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It’s a new year, and a new opportunity to start again on some of those items you left unfinished in the previous year. Achieving a healthy weight, for example, or quitting tobacco use. If you’re hoping to be more successful in 2020, start by setting goals. Achieving short-term goals can lead to success with long-term goals, but you have to start somewhere.

Here are some tips

1. Make your goals very specific.

Saying “I want to run three miles three times this week” is better than saying “I’m going to run more this week.” If you are trying to reach 10 miles, set specific incremental goals that will help get you there.

2. Set goals you can reach.

Consider your age and current health when setting goals. Achieving realistic goals that are challenging and effective is far more rewarding than struggling to get there.

3. Focus on one goal at a time.

This is the best way to help you avoid becoming overwhelmed and feel like giving up. Don’t join three or four fitness classes at once. Pick one and stick with it.

4. Write down your goals.

It may sound silly, but this is an excellent way not to forget what you are trying to achieve. Writing down your short- and long-term goals will provide a personal action plan that you can use to track your progress.

5. Share your goals with others.

There is strength in numbers. The more people who know about your program, the more cheerleaders and well-wishers you will have to support and encourage you. And the more accountable you will be – to yourself and to others.

Source: www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20558029,00.html

Does your schedule seem too busy to add one more task to it?  Self-care is extremely important for our minds, bodies and emotional well-being so ask yourself “how important am I?”  There are many ways to carve out a small chunk of time from your day for snippets of self-care but first you have to decide what your needs are.  Once you determine what your life is lacking (or has too much of), you can prioritize what can wait.  Self-care should not be put on that wait list as it can provide you with improved general health, increased job satisfaction, a willingness to relate to others and the ability to plan responses rather than react hastily.  This is the final piece of the 3 part self-care series with 15 more tips but they aren’t limited to these suggestions—create your own!  Challenge yourself to begin incorporating some (or even one) into your routine and make taking care of yourself a priority.

1. Practice radical self-love
2. Tell a stranger “have a GREAT day!”
3. Talk to someone you love
4. Write down negative thoughts and throw them away
5. Avoid multitasking
6. Try essential oil mixtures
7. Take a hot bath
8. Know your sense of purpose
9. Practice good posture
10. Close your email
11. Meditate
12. Foster friendships
13. Make a vision board
14. Leave work at work
15. Dance

*source:National Safe Place Network

It’s the holidays and for most Americans, that means eating – lots of eating – followed by weight gain and a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.

But why not take a healthier approach to what we eat during this holiday season and beyond?

According to a recent website survey, about 18 percent of people say it’s hard for them to eat healthy because they don’t want to stop eating their favorite foods. The good news is you don’t have to.

You can still enjoy your favorite occasional indulgences, but in moderation. It’s all about being mindful of what you eat.

Mindless Eating

Mindless eating is consuming food just because it’s there. It’s eating while distracted – watching TV, working at a computer or texting on our smartphones. It’s eating for emotional comfort instead of for hunger. Simply put, it’s not paying attention to what we eat which can lead to being overweight and even obesity.

“Mindless eating has always been an issue,” said Riska Platt, M.S., a registered dietitian and certified nutritionist for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. “The key to mindful eating is awareness. Just by paying more attention to what you eat, you’re more likely to make beneficial changes.”

Awareness

When you pay attention to what you’re eating, you can make small changes that make a big difference. Here are some tips toward a more mindful approach:

• Control portions. Especially during the holidays, know that you’ll have more opportunities to eat festive snacks and desserts. You don’t have to deprive yourself, just eat smaller portions and less often.
   
• Eat when you’re hungry. Just because the clock says noon doesn’t mean you have to eat. If you’re not hungry, wait until you are – just don’t wait until you’re famished because you might overeat. Also, don’t eat just because the food is available. Learn more about why you might be eating when not hungry.
   
• Plan. Prepare healthy snacks throughout the day. If you tend to get hungry between meals, bring along a 200-calorie, whole grain, high-fiber snack. Fiber keeps you feeling full longer. Learn how a little planning helps your heart, and your budget.
   
• Slow down. Enjoy each bite and put your fork down while chewing, then take a drink between each bite. This gives your body enough time to trigger your brain that you are satisfied (not necessarily full).
   
• Pay attention. Do not eat in front of the TV or computer, or while standing in the kitchen or talking on the phone. When you do these things, you’re more likely to lose track of how much you’ve eaten.
   
• Use technology. As we continue to become increasingly distracted by modern technology, our focus on health can fall to the back burner. But it doesn’t have to be that way. “We can actually use our smartphones and other electronic devices to help us,” said Platt, a volunteer with the American Heart Association. “There are now apps that manage food records, count calories, help you track what you eat and even provide guidance on healthy food choices at the grocery store and restaurants.”
   
• Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, look at it, then identify why you ate it – was it hunger, stress, boredom? Then look for areas you can make adjustments and incorporate healthy changes. “Keeping a food diary is really key to awareness,” Platt said. “Most people are surprised at all they’ve consumed when they review what they’ve eaten.”

Last week we determined that self-care is essentially the practice of taking an active role in preserving our own well-being and happiness.  This practice could mean something different for you than it does for your spouse or coworker but the benefits are for everyone that partakes.  The benefits of self-care include an increase in resilience, emotional intelligence, mental flexibility, willingness to collaborate plus others.  Next week we will share more benefits of self-care and give additional tips on self-care.  Here are 15 more ways to provide yourself with self-care:

1. Treat yourself like your best friend
2. Take a walk
3. Volunteer for a cause
4. Practice asking for/accepting help
5. Read and reflect
6. Exercise
7. Color/draw/paint
8. Take time off
9. Maintain your boundaries
10. Create something
11. Set aside time for yourself
12. Don’t be a negative sponge
13. Practice mindfulness
14. Appreciate nature
15. Make healthy food choices
    

*source:  National Safe Place Network

What exactly is “self-care?”  It can be defined as the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, especially during times of stress.  Engaging in self-care tends to increase happiness, sense of well-being, ability to focus, empathy, compassion for self and others plus other benefits.  Over the next 3 weeks we will share more benefits of self-care and give some tips on how to take an active role in your self-care.  Here are 15 tips to get your started:

1. Stay hydrated by drinking water
2. Stretch in order to relax and refocus
3. Say “no” when you need to
4. Set realistic goals and to-do lists
5. Go outside and soak up the fresh air/sun
6. Forgive yourself and others
7. List five things you are grateful for each day
8. Build positive social connections
9. Drink hot tea
10. Laugh
11. Make sure to get enough rest
12. Avoid blue lights (televisions, phones, electronics) an hour before bed
13. Use your support system
14. Play with a pet
15. Find podcasts or music that encourage joy and relaxation

*source:  National Safe Place Network