New Year's resolutions are something a lot of us get excited about each year. It's the perfect excuse and perceived (at least) opportunity for us to better our health, well-being, skills, and relationships.
Unfortunately, the majority of people will end up quitting these resolutions rather quickly. If you're an active member in a gym you'll likely see this in real-time with new faces abound on January 2nd only to see normal activity levels return by March.
In my experience these New Year's Resolutions "failures" often result from overly broad and ambitious goals. People see the New Year as an chance to remake themselves and due to the excitement will overload themselves with significant lifestyle changes and new habits all at once.
When all of these changes happen immediately you can become overwhelmed and feel bad when you inevitably stumble along the way due to the rapid lifestyle changes. This can be difficult to cope with and can even lead to capitulation.
So what's the solutions to this?
"New Month's Resolutions"
A few years ago I ditched overly broad and ambitious New Year's Resolutions and decided to try something new. While I still choose a broad theme or goal for the year I break down this goal into twelve habits.
Each month, I will adopt a new habit that gets me closer to my goal.
Why break this down?
Easier to Focus
Let's say your New Year's Resolution was to "get in shape". Now on January 1st you decide that your are going to start cardio, resistance training, yoga, acrobatics, keto, intermittent fasting, etc.
Assuming many of these are new to you, you'll likely struggle to find the attention to truly focus on and become proficient in a single new habit. However, if your primary January goal is "fast for 12 hours per day" you'll be much more likely to be consistent daily.
This does not mean you can't, for example, begin going to the gym in January. It just means that you're attention is going to be on intermittent fasting with consistency, not gym habits.
Easier to Evaluate Changes
If you start taking five new supplements at once how are you going to know what's leading to your benefits? There could be a single one that's doing all the work but you would never know if you we're taking all at the same time.
Like most things in life Pareto's Principle applies. In other words, 80% of your results are going to be driven by 20% of your efforts.
Not every monthly habit is going to impact your life in the way you expect it to. You won't keep every goal you begin throughout the year and that's exactly the point.
In my experience thirty days is usually enough time to evaluate how a new habit is impacting your life. If it's obvious at the end of the month that
Habit Stacking
If you stick with a new habit for thirty days you'll have a much easier time keeping up with it (if you choose to do so.)
At this time you'll also be introducing a new habit which you will again be focusing on and evaluating for thirty days. By the end of the year you'll have several new related habits which all compliment each other and help push you towards your year's main goal.
Twelve New Years Resolutions for Beauty and Health
The following are twelve New Month's Resolutions to try if your goal is to embrace holistic and health-rooted beauty practices this year. Consider each month a challenge. You only need to follow each for ~30 days at which point you can decide whether or not to continue. If you're following be sure to let us know on Instagram! We love hearing your success stories.
January: Settle Into Your Beauty Sleep Routine
Good sleep habits are critical to preventing premature aging and optimizing our skin's glow. For many a good sleep routine can drastically increase the quality of beauty sleep.
The following are some small pieces of my current beauty sleep routine but feel free to add your own.
- Have a consistent sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, that ensures at least seven hours of sleep.
- Eat food no later than two hours before bed, and drink liquids no later than one hour before bed to minimize nighttime bathroom visits. My last drink is usually a cup of chamomile tea with raw honey that get's me in a cozy, relaxed state.
- Minimize blue light two hours before bed. You can get creative here! We love to turn off the bulbs and use non-toxic, beeswax candles at this hour but that is not always realistic. If you need to use a screen during this time blue light blocking glasses can help.
February: Ditch Chemicals, and Try Ancient Skincare Rituals
First, go on a bathroom purge and clear out any toxic chemicals from your skincare, beauty, and hygiene products. If it goes on your skin there's a very good chance it's also ending up in your body. For help check out our guide that helps you read cosmetic labels and identify toxic chemicals.
If you have experienced it yet consider trying out some ancient beauty practices such as cleansing your skin with raw honey and nourishing it with bison tallow. These are also both perfect habits to stack onto your new sleep routine and will leave you waking up with soft, clean, and hydrated skin.
March: Cook All Meals at Home
This one is going to be tough, and unlikely that you'll stick with it 100% after this month BUT committing to a month of cooking your own food at home will improve you cooking skills, make it easier to avoid inflammatory and aging processed and refined foods, and leave more money in your bank (i.e. less stress).
Be sure to follow us here as well as on Instagram where we share a diverse variety of anti-aging and pro-beauty recipes so you never get tired of the same foods. With that said, finding some consistency and meal planning at least your breakfast/lunch will make this month much easier. Save the new and exotic recipes for dinner time.
April: Eliminate Gluten and Processed Foods from Diet
Though there are quite a few pro-aging foods to avoid, and these can vary depending on your own body, these are two of the worst and most frequent offenders.
Processed foods can include any foods with artificial thickeners, emulsifiers, preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, or colors. These ingredients can be harmful in a variety of ways from damaging your gut lining to causing chronic inflammation. Though this is a broad category, you can minimize your exposure to processed foods by sticking to foods that are perishable and are found along the edges of the grocery store, or at your local farmer's market.
While I do eat gluten on occasion, particularly sourdough bread (relatively low in gluten) and bulgur, I find that minimizing gluten leads to noticeably less inflammation, helping slow the aging process. Giving yourself a full month without any gluten will allow you to evaluate how it affects your own health. At the end of this month try slowly reintroducing some gluten into your diet and see how it affects you.
May: Eat a High-Protein First Meal of the Day
The majority of women are underestimating how much protein their bodies need in a day. Starting your day with a high protein foods such as eggs, Greek yoghurt, or smoked salmon helps set the tempo for an active day.
In addition to this studies have shown that high protein consumption during the first meal of the day not only helps blunt blood sugar spikes during that first meal but helps blunt spikes from subsequent meals as well.
Less blood sugar spikes mean's less advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that destroy collagen and cause skin to age prematurely.
June: Enjoy Bone Broth or Collagen Peptides Daily
Building on May's goal to introduce more protein, this month will be introducing more protein diversity. Specifically, we'll be introducing glycine, lysine, and hydroxyproline rich proteins which are critical to collagen production and a healthy gut lining.
Two of the best foods to eat to get these amino acids are bone broth and collagen peptides. As it's summer you'll probably be leaning more towards collagen peptides. Get creative with this and enjoy them in a variety of smoothies and bowls. The Vitamin C will further aid your body in producing collagen for healthier skin and less wrinkles.
Enjoy some bone broth as well, ideally from pasture-raised, organic animals. Many modern humans in the West experience some form of leaky gut which can lead to chronic inflammation and premature aging. Bone broth can be extremely healing for this.
July: Nourish Your Gut Biome
By now your gut lining is probably much healthier than it was before June. It's time to focus on introducing more healthy gut bacteria. You're probably already doing this but focus on introducing more probiotic diversity to your gut biome this month. My personal favorites include goat kefir, Greek yoghurt, beet kvass, kimchi, and miso.
Consider trying a probiotic supplement this month as well. The L. Reuteri strains are of particular interest and are worth exploring. Personally I use the L. Reuteri 6475 strain (Bio Gaia is the only brand that carries this one) which has demonstrated it's ability to improve skin quality and hair luster in scientific studies.
August: Anti-Aging Snacks
Though I prefer two to three meals per day rather than "grazing" it is nice to have snacks on hand for whenever you have a particular craving. If a glass of carbonated water isn't going to do the trick and I need something salty I resort to snacks like buttery Castelvetrano olives, avocado slices with lime and salt, sardines, and seaweed.
For sweet cravings try assorted berries, honey, dates, dark chocolate, smoothies, and acai bowls. For the smoothies and bowls be sure to add your collagen peptides.
Having high-quality snacks on-hand such as these can help keep you from be tempted by less healthy options. Also, packed with antioxidants and healthy fats, these snacks can help protect your skin's collagen and promote a healthy glow.
September: Commit to Ten Thousand Steps per Day
Studies have shown that aerobic conditioning helps slow skin aging by enhancing the skin's mitochondrial function so this month we will be making it our goal to get 10,000 steps in per day.
Even if you consider yourself active there may often be days where whether due to work or other obligations we get no physical activity in at all. The goal this month is to figure out how to, at minimum, make sure you're getting your steps in.
How to do this? If you're neighborhood is walkable and you have the time, skip the drive. If you work at a desk, try a stand-up desk and get a mini treadmill for meetings. If you live in a rural area try enjoying some forest walks. Walk your dog. Walk baby in the stroller.
There are ten thousand different ways to accomplish this so embrace the creativity.
October: Use Eye Cream Daily
A long time ago my dermatologist told me if there's a single skincare product that you use (other than a cleanser obviously...) it should be an eye cream. This delicate region known as the periorbital area consists of very skin skin which is what makes it prone to dark circles and premature wrinkling.
By treating this area with adequate hydration and pro-collagen compounds, we can strengthen and thicken the dermis in this region helping reduce dark circles and wrinkles.
November: Dedicate Thirty Minutes Each Day to Stress Relief
As out there as it may sound a "brain-skin" axis does exist in which psychological stress can impact stress response in our skin. The stress in our lives can activate skin mast cells which in turn produce stress hormones and inflammatory compounds, causing a detrimental inflammation-oxidative stress cycle that can trigger various skin disorders as well as accelerated aging.
The goal this month is to learn how to manage our stress and make that a part of our daily routine. You can do this in any way you choose including gentle yoga, meditation, prayer, journaling, a forest walk, stretching, a bath, or relaxing in the sauna. Ideally you select only 1-3 and try to approach it with some consistency regarding timing.
December: Stay Hydrated
Why pick December for this goal? It's simple. During the winter our thirst sensation can drop up to 40%. If we're not consciously making an effort to stay hydrated it can be easy to neglect. Our skin is already stressed due to the cold, dry air and becoming dehydrated can exacerbate this issue, leading to dry and damaged skin.
Carry a metal or glass reusable water bottle with you and make an effort to sip water throughout the day. You can also enjoy other hydrating beverages such as bone broth, chamomile tea, and white tea, which you may already be doing from previous habits you've stacked this year.
Conclusion
New Year's Resolutions can be much more approachable and successful when broken down into smaller habits that build towards a greater goal. These small steps compound on and complement one another making it easy to build momentum.
If you wish to enhance your beauty and slow aging holistically this year commit yourself to small monthly challenges that will lead naturally enhance your beauty and increase well-being.