Healthier habits for a healthier me

I don’t believe in New Year resolutions. I think we put too much unnecessary pressure on ourselves to be completely new people overnight and it’s simply impossible. I used to think it would be easy to just be healthy because I wanted to do it. However, I realised that the desire to do a good thing is 80% of the challenge but I also need to develop better habits that support my desire. That’s why, my main goal this year is to instil better habits and by the grace of God to see changes in a few areas of my life.

My main goal this year is to lose some weight and become more active. That can be a goal for many at the beginning of January – probably all the overindulgence over Christmas – so here’s a list of some habits I have adopted or plan to pick up this year.

Make a plan

I love food. Food is usually on the brain at any given point during the day – especially when I am thinking about recipes I want to show on the blog or perusing Instagram to see what other foodies/bakers have been making. However, when it came to my every day meals, I wasn’t giving it much thought and it meant I would eat my meals quite sporadically. For example, most of the time I wouldn’t know what I wanted for breakfast so I would just have two slices of toast with some butter. This isn’t the worst breakfast but it meant that I was starving in two hours and in my hungry haste for food I would make instant ramen or order something on Uber Eats. Then for dinner it would be a lot of carbs (rice or pasta) with some protein and minimal veg. I wasn’t eating junk food or snacking a lot which is partly why I couldn’t understand my weight gain but I was definitely not eating in a way that was doing me any favours.

Therefore, I now plan out most of my meals for the week. I make sure that for breakfast I have some form of fruit every day and I’ll have that with either some yoghurt and granola or cereal. Then for dinner, I try and make my plate as balanced as possible. I’m quite fortunate that, as I live with my parents, they are also trying to have healthier eating habits. I don’t cook my meals myself because of my disability so when I’m planning my meals I have to consider my mum who does a lot of the cooking. To avoid her cooking two separate meals every day, we try and find a balance of what all of us would like. Sometimes it’s really easy and other days it’s a bit more difficult but since we are all committed to doing better, we make it work.

Finding something active that I enjoy

I am a wheelchair user. I also have limited movement in my upper and lower limbs. Therefore, the typical exercises that people recommend when you are trying to start a weight loss journey simply do not work for me. The Couch to 5K is fine in theory but not a feasible option! This meant I had to look at physical activity that would be beneficial but also enjoyable. I used to go to the gym and it was fun and novel at first but after a while I realised I didn’t really enjoy going there. However, I have always enjoyed swimming and for the last three months I have made a habit of going at least once or twice a week. At first, my body was super sore but now I’ve gotten used to it, I really crave going back into the swimming pool when I haven’t been for a while. The second thing I found really enjoyed were K-pop workout videos on YouTube. I know, any excuse for me to Stray Kids but honestly the videos are really fun! I discovered seated workout videos during covid and I was shocked at how much it gets my heart pumping. I’m pretty sure I look ridiculous when doing it but it’s a fun way to get moving.

Feed my soul

As you older, it’s very easy to get caught in the monotony of life. I definitely fell into the habit of coasting through each day and not really taking time to express gratitude and just reflect on the day as a whole. Therefore, I’m trying to be more conscientious of how I spend my free time. Rather than starting the day with social media, I am trying to read my Bible or listen to some gospel music. It’s a very small thing but I know that it is an important one.

Love is patient, love is kind

I am extremely goal oriented. It was great throughout my educational studies but not so great for everyday life. It means I can be pretty hard on myself when things don’t go as quickly as I would like them to all things don’t work out as I planned. Therefore, I am striving to be more conscientious of my own internal monologue and to be far more patient and kind to myself. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if the habits I’ve listed out above don’t stick or if something happens that means I have to readjust plans. My main goal is to be healthier and I will continue to strive for that but loving every aspect of my mind, body and soul comes first. At the end of the day, I am only human.

Do you have any goals for 2026? Any habits you hoping to pick up this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Lots of love

Mary xx