The healthy living slump – A Guide to Achieving Your Health Goals In 2022
Now the excitement of a new year has passed, many people are feeling what I like to call the ‘Healthy Living Slump’. You started 2022 with the best intentions but your motivation is beginning to wane already — and it’s only February. This is because most people make the same mistake when designing their new healthy lifestyle: Confusing routine with repetition.
Our bodies love routine, which is why it functions best when you live by a certain schedule, sleeping, eating, working and unwinding at around the same time each day. While a regular schedule can be great and help take the guesswork out of day-to-day activities, it can also make falling into a rut of despair all too easy.
Here are our top three tips to help get you back on track with health goals in 2022:
Eat with the seasons
Not only is eating seasonal produce better for your body and the planet, but it also presents a great opportunity to mix up your healthy meals each week/month/season. At the start of every month, research what produce is in season to help get you inspired. If you can, get the whole family involved. You may even find a new favourite fruit or vegetable during your seasonal culinary adventure.
Here’s what’s in season in the UK in month of February:
Beetroot, carrot, squash, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, pears, purple sprouting broccoli, red cabbage, salsify, Savoy cabbage, spring greens, spring onions, Swede and white cabbage.
These ingredients would be perfect for warm salads, slow cooked stews and even healthy pies with a crusty filo pastry top. Delicious.
Mix-up your workouts
Unless you have specific athletic career goals, such as bodybuilding or competitive sports, the world really is your oyster when it comes to exercise. Finding it difficult to drag yourself out of bed in the morning because you dread stepping onto that treadmill? Don’t do it, try something different instead.
Go for a run in your local park or even check out a completely different activity, such as cycling, hiking or swimming. Are these suggestions not ticking your boxes either? See what fitness classes are on offer in your local area and attend a couple to see how you enjoy them.
Limit your scrolling time
While it can be beneficial to remind yourself what you’re working towards, looking at health/fitness influencer accounts too often can quickly result in negative comparative thoughts and unrealistic expectations.
Your aim shouldn’t be to transform yourself and your image over the course of the year. Instead, the goal should simply be to make more healthier choices than you did in 2021. These choices don’t need to be monumental, they could be something as simple as switching out your second cup of coffee in the morning for a glass of water.
It’s through consciously making these small but healthier choices that we begin to develop healthier habits. Habits that will stick with you in the long-term and help you not only reach your health goals, but also sustain them.
Written by Samantha Allaker
