Welcome, 2020! It’s a new year, a new decade and most importantly a new chance to live your happiest, healthiest life. If you’re like 48% of Americans, you’ve set a goal to lose weight in the new year. It’s a great goal! Working on your health and wellness is a great and worthy goal.

Even though so many people set out to accomplish this goal, most people give up in three to six weeks! Most people give up within that time frame because they aren’t seeing the results they want to. It’s totally possible to see results in three weeks, but you have to work for them!

I want to give you 9 tips that you can turn into daily habits to help reach your health goals for 2020.

1. Change your mindset

A positive, growth mindset will change your whole life. If you can recognize and believe that you are capable of the goals you set out to accomplish, then you will accomplish them.

A growth mindset will allow you to use the natural gifts you have to reach your goal and it will teach you that you have the ability to learn and grow to make up for the rest. A growth mindset will also allow you to invest in getting the help and resources you need to accomplish your goal.

2. Create a plan

A dream doesn’t become a goal until you have a plan. Planning is absolutely critical to accomplishing your goals! You need an overall game plan as to what actions you’re going to take to achieve your goal.

If you’re looking to lose weight and be healthier in 2020, can I suggest creating a meal plan? Losing weight is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise. If you want to really lose weight, then you need to be eating a balanced diet that fits your needs. I can help you create a meal plan that will get you to your goal.

3. Aim to be 1% better than yesterday

After working with hundreds of weight loss clients, I’ve found that a fear of perfection will stop most people from even trying to be healthy. For some unknown reason, we’ve convinced ourselves that if we don’t do everything perfectly from the start then we are utter failures.

This is 100% WRONG!

If you want to be successful you just have to be 1% better than you were yesterday! If you fail, you get back up and try again. You only fail when you give in and stop trying.

Forgive yourself and move on. Try to do better tomorrow. If you can master this, then you’ll see success!

4. Increase your protein intake

Most people aren’t getting enough protein in their diets. It’s easily the least eaten macronutrient!

Protein plays a huge role in our bodies!

Protein is used to build and repair almost every tissue in our bodies, including our muscles and bones. It can even help with bone density as we age.
Protein helps improve hair, skin and fingernails.
Protein helps synthesize hormones, especially the hormones that affect our mood.
Protein supports the immune system and helps ward off illness.
Protein boosts the metabolism and helps us lose fat and stay lean.

People usually eat less protein because it takes a little more work to prepare. However, it can be super easy to have protein on hand. If you need help coming up with high-protein foods to have on hand, check out my IGTV!

5. Prepare for success

We talked about having a plan for our goals, but if we don’t prepare and implement that plan, then it’s useless!

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” - Robert Schuller

One place where my clients find prep work the most impactful is in the food prep. I teach them to prep as much of their food as they can before the week begins so that it makes cooking each meal easier!

If you rock at nutrition but struggle to be active, you could prepare yourself by setting out your workout clothes every morning so that you’re dressed and ready to workout first thing in the morning.

Determine where you need to focus and then prepare ahead of time so that it makes it easy to make healthy choices!

6. Drink more water

Water is a critical part of a healthy life. It makes you look good and it makes you feel good! Drinking more water every day will even help you to eat less! Water acts as an appetite

suppressant and thirst presents itself as hunger. If you’re suddenly hungry, try drinking a glass of water - at least eight ounces - before you get something to eat.

And because I know you’re a busy mama, I’ll give you another reason to drink more water. Water is a natural energy booster! It’s great for that 2 p.m. slump because dehydration can lead to fatigue, mental fog and even serious illness. Instead of reaching for another cup of coffee, an energy drink or soda, drink water! It will help you feel alert.

7. Get more sleep

Sleep is a huge factor in weight loss! I want you to prioritize your sleep and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep every night.

While you sleep your body flushes out toxins and your mind processes and stores information. Not only are these functions important to weight loss, but this is vital for every single person just to function!

8. Move your body

I’ve talked a lot about nutrition so far because nutrition is going to help you see the biggest changes in weight loss. However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to exercise!

Exercise is going to allow you to eat more food - the more you burn the more you need to eat! It’s also going to keep your body functioning the way it needs to! Exercise is important to your mental health as well. I absolutely recommend exercising along with a balanced nutritional plan!

The good news is that if you’re eating right, you don’t need to work out for something ridiculous like three hours every day. All you need is to move your body for 30 minutes a day to stay healthy!

9. Protect your plan

Protecting your plan going to be essential to achieving your goals in 2020. Do not fall prey to negative self-talk, your own excuses or the opinions of other people.

All of these things will test you on your path. Find your why and cling to it anytime you’re tempted to get off the path.

You are worth the time it takes to plan healthy meals. You are worth the time it takes to shop for healthy foods. You are worth the time it takes to prep healthy meals. You are worth the time it takes to protect your health.

Trust me. You are worth all of this!

If you need help creating a plan, preparing it and protecting it, then let’s talk! I can be in your corner helping you overcome the roadblocks and showing you the path to success.

9 Ways for busy moms to create healthy habits in the new year