Non-Diet New Year’s Resolutions

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In today’s post I am going to share tons of Non-Diet New Year’s Resolutions with you!

let this be the year that you decide not to go on a diet

It’s already that time again. A New Year is right around the corner, which means it’s time for everyone to publicly declare all the ways in which they plan to improve themselves in the next 365 days.

Unfortunately, most resolutions these days have to do with weight loss or cutting certain things out of the diet (in an attempt to lose weight or be “healthier”).

But the thing is, we know that diets don’t work, and they often lead to more weight gain, along with increased stress & anxiety around food, increased risk of eating disorders and/or disordered eating behaviors, and tons of other negative crap.

Listen to me when I say you do NOT need that negativity in your life, especially in the New Year! It’s a clean slate full of possibilities. Please don’t ruin it with more diets and more restriction.

Rather than thinking about all the things you need to take away, focus on all the wonderful things you can add to enhance your quality of life in the New Year. Set some goals that have absolutely nothing to do with restricting your food intake or changing that meaningless number on the scale.

I posted a question on my IG story asking you all to share your non-diet New Year’s Resolutions with me and I got SO MANY awesome responses. I couldn’t narrow it down and pick just a few to post on my stories, and I thought by sharing them here, we could all inspire others to set some non-diet related goals for the new year, too!

Let this be the year that you decide NOT to go on a diet.

Okay, time to share the amazing resolutions you all shared with me! Thank you so much for sending in your responses; I felt inspired and motivated just from reading all of them, and I hope anyone reading this post feels the same way!

Most Popular Responses:

1. Read more books
2. Be more present; less screen time / limit time on phone and social media (I know a lot of people take breaks from social media on weekends or just one day a week!)
3. Financial goals — save more money

Fitness-related New year’s resolutions

• Stretch more consistently (at least 3 days a week – this is mine!)
• Go on daily walks with my husband
• Add hot yoga back into my weekly intentional movement routine
• Increase my flexibility
• Get in some daily movement
• 230 workouts next year; I’m 4 away from my goal of 200 this year despite one surgery/fracture. (I want to encourage this person to also take time to rest when it is needed, and not to force workouts just to meet this goal. Going on a 20-minute walk still counts as movement, and might be just what your body needs on some days.) 🙂
• Hike at least one of Colorado’s many 14ers!
• Stick to a workout routine/be more active in general. They also noted: “I know it’s cliche, but I suck at this”. (I want to encourage this person, and anyone else who feels this way, to really seek out a type of exercise you actually ENJOY. Maybe that means working out with your bestie or significant other. I personally think group classes are super motivating and way more fun than working out solo. Maybe for you it means walking while listening to your favorite podcast, or doing some body weight exercises while you watch a show on Netflix. Mix things up; variety keeps it exciting! Find a type of movement you actually look forward to, set realistic expectations for yourself, and you’re way more likely to stick with a more consistent fitness routine this time around!)
• Run a half marathon
• Get stronger!
• 6 am wake up, yoga, meditation — me time!
• Run 2,019 miles in 2019!
• Get more movement in! Continue to work on feelings of guilt when they come up

Health-related new year’s resolutions

• Eat food that makes me feel good
• Floss more often (this was popular too!)
• Get my period back (this is a very important one that people don’t talk about enough — it is not normal to not have a period. If this is the case for you, I would strongly encourage you to look into why this is happening and take action. Talk to your doctor and/or see a Registered Dietitian for guidance and support. Follow @nutritionbyrobyn, @thereallife_rd, @drjolenebrighten. Book to check out: No Period, Now What?)
• Stop eating beef to help the environment
• Drink more water every day
• Set healthy boundaries for myself, with people, events, places, etc. (YES)
• Continue forming a healthy relationship with food before I go to college next year (click here to read my post on Food Freedom with lots of helpful Intuitive Eating Resources/Books linked!)
• Love my body and appreciate it for what it does, instead of hating it for what it doesn’t look like! (YES!)
• Develop and stick to a better skincare routine (linking my skincare routine here!)
• Get more sleep by going to bed by 10 PM
• Just overcame cancer so I want to regain physical strength and celebrate my mental strength! (AMAZING! CONGRATULATIONS!!)
• Start my own health and fitness dedicated IG page to help motivate myself and others!

Family & Relationship new year’s resolutions

• Foster parent not only kiddos, but also get approved to take on teen moms & their babies! (You are amazing!!)
• Putting date nights with my husband on the calendar
• Be more present with my children
• More date nights!
• Prioritize keeping in touch with friends! We aren’t getting any younger and time is flying!
• Make at least two new girl friends in 2019 (I love this!)
• Reach out to my grandparents more often! They do so much for me.

Financial new year’s resolutions

• No eating out in January to save money
• Save enough money for a down payment on a house in KC
• Be financially responsible, stop shopping so much and work toward my financial goals
• Save money for my wedding (congrats!!!)
• Learn to coupon and start a stockpile
• Pay off student loans
• Pay off ALL debt!

Self-Care goals

• 20 minutes of music and house cleaning after dinner
• Practice more self-care and remember to put my mental/physical health first sometimes
• Be more confident in my everyday life and read more books
• Read at least one book a month / read more books in general
• Be more present & mindful, less screen time
• Find a balance between showing everyone kindness and not being taken advantage of
• Start journaling
• Let go of things that are out of my control
• Choose positivity and happiness everyday. We are the only ones that can make us happy!
• Let go of my fear and take the leap without thinking twice!
• Making a few minutes to stop and relax every day
• Say yes to every opportunity
• Relax and slowly calm my anxiety, one step and self-care day at a time
• Self-care, and learning to say no
• Reading 20 minutes each night and limiting social media apps to 1 hour/day
• Mail a handwritten letter to a family member or friend every week (love this!)
• De-clutter and organize my life
• Consciously doing one thing every day to better myself
• Read my devotional every day and start journaling. Try the Calm App in the mornings.
• Saying NO more. Stop trying to do everything 24/7. More “me time”.
• Take time to rest my body & mind so they can heal
• Read two books a month
• Write in my gratitude journal every day
• Do something outside of my comfort zone
• Get organized!
• Wake up earlier in the morning to allow for some downtime before work
• Read before bed instead of looking at my phone
• Self-care!
• Love deeper and speak sweeter 🙂
• Be less attached to my phone
• Wake up early so when I get home from work I’m not overwhelmed!
• Do more exploring! I have recently come to LOVE being out in nature and I want to do more of it.
• Actually use my planner this year, LOL.
• Be better about taking pictures of things, places and people I love most!
• Take more pictures!
• Read books instead of being on social media!
• Read more and stress less
• Bullet journaling
• I have always wanted to learn French, so I am committing to a half hour every day on Duolingo!
• Allow myself grace to mess up, then promise to learn from it 🙂

Faith goals

• Build a better relationship with God
• Connect more with God through worship and prayer
• Read my daily devotional every morning
• Be more connected to my faith
• Bible in a Year via SRT app!
• Read personal development daily + a daily devotional (linking my daily devotional here – it’s less than $10 and I love it!)
• Working on prayer planning and journaling

Personal & Miscellaneous Goals

• Be consistent
• Try one new thing each month
• Read more often
• Be on time more often
• Give more compliments
• Watch my potty mouth! The F word is way too fun sometimes (LOL – I could probably work on this too.)
• Try to be more minimalistic
• Be more present & put my phone down
• To not talk about others’ downfalls, but rather, their accomplishments! Stay above the gossip (AMEN)
• Be grateful for what I have NOW and stop always thinking about what’s next. Live life.
• Organize and minimize when possible.. Don’t live in clutter surrounded by things we don’t need.
• Get to work earlier.
• Gossip less.
• Read more books, especially personal development. Just started You Are A Badass! (I’m currently reading Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and loving it so far! Linked here!)
• Stay positive and don’t sweat the small stuff!
• Start a blog
• Not using my phone irresponsibly while driving
• Try to practice my patience, and read one book a month
• Be more eco-friendly! Reusable bags, NO paper plates, plastic utensils or straws.
• Less screen time, more enjoying the moment
• Keep my house cleaner and more organized
• Be at least 5 minutes early

I hope this helped you think of even more great ideas for non-diet goals to set for yourself in the New Year! Again, thank you all so much for sharing your responses with me! I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for all of us! 🙂

Cheers!

Shanna