First things first happy new year!!

Whether or not reflecting on the previous year brings feelings of happiness or sadness, we can all look to the new year with hope. Hope for happiness, hope for health and hope for laughter along the way.

Strange as it sounds, whenever the year starts again, I always feel like the house feels different, fresh almost. I kind of feel like I can feel the New Year come in and that there’s a sense of renewal in the air and my surroundings, especially my home.

However, this was the first year that I didn’t get that strong sense of renewal, so I’m lacking the little motivation I normally have.

January always feels like a month where you need to have made some positive changes to your life which you can look back on in months to come and see progress of improvement. It can be somewhat pressurising, especially where you know you haven’t been feeling your best and there are things that you can do but your stuck in a rut and have a mountain to climb for a small bit of success.

I am not able to give you the secret to success for this. If I knew, I would do it myself and share knowledge of course but what I do want to do, is share a few things which I am hoping to do, in order to feel better in my mind and body but without any pressure to complete a goal or punish yourself if you don’t get there.

If you are looking to improve your overall health and wellness, you are not alone. I am no expert but what I will say is above all else, please be kind to yourself. Give yourself a chance, give yourself a break, no matter what stage you are in your journey of improvement or maintenance. You are probably much kinder to the people around you than you are to yourself. 

My first piece of advise: If you are going to pick something to improve and you are stuck. Pick one thing and take it day by day.

Advise point 2: If you need to address issues of the mind such as low mood, anxiety, low self esteem, depress, insomnia, please speak to your GP and talk to those around you, someone you can trust. Yes they are not your counsellor but they can just be a listening ear, there for you and a supporter for you as you move forward and make progress.

If you are seeking help of the GP, task yourself to pick up the phone and call the doctor. That’s it, no more, no less. Just do that one thing, pat yourself on the back and then follow the steps the GP ask you to take. The most positive thing I did last year was start therapy, it really is worth it!

So some of the goals and things I am looking to do this year are:

Move my body more

Since I moved home, I haven’t found a gym that offers all the things I want and this has massively reduced my activity levels and I have felt awful for it and my goal is to try and find a gym that’s right for me. In the meantime, I am challenging myself to 10/15 minutes of yoga 3 times a week and go for nice country walks where I can.

Better quality produce. For me, this means eating more higher quality and/or organic foods where I can. At the moment, my meat is about 20% free range and I have about 20% organic fruits and vegetables. Where I can afford to, I am trying to only eat organic eggs, non bleached flour and wild fish. I am making an effort to research into things and make more informed choices, one example is that I have switched my mayonnaise from the standard Heinz or Hellmans to 

Consistent juicing. I feel much better within myself when I start the day with a green juice of some sort. I also notice that my skin is generally brighter when I drink a green juice daily.

Green juice ingredients  (serves 2):

• 1 stick of Celery (chopped)
• 1/4 of a Cucumber (chopped)
• 1 handful of Spinach (copped finely)
• 1 tsp Spirulina
• The juice of 1 lemon or lime (organic pre-pressed juice is also fine if you don’t have a juicer or looking for convenience)
• Knob of fresh ginger (Peeled and chopped)
• Knob of fresh tumeric (peeled and chopped)

Instructions:

• Just add all the ingredients below into the nutribullet and then fill with water up to the max limit mark then whizz up!
• My top piece of advice is to chop as small as you can, especially the ginger, to avoid any pulpy bits in the drink.

Less sugar

Sugar really took a stronghold over me in 2023. If you are finding any areas of your life that are giving you stress, you would be amazed at how much that can drive sugar cravings. I my goal is to cut out refined sugar for the rest of the month as a kickstarter and see how I feel without it. That might sound drastic, but if I can do nothing else nothing else on this list, this is the one thing that I will try to absolutely do. Reducing sugar intake is not a short term goal of mine. Reducing chocolates and sweets to once or twice a week is my aim, rather than always looking for a nightly sweet snack!

Less processed foods

Being busy and experiencing stress last year meant that I struggled to find time to eat well and make meals from scratch. Instead I opted for convenience and relied heavily on my partner to prepare meals. However, if you are not careful, it can mean adding a lot of extra, salt, sugar and unnecessary preservatives into the diet which can really not make you feel great and isn’t good for the body overall. Where I can make things from scratch rather than buy things ready made i.e. a pie, I will opt to do so. It is not about never getting a take away or never eating oven cooked chips, just about trying to increase whole foods and reduce eating all the extra chemicals that are added into processed foods.

If you are looking to make other goals, such as financial, travel, adding hobbies or joining a group to make friends. Write them down and try to flesh out small achievable steps to achieve them.

Some other goals ideas could be to give more to charities, spend more time with family and friends, learning a language or learning to drive.

To give yourself a daily reminder, making a mood board which you can look at daily to remind yourself what you want to achieve and keep on track is a great help.

If you are struggling to find motivation to push for achieving new goals, I recommend a book called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. I love this book and have used it to make changes to my morning routine which resulted in me achieving a huge goal that made a huge difference to my income and quality of life.

Books can really help you get some motivation that you might be lacking if you are open and willing to follow the guidance.

And lastly, above all, be kind to yourself and remain hopeful. Tell the negative voice to go back in it’s box and leave you alone!! 

Take care, much love and good luck!

Thea!