healthy new year | Secrets from My Macrobiotic Kitchen with Julie S. Ong

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
~Norman Vincent Peale

It happens every year. You create a few resolutions that will hopefully get you back on track for the New Year. You follow through for a couple days, maybe even a couple of weeks. However, as time goes on, the enthusiasm fades and you’re right back where you started. How can you keep the momentum going and accomplish what you set out to do?

To initiate change and stay on your path, you must change the way you perceive your goals. Let’s take a look at the word resolution (re-solution). Resolution comes from Latin, meaning “to loosen or dissolve again,” which was the original meaning. So, it is about loosening your current perspective, transforming your old habits and thought patterns into something more productive.

Here are three tips for keeping your New Year’s resolutions:

1. Support your True Essence.

Rather than focusing on how something is going to happen, you will create actions that support your True Essence. This is the key to sustaining and spreading positive energy to help you move ahead.

When you examine your True Essence, you’ll find you are, at your deepest level, healthy, healed, whole, and complete. Learn to identify “should” behaviors that are not aligned with your core truth. “Should” behaviors are actions that you “should” be doing because of pressure from external sources, such as society, family, or friends. For example, you may go to the gym because your family wants you to be thin, yet you can’t meet this expectation. This inner conflict may trigger feelings, such as guilt or sadness. (As is often said in AA meetings, “Don’t should all over yourself.”)

When your emotions are triggered, receive three deep breaths and come back to the Present Moment. This will help you reconnect with your True Essence.

2. Change your thoughts.

In order for a change to take place, you must change your thoughts. This means discovering what your thoughts are and changing them so that you support your True Essence.

In your journal, keep track of your thoughts throughout the day. You may notice that you have thoughts about devaluing yourself, which will ultimately sabotage your progress. Next, meet yourself where you are and go a little higher. Begin with your belief and ask that your belief be raised. These are called Progressive Affirmations. For example, you may write the following:

I need help remembering I am loved.
I am beginning to remember I am loved.
I am remembering more and more I am loved.
I am seeing evidence I am loved.
I am seeing more and more evidence I am loved.

3. Look for Positive Evidence.

During the day, notice positive evidence that supports your Progressive Affirmations. Make a note of what occurred that validated your affirmation. For example, if someone spoke respectfully to you, highlight it in your journal. Also, notice any positive change that takes place in your thoughts, emotions, and body. Answer these three questions in your journal:

What are my thoughts?
What are my feelings?
What is showing up in my body? What physical sensations am I having?

For change to occur, you must look within, at the foundational thought patterns that initiate behavior. When your thoughts change, you will see your authentic self, and your outer world will be a reflection of your inner beauty.

A systemic cleansing and detox is definitely the way to go after each holiday. It is the key to fighting high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and other health-related illnesses.
~Lee Haney

Want to rev up your health after all the holiday partying and overindulgence? You may want start the new year off right by adding a few changes to your daily routine. A big lifestyle change can seem overwhelming at first. However, really simple changes to your menu plan are not hard at all and help you feel so much better about yourself and what you are doing.

If you want to revive your energy and get started on the right foot, there are a few things you can do right now. Here are three simple things you can do to rest assured you are doing a good job:

1. Rebalance with whole grains

One important benefit of eating whole grains is the high fiber content which helps your intestines stay healthy. One whole grain you can incorporate into your daily routine if you are on a time crunch is 1/2 – 3/4 cup cooked oatmeal every morning. Starting your day with oatmeal, like steel-cut oats, is ideal for a 24 hour bowel cycle. This will help establish a regular rhythm and rebalance your intestinal function.

2. Cleanse with vegetables

Colorful vegetables not only provide important nutrients, they also help cleanse your body of toxins. Be sure to include these three vegetable categories:

Dark greens, like kale chips, are important in your diet for necessary minerals. They also have upward, rising energy which cleanses the liver, helping you feel vibrant and refreshed.
Sweet vegetables, like carrots, onion, and parsnip, provide natural sweetness to help curb sugar cravings. These vegetables stabilize blood sugar levels and support spleen and pancreas function.
Seasonal vegetables, like winter squash, have the perfect energy you need to harmonize with nature. Eating foods cooked according to the seasons helps you adjust to your environment for a stronger immune system to resist diseases like cancer.

Including one cup of vegetables from each category to your daily regime can help stimulate digestion and cleanse your system.

3. Ground yourself with beans

Low fat, high fiber beans are ideal for maintaining body weight while strengthening intestinal function. Switching from animal protein to vegetable protein in beans helps the body cleanse fatty deposits and prevent heart disease. Beans also have grounding, stabilizing energy which counterbalances destabilizing foods like alcohol. Because long term consumption of animal protein weakens the kidneys and depletes your energy, eating one cup of beans every other day in place of animal protein can help generate more vitality.

A fresh New Year begins with a fresh new you and that means overhauling your health from the inside out. So, no matter what you have planned for your menu, include whole grains, vegetables, and beans and know that you are doing a good thing for you and your family.