by Sharon Quercioli

Happy New Year and Happy 2022! While the past couple years have been somewhat tumultuous, let’s look to the new year with open eyes, big hearts, a smile, and big goals. I love setting new goals for the year. Whether they’re in the form of “resolutions” or just goals to keep in mind, I think that “bettering ourselves” is a great way of looking toward the future.

For 2022, I’ll be focusing on living a healthier life. Would you like to join me? When it comes to living a healthier life, there are several categories to keep in mind. So, this article is divided into categories. Consider using them as jumping off points to look for improvements that you can make or maintain in your life.

Hygiene and Safety Precautions

While I don’t intend on being as diligent as I was at the beginning of the pandemic, I still intend on keeping up with my current level of handwashing, sanitizing, mask-wearing (according to mandates) and keeping my house clean. If I’ve learned anything from the last couple years, it’s that before the pandemic I wasn’t as attentive as I should have been when it comes to sanitizing my home. 

In particular, these are the things I wish to maintain in the next year:

• A sanitation basket in my foyer for packages and for leaving/coming home, which includes disinfectant wipes and sprays, disposable gloves and hand sanitizer.
• Continuing to wash my hands for at least 20 seconds when I come home (Happy Birthday song)
• Trying not to touch my face too often
• Following mask and health mandates as they change

Healthy Eating Habits

Instead of a weight loss goal this year, I intend on keeping healthy eating habits. Because I’m not focusing on a crash diet or a fad diet, this should be something that I can maintain in the long run. It is also something that can easily modified depending on special occasions, social situations and seasonally. 

Eating Breakfast Every Day

Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. I have been guilty of not always having breakfast. Mornings are busy, but that is no excuse. Keeping sliced and frozen fresh fruits in the freezer and fresh greens in the fridge makes breakfast a breeze. Just plop in a few of your favorite fruits, greens, some unsweetened almond milk and protein or fiber in a blender, and you’re all done! You can even drink it on the go!

My Smoothie “Recipe”

The great thing about smoothies is that you can vary the ingredients based upon the season or your tastes. I love to mix it up, so I get a different flavor every now and then. Here are some of my suggestions. Try including one from each category:

• A healthy fat: almond butter, coconut milk or chia seeds are great options
• A protein or fiber: a dollop of Greek yogurt or a scoop of protein powder make this easy 
• Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, sliced up bananas, mango, pineapple or any fruits in season
• Vegetable: spinach, kale, or avocado (which also serves as a healthy fat) are my favorites
• Liquid: unsweetened almond milk, coconut water or juice are wonderful options

If you know you’re going to have a rushed morning, you can even make your morning smoothie the night before and keep it in the fridge. Easy peasy!

Eating Small Meals Throughout the Day

As the day goes on, my meals tend to get smaller and have less sugar and carbohydrates. This has been my rule in the past month—my stomach has been ever so grateful. Leaving room for an occasional big dinner (usually during special occasions), and eating small but frequent meals, are better for maintaining a healthy weight and blood sugar level.

Staying Hydrated

Drinking water used to be a pain. While sugary drinks were never an issue, I had a penchant for tea or coffee. But, as I get older, I’m finding water to be more helpful when it comes to my energy level, skin health, overall health, a clearer and more focused mind, and general well-being. Staying hydrated is always a great goal to have in mind. Always keep a glass or water-bottle full of water at your fingertips. We’re lucky enough to be able to have access to clean water. Let’s not take that for granted.

Healthy Skin, Healthy You

The past couple years have been hard on my skin. The constant handwashing and hand sanitizer applications have dried out my hands. In addition to drinking more water, I’ve been looking into different brands of lotion to help keep my skin soft and supple. While we normally focus on our faces when it comes to skin care, let’s not forget we have an entire body to look after. Each of us has a different reaction to lotions, so I can’t recommend a good brand. In addition, I’m not a dermatologist, and I always recommend talking to your dermatologist if you’re having skin issues. What I can suggest is:

• Try finding a moisturizer or lotion with some sunscreen
• Look at your skin type to see if you need a cream, lotion or ointment
  • Dry skin needs an ointment
  • Normal skin does well with a cream
  • Oily skin needs something lighter, like a lotion
• Look at the ingredients. If you are prone to allergic reactions, try to find a moisturizer that has glycerin as one of the main ingredients because it is less likely to cause a reaction.
• Moisturizers that smell good are tempting but unscented ones are often better for you and have better ingredients.

Varying the Types of Vegetables with Each Meal

With meat being so expensive these days, people are turning toward chicken and vegetables to pick up the slack. This is great news! Plates full of lean meats and a healthy variety of vegetables are both nutritious and delicious. 

The easiest way to make sure we’re eating well is to look at your plate and note how many colors you see. Try to aim for at least two different colors of fresh fruits and vegetables on your plate for each meal. Carrots and spinach with dinner… An apple and carrot sticks for a snack… Kale, radish discs and raspberries on your salad at lunch.

Staying Active and Exercising

Focusing upon staying active is a healthy and more manageable way to exercise, especially if you don’t like to exercise. Trying to incorporate different ways of staying active will ensure you’re working different muscles and keep things from being boring. 

It is important to remember that even just a little bit of focused exercise each day (just five or ten minutes of yoga or stretching) can help keep us healthy. 

Some other, easy things that can be incorporated into our daily lives include:

• Stretch breaks on the hour if you sit at a desk for work
• Parking your car at the far end of the parking lot and walking up to the store
• Taking the stairs instead of an elevator
• Bicycle to work once a week
• Do calf raises while you’re standing in line
• Fidget while you’re at your desk (This is a great way to strengthen your fine motor skills and hand muscles.)
• Suggest having walking meetings
• Instead of meeting friends for lunch, why not walk the mall or go on a hike
• Stretch or walk on a treadmill while you watch TV or listen to a podcast
• Drink more water so you’ll have to get up and use the bathroom more often
• Take dance breaks often
• Use a fitness tracker to keep track of how many steps you take every day, and try to beat your own number

Keeping active doesn’t have to be something that takes hours at a time. Just a little bit incorporated into daily activities will go a long way. So, working some of these healthy habits into your daily life will help making 2022 our healthiest year to date. 

Let’s raise our glass of water to a healthy and Happy New Year!