The beginning of the New Year is the perfect time to make promises to treat our bodies better this year. That means eating better and leading more healthier lifestyle. Here are super easy to follow 12 Better Eating Resolutions That Will Make You Healthier this year. 

Yes, yes. It’s THAT time of year… AGAIN! It’s time for New Year’s resolutions and making promises that we will treat our bodies better this year. That means eating better and leading more active lifestyle. New year – new me. You know how that goes. And I also know that many of you are only strong at words (khm.. paper, writing it all down and never stick to it).

But WHAT IF this year you make some resolutions and you really stick to it? What if I give you 12 easy to follow resolutions and you actually DO IT this year?

I have a plan… Listen up. It’s fairly simple. You take one resolution and stick to it for ONE MONTH! And then you take another one and hold to it for another month.

You see what I just did!? I just got you hooked on healthier habit. Aha… yes! If you stick to one resolution for a whole month, you gonna form a healthier habit. By default. It will happen. And by the time you finish this 12 better eating resolutions, you will already lead healthier lifestyle for one year. You just make sure you keep all your newly formed habits going.

So… with no further setbacks, here are 12 Better Eating Resolutions That Will Make You Healthier this year. One for each month!

1. START YOUR DAY WITH HEALTHY BREAKFAST

Having breakfast in the morning is important for a bunch of reasons. It jump-starts your metabolism and stops you from overeating later. Breakfast doesn’t have to be complicated nor fancy. Simple Blueberry Chia Smoothie or Strawberry Banana Muffins will do just fine. Just make it a goal to eat something each morning for breakfast.

2. ADD SOME VEGGIES TO YOUR EVERY MEAL

Try to add one veggie to each of your meal. Veggies are loaded with nutrients and will make you full quickly. That way you won’t overeat on other stuff which is great for weight loss. Fill your fridge with colorful veggies – tomatoes, carrots, peppers, arugula… To simplify things, you can wash and dry and cut-up raw veggies, and keep them stored in containers.

Also keep homemade salad dressings on hand too so you can quickly make Cabbage Carrot Slaw  or Arugula Beans Salad to go with your lunch or dinner. Pureed options like butternut squash can thicken soup and add nutrients. Mix cauliflower puree in with mashed potatoes for a healthy boost.

3. CHOOSE HEALTHIER SNACKS

Work in one healthy snack a day. You can trade store-bought sugar cookies or salty, fatty chips for a small handful of nuts or trail mix, homemade popcorns or low-fat yogurt. Find fresh fruits that are in season – have an apple or handful of berries. Try whole-wheat crackers with low-fat cheese instead store-bought pretzels or other refined snacks.

If you feel adventures, make-ahead a bunch of no-bake energy balls, like Apple Pie Energy Balls or Carrot Cake Energy Balls. Just keep one thing in mind. Only snack when you’re really hungry. Not just because you’re bored or stressed.

4. DITCH THE SUGARY DRINKS

Store-bought drinks are loaded with unnecessary added sugars. These sweet drinks include not only soda, but also sports drinks, chai lattes, and sweetened coffee drinks. Every time you drink these sweet drinks you get yourself sugar-bombed! All that excess added sugars are not only destroying your weight loss goals but are also very UNHEALTHY for your body.

So just STOP drinking store-bought soda drinks. If you’re hooked on sodas, try some healthier alternatives, like sparkling water with 100% added sugar-free fruit juice. Blueberry Lime Chia Fresca is another great alternative to caloric soda bombs and energy drinks. Or try sipping on iced green tea with a dash of natural sweetener like honey.

5. KEEP YOUR BODY HYDRATED

While you’re ditching sugary drinks, start working on drinking more plain water. You may not realize it, but hydration is crucial for our overall health and may also help you lose weight. To keep your body hydrated plain water is the best. Make this task easy by buying yourself a cute water bottle (like this one) and carry it with you wherever you go. Get Ulla – a cute little gadget / bottle attachment that will remind you to drink your water. Sip water between your meals, when you feel hungry or just bored. Make it a goal to drink one bottle a day, and keep building from there.

6. EAT MORE HOME COOKED MEALS

When you cook at home, you control what goes into your body. You can make sure you’re eating as many fresh, whole foods as possible, and that you’re not overloading your meals with extra salt or other unhealthy stuff. That also means avoiding high processed foods – like frozen meals.

If you have to go to a restaurant, or party, then choose lower-calorie foods like grilled chicken or veggies. Fill your plate with salad or have a plain baked potato as a side. If you’re looking to get some easy home cook meals inspiration emailed to you, subscribe to my list and get recipes straight into your inbox every week.

7. STOP WITH FAST FOOD CHEAT MEALS

Many diets promote cheat days – the ones including binging on fast-food, burgers, fries, and pizza – as a way to prevent you from feeling deprived, even boost your metabolism, and increase chances of success with your weight loss diet. Well, I simply don’t agree. These foods are extremely harmful foods containing added unhealthy sugars, refined wheat, and trans fats. These foods will only hurt your metabolism, and if you’re adapting to new healthier eating it will prevent your metabolic adaptation from ever fully completing. Not to mention it will only feed your addiction to unhealthy foods.

So just stop having cheat days and stop eating fast-foods. But don’t get me wrong here. I have nothing against occasional feasting on carbs or calories. But I always choose healthier ones. Like Double Chocolate Banana Muffins or Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta. And I make that a (one) cheat meal not a cheat (whole) day.

8. PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING

On average, we make more than 200 decisions about food each day, but we are only aware of only a small fraction of them (1). The rest are performed by our unconscious mind, and that can lead to so-called mindless eating. There’s a different method to fight this mindless eating. For example, you can keep food out of your sight and keep your mind occupied with other stuff other than food. Slow down your eating speed and just enjoy your meal.

Stop when you feel satisfied – but before you feel full, and use smaller plates when eating. In between meals, don’t chow down unless you’re really hungry. Don’t watch TV or scroll on your mobile while you eat. Stay in the moment.

9. CUT DOWN ON ADDED SUGARS

Sugar addiction is one of the worst addictions. Getting off added sugar is not an easy task. Nor the most pleasant experience. But once your body cleanses of that horrible addiction, you will experience not only rapid weight loss but also immediate health improvements.

You can cut your sugar addiction slowly, starting by replacing unhealthy white sugar with healthier alternatives – maple syrup or honey and reducing the amount of sugar you take daily, limiting to only homemade healthier desserts only on weekends, and opt for unsweetened cereals. Or you can cut ALL added sugars for a month, only taking small amounts of healthier alternatives where needed, and avoiding any desserts during that time. That will cleanse your body rapidly, and will break your sugar addiction fast.

After a month completely added sugar-free, you can introduce healthy sugar replacements in your diets and of course have Fudgy Chocolate Brownie for dessert. Occasionally. Remember, even healthier sugars are still sugars, doing damage to your waistline as well as for your health.

10. MASER A MEAL PLANNING

Meal planning is a lifesaver. Creating a healthy eating plan will not only save you tons of money on groceries. It will save you a lot of nerves and will keep you safe from unwanted supermarket / frozen food / pick-up / fast food raid. Mastering meal planning doesn’t require a special skill. Just a spreadsheet or piece of paper and list of family favorite healthy meals.

11. KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOU EAT

Keeping a food journal isn’t about counting calories. It’s about learning about the foods you’re eating and learning to keep everything in balance. Keeping notes will give you an idea of what and how you eat and how can you improve your everyday healthy diet. You can write it out by hand, but it’s better to use an app for your phone.

I used MyFitnessPall app. It’s entirely FREE, and it really helped me figured out healthy eating and balancing my meals. I also learned to eat less but more nutritious foods. Try to keep track of every meal you eat for a month. It doesn’t have to be exact and super precise. Just enough to get a better idea of your overall eating habits.

12. GET YOUR FAMILY OR FRIEND ON BOARD WITH HEALTHY EATING

It’s easier to be strong when you have some support, so just go on and ask a buddy, husband or a family member to eat healthy with you. Hold each other accountable. If you’re all in it together and one of you is tempted to slip, the other one will be there for support. But isn’t that also a great way to have all your family eating healthy and lead healthier, happier life? I think so. So get your family and friends on board. Support each others and enjoy happy and healthy.

So… what do you think? Isn’t this like the most realistic resolutions you can make? These resolutions are easy to follow AND keep this year, and forever! At the end of the year, you will be completely transformed, and it will affect your health and your weight loss greatly.

So, let’s make our better eating resolutions a reality.

Xoxo, Natalie