It is a few hours to 2018 and I am glad that we are all alive to witness it. 2018 promises to be a great year for us all (this is a confession of faith).
For those who like to set goals for the New Year, make sure that your nutrition and health in general feature in your life goals.
Here are 5 goals that you should set for 2018 and why you should set them:
- Increase Your Physical Activity Every Day
This is important for everyone particularly if you are very sedentary. Exercise, in particular, can open your mind to more creativity. It can get you to think better, feel better and act Sharper (physically and mentally). This will lead you towards the greater goal of having a better quality of life.
A 30 minutes exercise per day plus physical activity during the rest of the day is a great goal with benefits.
- Eat Fruits And Vegetables Everyday
More and more researches have shown that eating fruits and vegetables maintain your health and reduce incidences of diseases. It also helps you age better, keeping your mind and body in great health as you grow older.
If you do not eat fruits and vegetables regularly, 2-3 times a Week is a great place to start. Gradually, you increase to everyday. It is doable.
- Drink more water
Hydrating yourself is important. Apart from aiding digestion, it also helps the organs to flush out toxins in the body. Drinking water creates a balance of your electrolytes and it also keeps your skin fresh. In a hot climate like ours, water is especially important for preventing heat Stokes or other ailments caused by heat.
Drink at least 8 cups of water a day. If you are not a fan of drinking ordinary water, you can add flavour to your water and also hydrate with water-rich fruits such as watermelon, oranges, and cucumber. You can purchase a handy water bottle that you carry with you everywhere.
- Sleep Better
It sounds funny planning for sleeping but I tell you that research has shown that if you sleep better, your brain gets rid of toxins, you think better and your mind opens up to more learning. You can become more productive if you sleep better. So, plan to sleep better.
To set the ball rolling, at least 6-8 hours of sleep in a shaded place (as opposed to a lighted place) everyday is a great goal.
- Diversify Your Meals
One of the major things that I write about on this platform is diversifying your meals. This means that you eat different types of foods often to get a wider range and amount of nutrients. For example, instead of eating a rice and beef meal every day, you can eat yam, cassava, fish, chicken, vegetables, sweet potatoes etc. every other day. Â When you do this, you do not have to worry about specific nutrient intakes (except if you have a deficiency or it is an instruction from your doctor). Diversifying your meals increases your diet quality and thus improves your health.
These are just 5 goals that, if implemented, can change your life. They are easy goals. Work out a plan to include them in your ‘Must Do’ list or list of things that are important and necessary. Make your health goals SMART goals – Specific, measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely goals.
In 2018, my mission here is to inspire you to eat better and live better. Let us achieve together for a more productive and healthy human race.
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