Hello, hello! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas break and are feeling ready to tackle the new year. And why not kick it off with a few healthy New Year resolutions? As someone said “healthy body, healthy spirit”. Feeling beautiful and healthy will ultimately make you feel more confident, happier and make it easier to achieve other goals in life. And, if that’s is not enough, let me drop this bomb – a healthier you means healthier and stronger nails! Ta da!
But the thing with resolutions is, we make them every year but how many of us actually accomplish them all? A recent article on IntoTheGloss wisely suggests the problem is that most of our resolutions are not ‘actionable’. In other words, they are too vague. “Smile more”, “Eat healthy”, “Do yoga at the sunrise”, “Become Jedi master” etc. The list can go on. I’ve done that too.
Then on one rainy evening you stumble upon a long forgotten list of resolutions and realise eating all those Lindt chocolates pretty much ruined your intention to eat healthy, sleeping in on weekends made impossible to try yoga at sunrise and you’re even not sure if you smiled more this year because your forgot to count all the smiles you made. So is the path to the eternal happiness is ruined by the resolutions that were too vague to begin with? Nope. We just need to change the approach.
So let’s stop getting into the vicious cycle of making resolutions that are too epic. Instead, we’ll put together a simple plan of daily actions that, over the year, will help you to get closer to your ultimate goal – in this case, a more beautiful and healthy you! Here’s the ultimate list of things you can actually do.
15 Resolutions For A More Beautiful and Healthy You:
1. Walk 20 minutes every day. There are about a thousand of reasons why walking is good for you and I’m sure you know most of them. So let’s make a deal, starting from today we’ll make time for a 20-minute walk. Whether it’s to buy groceries, get a coffee, visit Sephora or simply go for a walk around the block with your friends.
2. Exercise for 20 minutes 3 times a week. It doesn’t need to be a full on work out at the gym, you can totally exercise at home. No special gear required. Here’s a great list of home exercises. Just do one for your arms: push ups, one for your belly: plank and one for legs: squats. Alternatively, replace your daily 20-minute walk with a 20-minute run at your own pace.
3. Try 1 new yoga pose every day. It’s not a coincidence that most supermodels and celebrities are into yoga. It’s just that good! Attending yoga classes is not possible for everyone, but practicing yoga at home is. Here’s some great tips for yoga at home and here’s a full list of yoga poses with instructions. Some of them look complicated, but believe me, after a year of trying you’ll be able to do the same or at least get close.
4. Eat 1 portion of fruit every day. Apple, banana, mango… whatever it is you like the most. Make having fruit at home a priority, when you’re doing that 20 minute walk to the local grocery shop, get some fruits for yourself. Put them in the most visible place in your kitchen. Every time you have cravings for something sweet, make a conscious choice to eat fruit instead.
5. Limit your intake of sweets to 1 portion per day. Everybody knows eating a lot of bad sugars isn’t good for you but can you really give up all those delicious ice creams and chocolate? Honestly, I cant. So why not to just limit the amounts? For instance, it can be a muffin in the morning, or dessert in the evening, you choose. That way you’ll still satisfy your sweet tooth without skyrocketing your daily calorie intake.
6. Eat 1 portion of vegetables every day. It can be anything, a salad with vegetables or a warm dish, as long as it involves… vegetables. Chips and fries don’t count.
7. Take multivitamins daily. Even if you have a nutritious diet, good multivitamins can significantly help to improve overall well being and your skin, hair and nails. I like Swisse Women’s Ultivite.
8. Establish and maintain a proper daily skincare routine. Cleanse, tone and moisturize your face every morning and every evening, every day. RELIGIOUSLY. Executing a basic 3-step skin care regimen is central to having the healthy, attractive skin that you want. Weekly moisturizing and/or cleansing masks is a great bonus. Finally, DO NOT skip washing your face before you go to sleep. EVER.
9. Invest in great quality skincare. It always amuses me when people are willing to spend their money on drinks and dinners out but when it comes to skin care it’s always “No money”. In general, the amount you spend on one dinner out equals buying (at least!) one really good moisturiser. A moisturiser will last at least 6 months and your skin will thank you*. So what do you choose? A younger looking, glowing face or a hangover? Spend wisely and there will be always be money for your skin needs.
10. Drink at least 2 liters of water every day. As Zoolander said “Water is the essence of life”… Ok, just joking, but seriously, here’s 10 great reasons why drinking more water is good for you. Fuzzy drinks, hot tea and coffee don’t count. In fact, fuzzy drinks are full of sugar, so refer to Point 5. Yep, only 1 per day allowed ;)
11. Invest in a great hand cream and cuticle oil. I often hear “I use hand cream daily but it does nothing to my hands”. Well, try a different one, maybe level up and you’ll notice a difference. The same as with skin care, consider it an investment. Here’s a selection of great, affordable hand creams.
12. Avoid using nail polishes that contain any of the big 3 chemicals. Even better – go 5 free. I guess you all know why – Dibutyl Phthalate, Formaldehyde, Toluene (also Formaldehyde Resin, and Camphor) are best to be avoided. If not, in one of our future ‘Expert advice’ articles we’ll explain in great detail exactly why.
13. Spend 30 minutes everyday to unwind. Even in the busiest of times you surely can find 30 minutes to dedicate to yourself. Read a magazine, paint nails, take a bath or maybe try 5 new poses of yoga instead of just 1. Yoga is excellent for unwinding – Point 3 accomplished.
14. Reward yourself every week. Did you do that 20 minutes at home work out? Awesome! Reward yourself with something that you really wanted for a long time, maybe get one of the polishes you coveted for so long! Having a mini reward system in place often can help to do even the most difficult tasks.
15. Don’t give up. Persist. It takes time to establish healthy habits. So if at some point you’ll realise that you’ve ‘forgotten’ about one or two of your resolutions, make that neglected resolution your priority next week. Surely you can find those 20 minutes for a walk, after all – it’s your body and it’s totally up to you how it looks and feels. So make an effort, persist and you’ll see the change. You’re totally worth it!
So here’s to a more healthy and beautiful 2015!
Now, tell me…
What are your New Year’s resolutions? Will you join my quest to get healthy in 2015?
– Maria, xx
P.S. To take things even further, I set up a special Facebook group to monitor our progress and support each other. You can join the group here. Plus, I’ll be also occasionally sharing some reminders and progress reports on Instagram under tag #sngethealthy2015. Hope you’ll follow along! And, don’t forget to pin or even better, print out and laminate that list as a reminder!
