Healthy Changes for 2016

It’s that time of the year again when we swear to make lasting changes for the better. Some we keep, but most we don’t. Either way, this shouldn’t stop us from trying to commit to better resolutions. After all, life is a constant series of trials and errors. Who cares how many New Years it actually takes to make one promise good? So long as eventually we do, that is all that matters.

1. STRESS LESS

by seeing your work as your personal mission and not just a way to pay off bills. No one ever got great doing something he didn’t feel was his calling, and if you cant see yourself feeling that way about your work now, then do yourself and everyone else a favor by quitting.

To quote the late Steve Jobs, the ones who change the world are the crazed-eyed few who didn’t quit doing what they do even when everyone else was moving on to easier ventures.

Outlast not outwit is the name of the game.

When all odds are stacked against you, the only way you’re not going to abandon ship is if you’re blindsided by love for what you do. As Mr. Jobs so generously tipped us, there are only two important loves in this life – the one you marry and the work you choose and, he continues, if you have not found it yet, keep looking because as with all matters of the heart, “You’ll just know.”

2. SAVE MORE

by spending nothing on what you don’t need and by not scrimping on what you do need. See every purchase as an investment and as a vote of confidence and you’ll soon find yourself second-guessing every item on SALE.

3. EAT MORE BUT WEIGH LESS

by eating real food and not “what looks like food.”

Give-up or limit:

Processed food. Anything that comes in a package and lasts 12 months is simply unhealthy. Ingredients you can’t pronounce and cannot picture. Put it down. It was grown in a lab, not a kitchen.

Dairy. Because it only causes acne and sinusitis. We’re all lactose intolerant by default; our bodies just learn to accept dairy with continuous intake the way it would nicotine and alcohol. Try giving it up for a month and see how your body automatically reverts to rejecting milk products. Opt for whole plant options like almond milk, nut cheese and coconut-based ice creams instead.

Refined sugar. It is highly acidic and very addictive. Opt for low glycemic options like coconut nectar, dates, Stevia, Grade A maple syrup and treat high glycemic Grade A honey as medicine, not as a sweetener. Agave is no longer healthy in a syrup form as this, too, is highly glycemic.

Trick: To lessen the sugar content of tropical fruits like mangoes, add a dash of lemon or calamansi on them.

Cured meat. Especially bacon. Yes, if you haven’t heard it yet, processed meat like bacon, sausage, ham and the likes are proven to cause cancer. While you’re at it, cut down on your animal protein as we’re all in danger of consuming too much of them. Excess animal protein is stored as fat (belly bulge, double chin, love handles) and acidifies the body, making us high at risk for diabetes, heart disease, allergies and cancer. Eat meat as a treat not as a staple and you’ll immediately look and feel great.

Healthy changes you can start today:

Chew well. Your stomach lining does not have teeth; the first line of digestion begins in the mouth. To avoid packing on unwanted weight, make sure to chew every spoonful 30 (if it is vegetables) and 50 (if it is meat) times for the digestive enzymes to act properly.

Eat fish with probiotics. All of the seafood now are highly radiated and mercerized. There is no such thing as organic seafood. If you have to have fish, you can lessen the toxicity by pairing it with high probiotic sources such as sauerkraut, fish-sauce free kimchi, pickled ginger and daikon or water kefir.

4. TRAVEL

in a foreign place where you don’t know anyone and drop the masks you wear to keep up with perceptions of you. Discover facets of yourself you never thought existed when you find yourself lost and helpless in a new road. Be surprised by the kindness and generosity of most strangers you will encounter along the way. Come back with a better grasp and appreciation for who you are, the people around you and the place you call home.

5. LEARN A NEW SKILL.

Like a new language! Dialects carry within them the culture of the native speaker. From the curb of their phonetics, to the arrangement of their grammar, to the very meaning of their words – a foreign language intimately reveals the secrets of its people to those who care enough to twist their tongue and lock lips with it.

6. MAKE RANDOM CONNECTIONS.

Outside Tinder, please. Get over yourself and greet the doorman the next time you enter a lobby. Say “thank you” to the waiter for serving your food warm and give compliments to the chef if your food turned out great. Smile to the passerby on the way to the gym and ask if you could share someone’s table at the cafeteria.

We’ve forgotten how to be intimate with strangers without our smartphones; it is high time we welcome back the romance of a chance encounter.

7. DETOX FROM SOCIAL MEDIA.

People are too busy posting their lives to actually live it. Try going to a concert minus the mandatory OOTD or selfie and free yourself from needing other people’s approval and appreciation. Social media is the highlighted reel of everyone else’s behind-the-scenes, it’s all glammed-up, cropped and edited to look real when most of it is staged and faked.

8. MAKE LOVE

with yourself. Really get to know who you are without judgment. Take away your title, your family, your peers and your belongings… Who is the person left? That is the real you.

Too often we confuse who we are from what we do and whom we are with and that is the root of all dissatisfaction. Why haven’t we achieved enough? Why don’t we look like this, drive that, and be with them?

Pull yourself back and remember who you really are before you got so busy building who you want to be. Appreciate that person and you’ll soon find yourself embracing the people around you for who they really are instead of what they do for you as well.

9. VOLUNTEER.

Giving is a gift by itself. Begin to be grateful about being in the position to share instead of having to be the one to receive. Drop people’s I OWE YOU’s and you’ll soon find yourself getting high from the pleasure of empowering others with your abundance. It doesn’t have to be material things; be generous with what you have a lot of. Do you sing well? Then serenade the elderly. Do you have a penchant for writing? Offer to tell stories to children. Blessed to have “craftsy” hands? Impart crafts that can be turned to livelihood for single moms. Whatever it is you have a gift for, capitalize on that by generously sharing it with others and watch how it betters you as well.

10. LET GO.

Forgive the past; it has done what it had to do in order to bring you a step closer to where you need to be. Even for the parts that hurt, be thankful, that, too, is a gift. Our hearts break so it can open up to give and accept love.