New Year Health goals?

Many a New Years resolution is focussed on the desire to change something about our body. We want to be be slimmer, fitter, have more energy. We want to quit smoking, or sugar, start eating a certain diet, or doing a certain form of exercise. These are all great goals but somehow we rarely manage to achieve them.

To help us in our quest we turn to the cornucopia of information available, and most likely throw up our hands in confusion before we can even say Happy New Year!  If this sounds like you, you are far from alone! I hear the confusion from my clients all the time. But there are a few ways to get really clear about your goal, and just as importantly, really clear about how to achieve it. 

Here’s two of my favourites below:

Reverse engineer your health goal

This means really taking stock of what’s important to you when it comes to your health. Maybe your Dad had an early heart attack and you really want to be doing everything to be heart healthy. Maybe you can’t last 5 minutes running around with your kids or your mum had breast cancer and you want to do everything you can to prevent it in yourself. Figuring out the powerful ‘why’ behind your goal will help you with clarifying ‘what’ exactly your goal is.  Once you have your ‘what’ you can start to flesh out the ‘how’. Get specific about the steps you need to get there.

Logically we all know this, but most of us still get caught up in thinking more reactively. Plucking goals from anywhere and everywhere. You read that kombucha is good for digestion so you add home brewing to your goals. You’ve been meaning to go gluten free for years so this will be the year. Then what about joining that yoga studio your friend goes to. Yes, that’s really important. It’s no surprise that we usually fail come February!  

Consider a theme

Another strategy for goal setting is theming. I often talk to clients about deciding on a theme for the year rather than a resolution. It might be that your theme is exercise, so you sign up to several events throughout the year to promote compliance. Perhaps your theme is better sleep but you know you need advice and encouragement. So pre-book and pre-pay for a year’s worth of sessions with a naturopath or nutritionist. These anchors to your goal (sports events and appointments) set you up to succeed. There are not many people that can achieve big change without the help, accountability and support of someone else, so never be afraid to seek out what you need to help you achieve your goal.  

If you can’t think of a theme for yourself one that works well for just about everyone is blood sugar balance. Balancing this extremely important reaction in the body benefits us in so many ways that I’ve expanded on it here. Taking up a few of these recommendations will ensure you go forwards not backwards with your health in the coming year.

Why is it so important?
In short, when we have balanced blood sugars we can think more clearly, burn fat more efficiently, and enjoy a steady mood. Not to mention preventing type 2 diabetes and all its unpleasant complications. Everything we eat eventually becomes blood glucose (sugar). Our body couldn’t survive without it. Every cell in our body uses glucose to do its job. The problem comes when we eat foods which lead to higher than healthy levels of glucose in the blood.  

If everything we eat becomes glucose in the end, why does it matter what you eat? Well, it’s like the story of the Hare and the Tortoise. You can think of some foods like the hare and some foods like the tortoise. Some foods break down into glucose very quickly, give a flurry of energy then burn out just as fast. Other foods are slow and steady like the tortoise, providing slow but sustained energy and winning the race eventually!  

The foods that lead to a quick rise in blood sugar demand a lot of work from the pancreas to produce more insulin and get it back down to normal. This is hard on your pancreas and if your diet is endlessly demanding more and more insulin, a condition called insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes, can develop.  

Golden rules for balancing blood sugar:

• Limit  simple carbohydrates (sugar, fruit juice, cakes, biscuits, white flour, most alcohol)
• Have only moderate amounts of complex carbohydrates (brown rice, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, wholegrain oats, quinoa, buckwheat etc)
• Have protein with every meal (nuts, seeds, red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes or beans)
• Include some good fat with each meal as well (olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, coconut oil)
• Eat 5 cups of vegetables daily

 Note: these recommendations are for otherwise healthy people. If you have any form of diabetes it’s important to talk to your healthcare professional before changing your diet.

I think goals are great. After all, without a target you'll miss it very time! But also remember that focussing endlessly on self improvement is a trap in and of itself.

These days we are constantly bombarded with messages that we need to be better than we are. More fit, more slim, eat better, be richer, be a better parent, travel more, drive a better car, wear newer clothes. These messages come to us mainly in the form of advertising, but now also in the form of self help advice. It’s hard to feel like you and your life are great when you hear these messages so frequently.

A great antidote to this trap is being grateful for everything and everyone in your life, and the amazing body you possess. Works every time.  

“Small, deliberate actions inspired by your TRUE desires create a life you love” – Danielle Laporte