Health Goals for 2019

It’s the very end of 2018, another year behind us, and we’re almost through two decades of the twenty-first century. Time flies, and society seems to be changing faster than ever. We live in a fast-paced world full of stress and pressure, and nobody seems to have time to relax and enjoy life. This unfortunately leads to people living lives that aren’t as healthy as they should be. In fact, the United States is one of the unhealthiest nations in the world, despite having leading medical science.

A recent report from the New York Post even declared that people have written off being healthy in 2018, and determined to simply wait till 2019 to try to get healthier. They’re eating more sweets and gaining weight. Of course, when people talk about waiting, they’re usually talking about New Year resolutions, but just making a resolution isn’t the solution.

To get healthy in 2019, you need to actually make a plan and stick to it. Just swearing to lose weight or get healthy next year might be a good start, but without a plan behind it, it’s a promise that has no teeth. Let’s look at some health goals for 2019, how you can make a plan to improve your wellness, and where you can go to find help getting in shape, both physically and mentally.

Health Goals for 2019

We’re in that time of year when people both write off any attempt to get in better health, while at the same time feeling guilty that they’re not in good health. They start to consider what to do in the coming year to get their health back. In fact, the average American gains at least 6 pounds over the holidays.

By the numbers, 79 percent of people admit to eating less healthy, including more sweets and treats; 55 percent admit to haven broken a diet to eat holiday food; 40 percent say they’ve eaten so much that they have to loosen a button and 30 percent admit to having eaten until they feel sick.

When it comes to setting health goals for 2019, 71 percent of people say that they are planning to eat healthier and exercise more; 55 percent intend on increasing their focus on self-care and 38 percent feel that learning a new hobby will help. In truth, these are noble resolutions, but again, resolutions are only the beginning of getting healthier.

Nutrition Trends for 2019

Nutrition and diet are the cornerstones of health and wellness. In order to ensure that you do a better job with your nutrition in 2019, make a solid plan, focusing on what you personally, and people in general, tend to overlook in terms of diet and eating. The first, and most important step, is to stop eating on the fly. That is to say, plan your meals in advance. Not only will this help you make better choices, it will help you to reduce waste.

Snack on plant-based foods more often, whether it’s nuts, fruits or vegetables, and make healthy choices. A small handful of peanuts or baked veggie chips are better than fried potato chips, and still provide snacking satisfaction.

Pay attention to your macronutrients, and consider having a bio-nutrition screening done to determine the vitamins and minerals in which you might be deficient. Knowing where your body has imbalances can help you to address your specific dietary needs. It’s always better to get the nutrients you require from diet rather than supplements — your body doesn’t digest and process supplements in the same way it does food sources. Raw spinach, for example, is much better for your iron needs than an iron supplement.

Mental Health Matters Too

There’s a popular saying going around right now: You do you. This saying is something to take to heart this coming year. Focus on yourself and self-care. Do what you need to do to feel better about life and yourself. The more you feel good about life, the better your actual health will be. Look at your current relationships. Determine which are the healthiest for you and work to nurture and deepen those relationships.

Embrace something that’s new and different. Welcome growth into your life. If you’ve made a New Year resolution to exercise more, really embrace that idea. Don’t stop at a resolution. Make a plan and stick to it. Actively look for ways to support your resolution. Use a pen and paper and write it down. Don’t type it on a computer. Actually write it down. There’s a lot of power in the act of writing something down.

Get up and move around every day. You don’t have to put in a hard workout where your muscles ache and you sweat daily (though doing so a couple times a week is not a bad idea). Just get up and move around. Start by spending a half hour every day walking around the neighborhood. In the colder months of the year, go to the mall and do laps.

Embrace Going Out

We do a lot in our society to discourage passing judgment on people, to acknowledge that some people do better sitting quietly by themselves instead of getting out and about. In truth, however, people psychologically need to be around other people. Those who do sit at home tend to be the most unhealthy, in general.

This doesn’t mean that you have to go out and party every night of the week (in fact, that’s probably a bad idea). You don’t have to be a social butterfly, but you should be among people. The aforementioned walk around the mall can be a great start. In nicer weather, you can take a walk in the park.

When you get in the habit of getting out of the house and just being among other people, you’ll start to feel better about life in general. Many people are lonely and don’t even realize it, and getting out among humanity can help to put that aside.

When You Do Start to Work Out

When you do start to work out, there are a lot of up-and-coming trends that promise to make the once-onerous work of getting in shape a lot more fun. The important thing here is to make time to do it, and the emergence of high-intensity, 30-minute workouts make it easy to get it into your busy schedule. The popularity of the American Ninja Warrior television series has led to a boom in ninja-style gyms, where you can build your health and wellness by running obstacle courses.

Zumba dance with core workouts, HIIT Fusion Pilates, mobile-friendly gyms and even fitness apps are all up-and-coming ways to modernize fitness and make it a lot more fun. Take some time to look at what options are available in your area, research what they involve and find a workout that appeals to your sense of fun as well as fitness.

When you can make a workout into a hobby, it makes it far easier to stay on top of things and get healthier. Martial arts classes are poised to make a comeback — 2018 already saw a resurgence in boxing. This can be a great way not only to get yourself back in shape, but to build your self-esteem at the same time.

Build Better Sleeping Habits

Sleep is another cornerstone of health and wellness, and it’s something that far too many people forego in our fast-paced, always-connected world. Rethink your sleeping habits this year, and do what you need to do to keep physically and mentally healthy. As with anything else, it starts by setting concrete sleep habit health goals for 2019 and then living up to them.

Start by taking a look at the way your bedroom is set up, and redo it to maximize your relaxation when you’re in there. Remove the TV, if you’ve got one. Anything that’s in your room which would tend to stimulate you should be taken out. Your bedroom is for relaxation, not stimulation.

Yes, this means unplug. Don’t take your phone into the bedroom. Leave the computer and tablet downstairs. The blue light and radiation from devices interferes with your brain’s ability to produce melatonin, which you need to sleep. Not only should you keep devices out of the bedroom, put them down and turn them off at least an hour before bed.

Do what you can to keep it dark and quiet in the bedroom. A white noise machine can help to counter street noise if you live in the noisy city. Get rid of nightlights and close your blinds. Keep the room cool, between 60 and 65 degrees. Your body likes cool temperatures when you sleep.

Finally, go to bed on time and get up on time. Maintain an actual sleep schedule. People who go to sleep and get up at the same time every day tend to be more alert, healthy and productive than those who vary their sleep times.

Consider a Healthy Low-Carb Diet

Diabetes and prediabetes are nothing short of epidemic in our society. Did you know that you don’t have to have one of these conditions to benefit from a prediabetic diet? Maintaining a healthy body weight can vastly reduce your risk of getting diabetes, and the diet you need to follow is nothing short of a generally healthy one.

Stick to high-fiber foods and eat plenty of protein. Eggs, meat, fish, beans, nuts, and the like are all solid sources of protein, which can replace carbohydrates for energy in the right amounts. Drink plenty of water. Not only do you need water, the more you drink, the less hungry you’ll be. Eat more veggies and keep your high calorie food counts low.

Try to stick to under 100 grams of carbohydrates a day, and when you do have things like bread, go for whole grain options, which provide plenty of fiber and other nutrients, as opposed to simple carbohydrates like sugar or white flour.

The staples of a diet like this includes non-starchy vegetables like greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and the like; seafood to provide protein and healthy fats as well as potassium; legumes for fiber, protein and potassium; whole grains for fiber; plant-based fats like natural peanut and nut butters, seeds, olive oil, and flaxseed; low-fat dairy for protein, calcium, potassium and vitamin D; fruits in moderate amounts; and hydrating beverages.

Setting Goals in 2019

It’s also important to set life goals. Once again, the happier you are with life in general, the healthier you are likely to be. That means setting health goals for 2019 that aren’t directly related to your physical fitness or dietary wellness, but which will have the effect of making you live well. Work toward saving money, try a no-spend challenge. Start investing money. Work to raise your credit score.

Get your home organized. Downsize your life by getting rid of things you haven’t looked at in over a year, then find a place for everything in your house to live. Take an extra 15 seconds whenever you’re done with something to put it away.

Read an Actual Book

Sit down and read a book. Don’t fire up an ebook on your Kindle; read an actual book. Reading stimulates the mind and at the same time relaxes your body, and it can take you places that television and movies cannot. Audiobooks are great for those on the go, but they don’t fill the same role as forcing yourself to step away from the world and just focus on the words on the page.

The health benefits of reading have been well established, and if you’ve never been a reader before, there’s no time like the present to start. It might take some practice, but start with a few pages at a time and work up. In no time, you’ll be hooked!

Unplug

There’s been a trend towards people ditching social media, a trend that social media for purely financial reasons has been battling tooth and nail. The truth is, however, that social media has been demonstrated to contribute to depression, stress, anxiety and negativity.

Unplugging from social media should absolutely be part of your health goals for 2019. You don’t have to dump your accounts altogether, but start forcing yourself to limit your daily screen time. An hour a day is probably more than anyone needs to keep up with friends and what’s going on in the world. Your mood will drastically improve, and your health will follow along with it.

Detox Treatments

There’s a lot of science behind detox options like foot baths and pulsed energy therapy. Your body is an amazing machine, but as it does its job it builds up toxins from the things you eat, from the stress hormones you create on a daily basis and from other sources.

Your kidneys and liver do a pretty good job at cleaning these toxins, but they can use some help. The great thing about detox sessions is that they are non-invasive, don’t require drugs or chemicals and are incredibly relaxing.

Your feet are an important part in the chain of wellness that runs throughout your entire body, focusing on your spinal column. Did you know that there are thousands of sweat glands in your feet alone? An ionic detox foot bath can help to purge unhealthy heavy metals from your body, reduce inflammation, help you liver function and even enhance your overall immune system.

Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, or PEMF, is another great holistic means to improve your overall health and wellness, and it’s science-backed. PEMF sessions can help prevent and relieve back and neck pain, relieve and prevent migraines, reduce numbness, pain and tingling in the extremities, help reduce inflammation to improve range of motion, and even help with allergies. Overall, most patients who receive PEMF treatments report overall better wellness and bodily functions.

See a Chiropractor at ACT Wellness

Too many people think that visiting a chiropractor is something you only do when you have pain in your back or neck. In truth, regular visits to a chiropractic wellness center can be an important part of your overall healthcare routine and your health goals for 2019. Chiropractic is more than just spinal adjustments, though correcting spinal subluxations can result in your body performing better than ever.

In truth, a chiropractor is a medical professional who takes a whole-body, holistic approach to health and well-being. That means that instead of approaching symptoms, they approach the potential underlying cause of any ailment and seek to get your body to a point where it can heal itself. This is usually done without chemicals, without invasive procedures and through adjustments and lifestyle changes.

For almost a decade, ACT Wellness has been considered the best chiropractic wellness center in the Woodbridge, VA, area. Dr. Caratozzolo has been running the practice since 1998, and has been the recipient of multiple awards, certifications and accomplishments over the years. Our clinic is state-of-the-art and makes use of the best modern technologies, as well as offers ongoing specials for services like PEMF, detox foot baths, bio-nutrition, and even new client specials.

There’s no better time than right now to start planning and setting health goals for 2019, and a detox session or evaluation at ACT Wellness is a great way to start. Check out our website, and be sure to get in touch to take advantage of one of these great special deals today!

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