When you think about your New Year’s resolutions, it’s best to shoot for small adjustments to your routine. By making little tweaks to your day, you can change your mind, body, and home for the better in 2021 and beyond. Here are a few examples of new habits that should be your #goals for the forthcoming year.
Exercise for 30 minutes, five days a week.
We’ve all been stuck mostly indoors for the last nine months. If you’ve gained a few pounds in quarantine, it’s time to re-activate your activity level. Set a goal to exercise for 30 minutes, five days each week. You can download videos from GymRa to help you get started. Easy activities to consider are walking, swimming, and Pilates.
Why 30 minutes? This is typically the advice given by healthcare providers, including the American College of Sports Medicine. This is seen as enough time to get your heart rate up but not too long that you lose interest halfway throughout your workout. It’s easy to fit into your schedule, and you can even wake up half an hour early to squeeze in your fitness routine without interfering with your work or family time.
Make your home a healthy and inviting environment.
Although a vaccine is on the horizon, many parts of the country remain shut down. Many more businesses continue to require employees to work from home and school systems have largely gone remote. Since you will continue to spend time at home at least through spring, give yourself permission to make some changes here that will do your entire family some good. Relieve tension in the home by cleaning and decluttering, and let the negativity flow out of your space by opening the windows.
Rearranging the furniture in your living room and bedroom is also a great way to give your space new character. Moving the furniture around also gives you an opportunity to lay your hands on items that may have been gathering dust for months or years. And if you want your carpets and floors to look their best, moving the couch or bed to another spot will alter the traffic pattern so that your floors experience less wear and tear.
Quit buying food in boxes.
While the American Heart Association acknowledges that some processed foods, like salad and frozen vegetables, may be part of a healthy diet, boxed foods typically aren’t. Food that has been heavily processed, like a frozen meal or candy bar, is typically full of fat, sugar, and salt.
If you want to take control of your health, switch to whole foods instead. Whole foods are those that are easily recognizable, such as an apple. These contain the best and most easily absorbed and utilized vitamins, minerals, fibers, and other nutrients.
To eat more whole foods, consider shopping at your local farmers market or, during the offseason, organic grocery store. These places ensure that your food is minimally (if at all) processed and that it maintains its nutritional value. Buying foods at its peak freshness also gives you an opportunity to experiment and try new recipes. If you like spaghetti, for example, you can take tomatoes, onions, peppers, oregano, and other herbs and make your own sauce instead of buying the sugar-filled variety on the store shelf.
Your 2021 goals don’t have to be monumental. By making small tweaks to the way you live your life, such as exercising for 30 minutes, clearing out the clutter in your home, and swapping prepared foods for whole foods, you’ll be healthier, happier, and ready for whatever the new year may bring. Remember, changes don’t have to be huge to be impactful — anyone that tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something.
GymRa makes athletic wear and fitness videos for those of us who want to express our lifestyle in all that we do. Order online today.
