A new year is upon us, bringing with it opportunities for new beginnings! What better time than now to commit to helping yourself achieve a healthier and more balanced lifestyle? Remember - wellness is a journey and not a destination, and success rests upon making small changes over a long period of time.

The New Year is a time to reflect on the changes we want or need to make. Many of us, with good intentions, make big resolutions that we cannot keep, leading to feelings of failure and guilt. The obvious question is: how can we make New Year’s resolutions that are both healthy and attainable?

Resolutions should be kept simple to increase the chances of making a lifestyle change, not just an empty promise. Instead of buying a year long gym membership, promising to lose 30 pounds or quit drinking cold turkey, try aiming for one or two of these lifestyle changes:

• At dinner time, fill half the plate with vegetables.
• Limit red meat consumption to one time weekly.
• Limit coffee to one cup daily.
• Increase your daily water intake by one glass.
• Substitute candy with one small square of 70% or higher dark chocolate.
• Red wine is a healthier choice of alcohol. Aim for no more then one glass daily.
• A 15 minute walk around the block three times weekly.
• 10 deep abdominal breaths every night before bed for calm and relaxation.
• Go to bed before 11 pm on weeknights (every hour before midnight is worth two.)
• Every supermarket outing, try a new fruit or vegetable that you haven’t previously tried.
• Aim for one vegetarian dinner per week: try lentils, beans, tofu, or tempeh.
• When going out for dinner, eat half the meal and save the other half for lunch the next day. Start or end the meal with a garden salad.
• Instead of store-bought salad dressing, make your own: olive oil, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, garlic.
• Try brown rice pasta and rice instead of plain white.
• End each shower with 15 seconds cold to stimulate the circulatory and immune systems.
• Start each morning with the juice of ¼ lemon in a cup of warm water to prepare your body for digestion and stimulate your lymphatics (immune system.)
• Relax! Even if it is for only 15 minutes each day. Take a hot shower, read a book, or enjoy a cup of herbal tea.
• Play! Do something that makes you smile everyday.

Last, but not least, remember to reward yourself as you attain these healthy goals.

Happy New Year!