Body Kindness author and Registered Dietician Nutritionist Rebecca Scritchfield shares 5 health resolutions that focus on the positive. 

Ahhhh . . . resolutions. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we can’t help ourselves come New Year’s Day. As we slowly come out of our sugar- and booze-filled comas we notice, perhaps, that our pants feel a little tighter and our bodies feel a little weaker. Suddenly we’re motivated to do something about it.

But before you pick up that diet book, you should know that 95% of dieters regain their weight eventually. Quite frankly, you don’t need a diet, but you do need to get back on track—whatever that was for you, to a time when you felt good, full of energy, and happier.

The truth is, we all feel like we need to find our “reset” buttons right about now, which is just another sign that our miraculous body knows what is best for us. When you feel “icky” your body is asking you to bring back the vegetables and find your yoga gear. Listen to those calls and give yourself some time, like all of January, to find the healthy habits you temporarily shelved since fall.

Instead of opening a joyless weight loss book, open your calendar and start scheduling time to do the things that matter, like exercising, meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. Try to make it as fun as possible and, even when it’s not fun, remind yourself of your newfound motivation to be good to your body (no dieting required).

As you get back on your healthy track, here are five surprising ideas for health resolutions that actually work to help you create a better life. These ideas will refresh your mindset and spiral up your energy and mood for your best 2017 yet.

5 Health Resolutions

1. Go on a tech diet.

This is the only cleanse that gets my endorsement. Technology is a distraction that makes us more anxious, sad, and silently steals precious minutes of our day we could be spending on ourselves. Those white screens delay our natural sleep and wake cycles, messing with our much needed shut-eye as well. I’m setting a screen-time boundary of at least twelve hours a day, seven days a week. I’m charging my phone in another room, and going back to the old shrill of my alarm clock to wake up. What about you?

2. Manifest happiness.

It may sound like complete “crazy talk” to say you can create a better life just by sheer will, but let me try to rationalize it. Think about what truly brings you joy. Have any hobbies? These are the very things we tend to cross off our schedules for lack of time and yet we wonder why life isn’t fun anymore. If you want to enjoy 2017 more, create the happiness you want by spending time on the things that matter to you. Even if they have nothing to do with physical health, the benefits to your emotional well-being will influence your energy and desire to maintain personal health goals. Not to mention, happier people are healthier. Life is too short and too precious. Don’t miss out on it with endless tasks that don’t love you back.

3. Love more.

Speaking of love, we all need more, which is why it’s “my word” for 2017. In her book, Love 2.0, Barbara Fredrickson calls love the supreme emotion. She says it changes you from the inside out. It’s not just typical romantic love either, but micro moments of connection we can experience with anyone. Heads up and phones away when you’re walking down the street. Smile and say “hello” to more people. Take lunch breaks again and have lengthy conversations. She says when we feel love and notice it in our lives, it can change our mood and even the function of our bodies, boosting our immunity and helping us deal better with stress.

4. Take pleasure in eating.

I don’t know about you, but extreme food rules make me want to push back in the opposite direction and eat a box of gluten-, sugar-, and fat-filled powdered donuts. But my body would say, “Noooo!!! Why do you do this to me?” Ironically, the answer to better eating is not eliminating foods or ingredients. The pleasure-seeking human brain lights up with excitement when we eat just like it does with sex because we need both of these things to survive as a species. Unfortunately, decades of diet culture have led us to believe that if we are enjoying food, we are doing something wrong and we are risking losing control and overeating. False alarm, folks. The problem is in removing the pleasure and avoiding the food. Only when you have permission to savor your bites of lasagna, chocolate cake, or kale and quinoa salad do you actually feel full and satisfied and ready to put your fork down. Try it for 2017 and feel the freedom of never dieting again.

5. Seek contentment.

For everything you hear about stress being a problem in our society (it is), you might not realize that we bring even more of it on ourselves. Our drive for self-improvement can cultivate perfectionism in an instant. When nothing is ever good enough, we get stressed. How about you cut yourself a break in 2017 and start seeking satisfaction. You’re good enough as you are—mind, body, and heart, even if you want to make changes. Start from a place of love for the being that exists and walk her in the direction you want to go in life, hand in hand. This time, notice the good things already happening every day in your life.

What health resolutions are you setting for 2017? Leave a comment below.

About the Book:

Imagine a graph with two lines. One indicates happiness, the other tracks how you feel about your body. If you’re like millions of people, the lines do not intersect. But what if they did?

This practical, inspirational, and visually lively book shows you how to create a healthier and happier life by treating yourself with compassion rather than shame. It shows the way to a sense of well-being attained by understanding how to love, connect, and care for yourself—and that includes your mind as well as your body.

Body Kindness is based on four principles.
WHAT YOU DO: the choices you make about food, exercise, sleep, and more
HOW YOU FEEL: befriending your emotions and standing up to the unhelpful voice in your head
WHO YOU ARE: goal-setting based on your personal values
WHERE YOU BELONG: body-loving support from people and communities that help you create a meaningful life

With mind and body exercises to keep your energy spiraling up and prompts to help you identify what YOU really want and care about, Body Kindness helps you let go of things you can’t control and embrace the things you can by finding the workable, daily steps that fit you best. Think of it as the anti-diet book that leads to a more joyful and meaningful life!

Buy the Book
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