How to Eat More Intentionally In the New Year

The New Year is often lauded as a perfect time for new beginnings . . . But if you’re lugging extra bloat and fatigue into the new year with you, you may not feel like you’re starting quite as fresh as you wish you were.

If you’re like most folks, there’s a pretty good chance you indulged in many of your favorite foods over the holidays. That’s not a problem! In fact, as your nutrition coach, I sincerely HOPE you took the opportunity to enjoy a few of your favorite foods. You only live once, right??

But now that we’re knocking on January’s front door, you might be asking yourself: How do I break my cycle of mindless eating and get more intentional with my health choices in the new year?

Before I say anything else, I’ll say this: Eating intentionally doesn’t have to be complicated!

Here are a few simple rules to help you eat a little more mindfully in 2020 (or whenever you happen to be reading this :) ):

1. Ditch the Dieting Culture.
   If you’re new here, there’s one rule you’ve gotta embrace if you want to hang with us . . . WE DON’T DO DIETS. Diets don’t work. Diets leave you feeling burnt out, tired, hopeless, and blah. Nobody wants that. So we reject dieting culture, period.
    

2. Commit to eating PFC Every 3.
   You knew I was going to say this, right? Replace mindless snacking with a commitment to eating small, balanced, frequent meals. Every 3-4 hours, munch on a lean protein, a healthy carb, and a healthy fat. You’ll still feel full and satisfied, and you’ll be supplying your body with nutrients it actually needs instead of the simple carbs and sugars that cause fatigue and weight gain.
    

3. Drink up!
   Sure, this applies to your midnight champagne toast. ;) But it REALLY applies to your water intake! One of the easiest, most surefire ways to start feeling refreshed and cut the post-holiday bloat is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. An average adult woman should be drinking about 2-3 liters of water per day; for men, that number is closer to 3-4 liters (more if you’re sweating more or in a drier climate). So bottoms up, friends!
    

4. Set SMART goals and keep them in mind.
   If you’re not sure what SMART goals are, you can check out my post about them here. Basically, you want to make sure you’re setting realistic goals—and THEN make sure you’re reflecting on them periodically. I love having my clients choose a “reminder item” to help remind them of their big WHY when things get tough. A reminder item can be anything from a photo of your kids to that string bikini you loved wearing in college. Get creative and pick something that makes you want to make great choices!

Are you looking to really crush your health goals this year?? If you could use a little extra accountability, I’d love to invite you to check out my Thrive VIP group. Thrive is all about health education, support, accountability, and creating lives we love. We’re actually going to be starting a (simple, no-fuss) Real Food Detox week in January to help us all get back on track, and our bodies primed to achieve ALL of our health goals in the new year, so now is a fantastic time to join if you could use some support and accountability! Learn more or sign up HERE.