It’s a new year! (Insert all the cliche “New Year, New Me” statements)

Let me guess, your New Year’s resolution is to eat healthier. To lose weight. Listen, those are AMAZING resolutions. The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that no one keeps them. Not generally past February, anyway. We’ve all been there. The goal is to create a balanced and healthy lifestyle year-round.

So how do you maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle year-round?

 

1. All things in moderation

We have all heard this one before. But it’s true. It’s the real key to staying healthy year-round. The problem with hopping on the fad-diet train is that yes, you can lose weight. But ask yourself if you plan on keeping this diet up indefinitely. Most likely, the answer is no. When you go back to whatever you were eating previously, the weight will come back. Instead, if you apply the “all things in moderation” method, you aren’t drastically cutting out anything (depriving yourself), but you aren’t over-indulging either. This applies to sugar, alcohol, fats, etc. It’s the difference between eating a piece of chocolate or eating an entire tub of ice cream and ending up hating yourself.

 

2. Positive food choices

This one is obvious. It’s more about choosing to get more nutrients in our bodies. Thinking about food as fuel can also impact what we put in our mouth. Along with choosing to eat better, vitamins are key. Even if you feel you are getting them in your diet, chances are you aren’t getting enough. Taking a healthy multi-vitamin is great! I prefer a basic multi-vitamin and take One-a-day Women’s.

 

3. Staying active

Yes, this can mean frequenting the gym, but that’s not the only way to stay active. It can be as simple as parking farther away (I know, that idea is foreign), taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to the mailbox, etc.

For me, the easiest way to motivate myself to get active is to get new activewear! It’s true. Buy the clothes, show them off. It’s science. Okay, maybe not literally. But it’s a mental powerplay that actually works.

 

Here’s some of the new adidas activewear that I’ve been loving showing off lately:

 

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Grab them for yourself

 

You can buy my favorite adidas leggings shown in the above photos, here!

 

Want these awesome white kicks you can wear anywhere? You can find them here! (Bonus: these shoes are on SALE!)

 

But wait, there’s more

 

Are you ready to have your mind blown? Not only do I love adidas clothing, but they also have a killer workout app!

The adidas running app gives you the opportunity to track your workouts, has built-in training options, and get THIS – you can even enter your shoes and it will tell you how many miles you have put on them and when they are ready to retire! Mind. Literally. Blown.

 

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*This is a sponsored post by adidas. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.*

4. Manage stress

As many of us know, a lot of health issues come from stress alone. When my mom went through cancer treatments the doctors told her to avoid stress at all costs. While I understand that it can be easier said than done, remember that focusing on our mental health is just as important as focusing on what we put in our bodies and how much we move them.

 

5. Hold yourself accountable

Failing at goals is normal. All the cool entrepreneurs are doing it.

When you fail, it’s easy to feel sad, embarrassed, angry, or resent the whole goal altogether and distance yourself from responsibility in the future. That is wrong. It is important to be responsible for achieving your goals. Otherwise, you’ll never do anything, ever again. So instead…

 

6. Embrace your failures

There are many factors that can discourage you from being accountable when it comes to goals. Fear of failure is the most common of them. You’ll only fail if you set yourself up for failure. Instead, set yourself up for success. Write down your goals and keep them somewhere you can visually see them. Remember, failing at goals is normal. The important thing is that you are held accountable for both your failures and successes. And don’t forget the most important part: learning to forgive yourself when you don’t meet your own expectations.

 

7. Celebrate all the wins

We often tend to focus on the things that we HAVEN’T accomplished. Instead, focus on how far you have come from where you were. Celebrating all the wins means celebrating the small ones. Every step in the right direction matters, even if you have set-backs.

Celebrating wins encourages the heart because it emphasizes the reality that we really are moving forward. When life is just one long string of events, those events run together without separators. Celebrating wins emphasizes that we really are going somewhere good and we actually have a chance of getting where we want to be.

 

8. Be kind to yourself

Be kind to others, but first, be kind to yourself. We are our own worst enemy. We constantly look in the mirror and judge what we see. We criticize and talk down about ourselves. We forget how powerful our own words and thoughts can be. We often feel that saying something nice about ourselves makes us narcissistic or selfish. When is the last time you looked in the mirror and said something kind to yourself? Try starting every day looking in the mirror, and saying out loud one you actually LIKE about yourself. It can be a very foreign concept and difficult to do at first. These can be things you like in your appearance, but also personality traits you admire about yourself. “You have a great smile.” “I love that you really listen when people talk to you.” Keep it simple. Focus on saying something different every day. Learn to love yourself so in turn, you can love others.

 

9. Stop and change

In the book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” By Dr. Joe Dispenza, he talks about STOP AND CHANGE. Implement the following: every time you say something negative about yourself either in your head or out loud, literally say “STOP”, then say “CHANGE”. This will force your thoughts or words to stop and your mind to change what you’re thinking, spinning it into a positive. This also works when you face anxiety and your mind starts racing to unrealistic thoughts. And trust me when I say – it works.

 

10. Create measurable goals

While I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions, I am a fan of setting goals and reevaluating them all year long. That also means you should set goals that are reasonable and measurable.

Don’t bother creating vague goals like, “I want to be healthier,” or, “I want to be happier.” Some days you’ll feel as though you’re reaching your goals, but other days you won’t. A vague goal will cause you to feel lost.

Instead, create measurable goals like, “I want to go to the gym three days per week,” or “I want to do a date night once a week.” Then, you’ll have a clear target to aim for.

No matter what you want 2020 to look like, remember: you got this. Never make the mistake of comparing yourself to others. There is so much truth in the saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. Focus on improving yourself each day and taking one step in the right direction. When you look back this time next year, you’ll be surprised at the progress you’ve made and how far you’ve come.

 

What changes do you want to make in order to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle year-round? Tell me in the comments!