With one-third of 2019 already in the past, how have you been doing on your New Years' resolutions to take care of yourself and your health? If you're like a majority of people, you've probably fallen off the bandwagon at least a bit by now. Don't worry - there's still plenty of time to pick up where you left off and get back into healthy routines this year. Spring can be a great time to pick up on healthier habits as the weather warms up; here are a few tips to make the most of your self-care this spring.
Try A New Exercise Routine
If one of your goals for the year was to get in shape, you might have found yourself getting bored with that gym membership. Exercise doesn't always have to mean running on a treadmill though, especially if that gets to be more of a chore than it's worth. See if you can work exercise into free time or relaxation with a new sport, like tennis. Playing tennis for fun can burn around 169 calories in 30 minutes for a woman, and 208 calories in 30 minutes for an average man.
Short on time for regular exercise? See what active swaps you can make in your existing daily routine. A 2017 study found that biking to work burns as much fat as spending 40 minutes at the gym five days a week. Switching to biking or walking will keep you active without you having to find extra time in your busy schedule to work out.
Explore New, Healthy Foods
If you're a picky eater, finding ways to work more healthy fruits and vegetables into your diet can be a great form of self-care. Your body will get the nutrients it needs to take care of itself, plus you're expanding your palette and trying new things. Look for healthy additions you can make to meals, like microgreens. Microgreens are a tiny form of edible greens produced from very young vegetable, herb, or other plants. They can be a great healthy addition to a sandwich, salad, or dish, especially if you find it difficult to get enough vegetables in one day.
Reward Yourself
Been delaying on buying that purse or new outfit for a special occasion? Find a reason to reward yourself and get yourself something nice. Using rewards and treating yourself to nice things can encourage other healthy behavior you're trying to work on for yourself. Hit the gym recently, or finally took care of that doctor's appointment you'd been stalling on? Treat yourself to a shopping trip and or a nice dinner out.
Make Moves Towards Mindfulness
When looking up self-care tips online, you find lots of people suggesting meditation. However, mindfulness doesn't always mean meditating every day. While meditation can be helpful for some, try to get into a routine that includes mindfulness habits that work for you, whether that's regular journaling, yoga, reading, and more.
Don't Do It Alone
If you're trying to get better at taking care of yourself and developing healthy habits, one of the most useful tools you can have is other people and their advice. You don't necessarily need to rely exclusively on your friends for this; check out self-help books and the advice of professionals for tips that might work for you.
Spring can be a great time to work on your healthy habits, but everyone's going to have a different method of approaching their self-care in a way that works best for them. How do you plan to work on your self-care habits this spring?
