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Healthy Resolution

Whether it was to quit smoking, eat healthier, exercise more or even stay on top of other SCI-related health, sticking to your new year’s resolution just got easier with these tips

Eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, exercising and staying on top of your wellness programs are important for anyone with a spinal-cord injury or disease. But just because doing those things are important, doesn’t mean they’re always easy. Almost one month into the New Year, those healthy resolutions you made may already be slipping, but these tips will keep you on track to a healthier you.

One Step at a Time

Rather than generalizing a resolution to be healthier this year, make a new change or mini resolution each month. For example, start off by making a resolution to drink eight glasses of water each day. Once you have that down, add something else, like resolving to cut out added sugars, then committing to getting eight hours of sleep each night, then spending 20 minutes each day getting your heart rate up. When you make the changes one at a time, it’s not as dramatic of a change that will make you want to give up after a month. Instead, slowly create new healthy habits and then add more.

Find Inspiration

Ready to break your resolution and reach for that candy bar you swore off for 2015? Remember the reason you wanted to make these changes in the first place. Maybe it was for a loved one who’s been worried about you, or because of a bad report from your last doctor’s appointment. Find the inspiration for your resolution and think about it every day before you break it. You can even write little messages on sticky notes around the house to remind you why to grab a bottle of water, instead of a bottle of soda.

Lift Your Spirits

Make sure your resolution is adding to your life and not taking away from it. Find things to make you happy while also making you healthy. Make an upbeat playlist with music that inspires you to work out, or distract yourself from eating an unhealthful snack by watching a funny YouTube video instead.

Track Your Success

Whether you create a chart to track your changes and reward yourself at the end of each week (maybe with a cheat day dessert!), you keep an eye on how much weight/inches you lost or just think about how much better you feel each day, knowing you didn’t make these changes for nothing will encourage you to keep with them to be a happier, healthier you.

 

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