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Category: Seasonal Health & Lifestyle Guidelines
Published: Saturday, 11 March 2017 05:31

Effective Health-Related New Year Resolutions & How to Achieve Them

We can learn from the past, but the hope of a better tomorrow drives us forward in life!

Most of us become reflective at this time and set many new goals for the coming year. Health-related goals such as losing weight, exercising more, and eating better are probably some of the most common New Year resolutions. This article is meant to help you set more specific and achievable health goals so your likelihood of success is much greater.

Harness your motivation and set goals for 2024!

However, merely resolving to "be more healthy" and "eat better" is not enough.  We need to set clear steps that you can refer to, such as not eating potato chips after dinner or walking to the corner store instead of driving.

With my sincere hope you improve your health in 2024, I have taken the most typical health goals and provided examples of how to make them more specific, effective, and achievable:

Typical health goal #1: "Start Working Out"

Many people make this resolution year after year without success. Don't plan on purchasing equipment or joining a gym since these goals in themselves are not exercise. Make one specific goal, write it down, make a wall poster of it, and stick to it until you achieve it.  After that, make another goal.  Having one goal at a time makes change clear and achievable.  Here are some sample goals to get you started.  Don't forget to write your goal down!

Typical health goal #2: "Lose Weight"

Again many people make this New Year resolution year after year often with minimal success! Losing weight is the objective, but the goal should be to change habits that are not allowing your body to lose weight. For assured success, weight loss goals have to be bite-sized and easy to achieve lifestyle or eating habit changes like:

If you focus on changing your habits, your weight will gradually decrease as long as you keep changing your habits. Remember, after achieving one new habit, work on another one. With good eating habits and more physical activity, you will see improvement.  (I must say, however, that detoxification, particularly of the colon and liver, and proper digestion (agni), is also essential to reaching a healthy weight.)

Weight-loss Program & Testimonials

Typical health goal #3: "Eat Better"

Instead of thinking, "I'm going on a diet," think more about, "I'm going to change some of my eating habits." Then, list specific habits you would like to replace. Replacing a habit is more effective than trying to remove old habits.

Try one of these:

Other specific action steps can include:

Tip: Consider keeping a food journal to find specific areas to change. Remember, drinking water and herbal teas in between meals helps with food cravings.

Dietary Treatments & Testimonials

Typical health goal #4: "Quit Smoking."

Set a realistic quit date and give yourself time. Ensure you are not setting yourself up for failure by trying to quit during an especially stressful time. Of course, first of all, clear your home of all smoking-related paraphernalia (cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, etc.).  Other effective methods include writing down all the reasons you want to quit smoking on a small card, carry it with you every day, and read it regularly.

Set action steps to reduce your tobacco intake slowly, like:

Also, think about a plan to deal with cravings and stressful situations. Start carrying dried fruit or nuts and eat some each time you crave a cigarette.

Additionally, it is important not to spend time with other smokers and find new social environments that are smoke-free. Ask your family and friends to support you and even encourage you to stop.  Many people have found that replacing tobacco cigarettes with clove cigarettes and other smoking herbs like lobelia is an effective way to kick the nicotine addiction.  Ayurvedic Medicine does have herbal formulas that support the withdrawal from tobacco/nicotine addiction.

I always educate my clients who wish to stop smoking on the many harmful health effects of smoking, not only to the respiratory system but the long-term carcinogenic effects and the high cancer rate for those who smoke, etc.  Do some online research about the harm of cigarette smoking to motivate yourself further to stop.

I have a nicotine withdrawal program, which includes a Smokers Tea to reduce nicotine cravings and a Smokers Blend to replace tobacco.

Typical health goal #5: "Reduce Stress."

Reducing stress is an elusive process, but it can be achieved with small but consistent lifestyle changes. Identify and write down your stressors. Identify positive steps you can take and what sources of support you have when you are stressed.

Here are some suggestions:

Anxiety-reducing program and testimonials 

Typical health goal #6: "Give Up Fast Food."

It is not easy to give up all fast food because it's a physical addiction to fat, salt, and sugar. Begin by familiarizing yourself with healthier options when eating out, like good Mexican, Indian, Chinese, and health food restaurants. Try these new places instead of the old fast-food places until you find new favorites. I pack nutritious and delicious meals and snacks wherever I go to avoid eating out unless I know where I will eat.

Set a specific, achievable action step like:

Typical health goal #7: "Stop Drinking Soda."

It may be difficult to cut out all sugary drinks from your diet simultaneously. Think about ways to decrease the amount of soda you are drinking. For example, drink sweet fruit juices instead to develop new tastes or try substitutions like flavored water, honey-sweetened tea, or green tea. Slowly replace soda with juice and then eventually replace juice with water and herbal teas.

An example of a solid goal is:

Typical health goal #8: "Drink More Water."

Ask yourself how you can increase your water intake. One of the easiest ways to stay hydrated, particularly if you have dry skin, is to eliminate dried fruits and even dry vegetables like mushrooms and eat more soups and wet dishes. Drinking herbal teas and green tea is easier and healthier than drinking water all day. Set realistic, specific steps you can achieve, like:

Typical health goal #9: "Get More Sleep."

Sleep is essential for good health. Lack of sleep exasperates conditions like anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Think about ways you can reach this goal. An example of an action step might be:

Set a specific bedtime, and stick to a consistent schedule to enable your body's internal clock to get in into a sleeping rhythm. Children can especially benefit from having a consistent routine for getting to bed at the same time each night.

Testimonials regarding insomnia

Typical health goal #10: "Get Healthy."

Forget this goal!  It's just not specific enough unless you define it in some tangible terms, such as:

Schedule online

Common Health Concerns:

Do you have high blood pressure?

If so you want to reduce sodium and animal protein in your diet.

Cardiovascular Program & Testimonials

Do you have pain and inflammation?

If so you need to start with eliminating inflammatory foods like chocolate, coffee, citrus, and nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, and chill peppers. Taking herbal formulas and reducing the toxicity level in your body can eliminate inflammation and, thus pain.

Anti-inflammatory Program & Testimonials

Do you have diabetes?

If so, then you need to completely eliminate your sugar and starch intake as well as commit to healthy eating habits (without snacking) and the right foods to stabilize blood sugar. By combining dietary changes with the right herbal formulas and detoxification, you have an effective program for stabilizing blood sugar levels naturally.

Blood Sugar Program & Testimonials

Do you have high cholesterol?

Of course, you want to increase your intake of soluble fiber like the fiber found in oatmeal, seeds and leafy greens because soluble fiber will significantly lower your cholesterol levels. You should reduce your intake of saturated fats and increase your intake of omega-3 essential fatty acids such as from flax oil.  Many effective herbal medicines can further lower fat lipids in the blood. Detoxification of the liver, however, will still be necessary.

Cardiovascular Program

Are you overweight?

Of course, you need to decrease your calorie intake and increase your physical exercise, but just as importantly, you need to cleanse the colon and detox the liver.

Weight-loss Program

Conclusion:

Author and time management specialist Stephen Covey, in his book First Things First, talks about the need to stay focused on the things that are truly important and not to give in to the time-consuming demands of things that might appear to be important but are really not crucial to your life's goals and overall mission. That's good advice when it comes to setting goals and particularly supports the importance of improving one's health since without good health all other goals become less achievable. 

I wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year, Khabir.