Healthy Tips to Start the Year off Right

You’ve eaten all of the holiday treats, ripped through wrapping paper, and celebrated with loved ones. Now the decorations are being boxed up, festivities are over, and family and friends are returning to their own homes. As things mellow out, fatigue sets in and motivation to stay healthy often diminishes. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way; you can start the year off right!

The 2018 Super Run 10k/5k takes place on February 3rd at the South Shores Park (just east of Sea World). This run offers A fast 10K course with a beautiful run along Crown Point as well as fast 5K course along South Shores and Fiesta Island. This presents the perfect opportunity to start off 2017 by taking strides towards a healthier and more positive you!

We’ve rounded up six other tips for recovering from the holidays and kicking off 2017 the right way.

1. Relish in Healthy foods & Stay Hydrated

Provide your body with healthy food options and fluids. Magnesium-rich foods can support your body recover from holiday stress. Whip up a homemade trail mix snack with almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Or, enjoy a lush salad of collard greens, baby spinach, kale, and avocado.

Drinking plenty of water can help control calorie intake, boost energy, and promote clearer thinking. Start your day off with a glass of water and keep water with you throughout the day. Get creative with your water by adding fresh citrus fruits or cucumbers!

We’ve created a list of eight homemade green juices that can help with this, and you can find it here.

2. Organize Your Fridge with Healthy Foods

Where and what you place in your refrigerator can affect your day-to-day eating habits. Stock high-fiber foods, lean proteins, and water on the middle shelves towards the front for easy access. Keep the leftover pecan pie and casseroles towards the back. Of course, we wouldn’t want you to waste holiday leftovers! Just keep the portions small and freeze the remaining leftovers.

3. Get Back into the Groove with Your Kitchen

Dining out may seem like the realistic choice after the holidays; however, that habit may snowball into a frequent pattern. Homemade meals are considerably more cost efficient and healthy. You are more likely to be tempted with unhealthy foods and desserts while dining out. A study done by Public Health Nutrition found that people who ate at full service restaurants consumed on average an additional 200 calories a day. Save dining out for special occasions, don’t make it the norm.

4. Get Moving

Start out 2017 with low-intensity workouts such as hiking, tai chi, yoga, or water aerobics. Eventually, you will build up your endurance to higher intensity workouts including weight training and interval training.

Here’s a list of places in San Diego where you can exercise outdoors, whether you are a busy parent, an expert runner, or a beginner jogger you can find the perfect location:

5. Reflect on Core Values

Whether you self-reflect daily, weekly, monthly, or annually, reflection is imperative for self-improvement and growth. There’s no better way to start the year off right than by delving into the values you want to stand for. Unhappiness, stress, and anxiety are often the result of poor decisions that don’t represent your core values. Chronic levels of stress and anxiety can lead to weight gain and fatigue. Consider these ten questions as you engage in self-reflection and how 2017 will be the best year yet.

6. Realistic Lifestyle Goals

We tend to start off the New Year with fantasized, unrealistic goals and lose momentum within a month. Instead, make weekly, realistic resolutions that later amass to long-term differences. This way, you’ll be sure to keep the momentum going by making smaller goals that are attainable!

While the holidays are filled with festivities and not so healthy foods, it’s important to take time to get back on track to a healthy lifestyle. Scripps Affiliated Medical Groups Primary Care Physicians can help you stay on track with your health and wellness plans this year.

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