NEW YEAR , NEW YOU, Mmmmmm?

So I am sure you are all in the midst of healthy January right? No! Are you finding it tough? Have you set any New Year Resolutions? Have you broke them yet? Do you know that the top two most common New Year’s Resolutions are;

1. To eat more healthily
2. To exercise more

Predictable, I know, but these are definitely set out of guilt, guilt because we all purge at Christmas, but we are allowed to, it’s a natural part of the festivities so don’t beat yourself up about it. I actually don’t think that January is the best time to start to adopt a more healthy lifestyle… the reason being that you are most probably surrounded by treats and so there is an awful lot of temptation. Don’t tell me you haven’t enjoyed a breakfast this year that solely consisted of Ferrero Rochers and Shloer!  I also think that people go too extreme in January and so the radical changes they try to make aren’t sustainable.

For me, New Year Resolutions don’t work; for a few reasons, my Will Power is very poor (something I am working on) and as a Food Blogger it is often hard to cut out certain things, so instead of setting myself up for undoubted failure I don’t make New Year Resolutions, I just try to make better choices, this way I don’t feel like I am putting pressure on myself. An example… instead of making the resolution to go to the Gym 3 days a week I just make the choice to be more active, this could be upping my step count in work from maybe 6,000 to 7,500 or by walking the dogs a bit more often or even just a longer route, these are already parts of my life, so I am just trying to do a little more of what I already do.

Or instead of setting the resolution; ‘No More Takeaways’ you can just be smarter with your choices,  Chicken Chow Mein is a better alternative to Crispy Chilli Beef with fried Rice and a tub of curry sauce. Or instead of ordering in every weekend you could make a few fakeaways (here’s a good link for those from JO)

Jamie Oliver Fakeaways

Or when eating out you can now chose from a host of healthy eating establishments, let’s be honest, most eateries are now implementing a healthier menu anyway, so you will have multiple options to choose from. My healthier choices would be;

Slims Healthy Kitchen on the Lisburn Rd

Tony & Jens on the Lisburn Road

Goodness Rocks on the Saintfield Road

These are my personal favourites because they are close to my home and extremely tasty but if you look close to your home you will find a healthy café/restaurant that will give you better choices, healthier choices and perhaps new choices.

I am not sure if this blog was a rant, or me just venting or even me inadvertently trying to influence you to think about certain things! But anyway for me, and maybe you, resolutions are never going to work, so slight changes or choices that you can easily implement might be a better approach. It’s not too late and I do believe January isn’t the best place to start so why not enjoy a fresher Feb!

Conor