Here’s our guide for helping you create your New Year’s resolutions, how to make them realistic, achievable and relevant…

Fresh Resolutions, Ireland

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Altrient is one of the returning partners for the Fresh Resolutions Annual Conference in Ireland on the 4th January 2020. If you are unclear about what to focus on or how to set your new intentions for the year ahead then this holistic event, hosted by The University of Life, could help kick start your new year ahead.

The conference features leaders in different health and wellbeing disciplines to help support attendees in their pursuit of a better year ahead. Whether you’re looking to enhance energy levels, increase your productivity, search for inspiration or just want to meet great like-minded people, this outstanding event is an uplifting and informative day.

What is the University of Life?

The University of Life is an organisation that believes there’s no greater wealth acquired than all that you learn in life through experiences gained, challenges faced and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge, all of which shapes our personal development and wellbeing. The University of Life is centred around the sharing of these life lessons, experiences, strategies for success, hacks and wisdom and the Fresh Resolutions event is the perfect platform to explore and share new ideas for 2020.

Altrient Ambassador Claire McGraith

There’s a packed full day of keynote speakers all expertly curated to inspire change for the better in you, across all areas of your life. Come and join us in supporting our Altrient Ambassador Claire McGrath for her 2.30pm Meditation and Breath Work class with take-home techniques to help you find peace of mind and unwind from daily stress.

4 Steps to creating effective resolutions

If a trip to Ireland isn’t possible for you then you still have the opportunity to create your own fresh resolutions for 2020. There’s definitely a skill required when setting a New Year resolution and following the steps of Reflect - Value - Action - Reward could help you achieve it. If you follow these steps then you are more likely to set yourself achievable goals and succeed, rather than set your expectations too high and fail or abandon your new intentions.

1. Reflect – start by reflecting over the year that has passed. What are the things that you feel you haven’t managed to achieve or that you feel are missing from your life? Don’t just limit yourself to one area of your life as this could end up making you rather one-dimensional. Take a good 360 spin around all areas of your life – health, work, family, friends, creativity, fitness, food and relaxation. Rather than think about things that you could restrict or avoid, change your focus to considering the things that you can add to these areas of life, identifying the small things that could make a profound difference is the key to a much more fulling life.
2. Value – don’t just quickly rattle off a bunch of ideas that sit nice and neatly on a typical New Year’s resolutions list. Instead be more considered about your approach, take a moment to assess and visualise how these things could add value to your life. Then, rule out the things that take a whole heap of effort and only deliver a small amount of value and rule in the easier, more realistic and achievable resolutions which deliver real heartfelt value. This way, you’re more likely to create a highly specific, highly personalised doable list of New Year’s resolutions.
3. Action – forming your New Year’s resolutions list is the easy part! Turning your words and good intentions into actions is what makes you succeed. Next to each point on the list jot down notes about how and when you will action each point. What do you need to get in place to make each point happen? Is it scheduled time in your diary? Is it contacting someone for some information – if so when will you do this? Do you need to purchase a piece of equipment – when can you budget for this? Getting down to the finer details is an import stage in turning thought into actions.
4. Reward – some of your New Year’s resolutions will automatically be accompanied by the reward of good results. However, for the more challenging or life changing resolutions why not state how you will reward yourself for the commitment and effort sustained to tick these resolutions off your list. There’s nothing quite like the promise of a reward to keep the motivation flowing.

If after reading these 4 steps, you are still in need of some inspiration then here are some of our top lifestyle resolutions to help get you started…

Food resolutions

Please remember that food is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Don’t slam dunk your New Year’s resolutions with endless lists of all the foods you’re going to give up. Unless you have real food allergies then small quantities of gluten, wheat, dairy and sugar are perfectly acceptable – please notice the emphasis on portion size in that statement! Focus on what to include and improve. You could aim to:

• Eat a portion of green veg with your evening meal
• Take two pieces of fruit with you to work
• Swap large meals for soup at least 3-4 times a week
• Introduce a healthy afternoon snack
• Swap sugar breakfast cereal for overnight oats

Fitness resolutions

It’s very common to set your expectations too high when it comes to a new fitness regime, you are literally setting yourself up to fail, feel guilty and resort to comfort eating. When it comes to fitness resolutions, take what you think you can achieve and literally halve it. Only when you have achieved this for more than 3 weeks can you consider increasing the frequency of your fitness regime. As a rule, if it’s fun and you have a fitness buddy then you’ll find it’s easier to maintain. There are loads of fun ways to get fit, you don’t have to just spin or gym.

• Sign up to a dance class or Zumba class with a friend
• Get away from your desk and do a 20-minute power walk 2-3 times a week
• Head to the gym rather than going straight home 1-2 times a week
• Get a fitness DVD, clear a space in the house and do a 30-40-minute workout on the weekend
• If you don’t have a dog, then one of your friends probably does, join them for a walk and talk once a week

Sense of wellbeing

Don’t forget that it’s a healthy body and a healthy mind that creates a sense of overall wellbeing. Food and fitness help support the wellbeing of your body but it’s rest, relaxation, downtime, companionship, meaningful relationships and times of creativity that help relax the mind, dissipate stress and bring a level of oneness and sense of belonging to our life experience. Schedule out time with friends, press pause and look into courses or activities that encourage you to explore and progress with hobbies, nature and spirituality.

Wishing you all a fabulous 2020,

Susie Debice BSc Hons, Dip ION

Food Scientist and Nutritionist