yet easy to implement. Instead of restriction and overworking, we are replacing or adding healthy habits to help reach attainable goals.
10 Healthy Habits for 2021
Kickstart 2021 with these top 10 healthy habits for a happy and healthy new year.
Drink More Water
This one may seem overused and cliche, but studies show that adequate water intake holds so many benefits in regard to our health. With over 60% of our bodies being made of water, it is a key ingredient to keep our bodies sustaining our health and wellness. Water distributes oxygen to our bodies, protects our vital organs, aids in digestion, and helps encourage weight loss.
Find Ways to be More Active
With the urge for everyone to stay at home, it can be challenging to find ways to be active especially if you are used to going to the gym or taking exercise classes. However, increasing physical activity can help you sustain good energy levels, boost your immune system, and keep your body running the way it should. Also, advantages include lowering cholesterol, aiding in good sleep, and improving mood.
Create a Routine
Being intentional about where your time goes is essential to staying focused on your health goals. Creating a morning and night routine can direct your time and attention toward healthy things. Helpful things to add to your routines could be workouts, meditations, prayer, self-care, and journaling. Consistency and accountability help keep routines successful by helping us meet our health and wellness goals.
Find a New Hobby to Try
Many, if not all, people have lost the ability to do things they normally love doing since the pandemic started. Hobbies such as movie theaters, hanging out with friends, sporting events, and other public activities had to come to a halt for safety reasons. Some new hobbies that also happen to be COVID friendly, include disk golf, follow an online exercise class, or challenging a friend in a virtual step challenge.
Stick to Your Grocery List
Being prepared is one of the best ways to reach your goals. Meal prepping and sticking to your grocery list are two ways to stick to your healthy habits and New Year’s resolutions in 2021. With the rise of COVID-19, delivery and online services have become more popular in order to keep people at home. If you are avoiding the public and/or have a hard time sticking to your grocery list, a delivery or online option may work for you. After all, you cannot eat what you do not keep in the house.
Practice Self-Care
Now more than ever, practicing healthy self-care is a necessity. Self-care is the act of doing something for yourself to preserve or protect one’s health. This could be a warm bubble bath, a nice afternoon nap, reading a book, or even a good workout. Making time to take care of yourself will help you feel recharged and help alleviate stress, especially during high-stress times like the one we are currently in.
Use Positive Affirmations Daily
Positive affirmations are words of encouragement that we can speak into our lives. In a world of uncertainty with this epidemic, positive affirmations are a great way to keep your mind focused on the positivity you would like to keep in your life. Some great ones to start out the new year are “the possibilities are endless”, “I will be kind to myself and others today”, “I am grateful for all that I have, and “I accomplish anything I focus on”. What sort of affirmations can you speak into your life to create a positive, healthy year?
Improve Sleep Quality
Good quality sleep is essential to health. On average, adults should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep. Ideally, this sleep would be uninterrupted and leave you feeling rested when you wake. If these are not happening, it may be a good thing to bring up to your personal doctor. Pending that there are no health concerns regarding sleep, some additional things that may help include: Creating a comfortable sleeping space, being active during the day, and resisting a nap throughout the day so that you are tired by bedtime.
Find Fun Swaps
Another trick for healthy habits is to swap your favorites with a healthier version. This keeps your mind and body from feeling restricted but it makes it a bit healthier. Here are some of our favorite swaps: White rice for cauliflower rice, soft drinks for flavored water, candy for dried fruit, ground beef for ground turkey, and whole milk for almond milk. Substitutions like this help decrease calorie intake, add extra nutrients, and will keep you fuller longer so that your body can sustain its activities in a day.
Start a Gratitude Journal
If there is one thing that combats hopelessness and defeat, it is being grateful. After a year of this pandemic, isolation can cause a lot of feelings like this to come up. Keeping a list of positive, grateful things in your life help keep the negativity at bay and increase mood. In addition to keeping the list, reading it in times of overwhelm or even daily reminders as part of your morning or nightly routine.
Start These Healthy Habits Today!
These tips are just a guide for implementing some healthy habits for the new year. Like we said before, you don’t have to restrict anything to be successful. Implementing healthy routines, finding new hobbies, and adding healthy substitutions are great ways to hit those healthy new year’s resolutions safely and in a healthy way. At Dedication Health, we wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.