Prepared by Nutritionist Chen Yin
Proper planning in advance is useful as a guideline as well as a progress tracker, be it for your career or personal goals. To start your year right, lets workout a realistic plan to work toward your new year resolutions. Kick start with some of the recommendations here and then customize the contents based on your lifestyle.
- Focus on building quality meals
Incorporate a wide variety of nutrient-dense food at every meal that aligns with your target which helps you to fulfil your daily nutritional requirements.
My Healthy Plate (Source: Health Promotion Board
An easy-to-understand visual guide which helps you adopt healthier eating habits by following Quarter, Quarter, Half proportions of each food group in a well-balanced meal. Here’s how:
- Fill Quarter plate with wholegrains.
- Fill Quarter plate with good sources of protein.
- Fill Half plate with fruit and vegetables.
- Supplementing the shortfalls
It’s challenging sometime to have regular and well-balanced meals all the time and many are unable to meet daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. Supplementing these shortfalls is important to keep us healthy.
Multivitamins and minerals is very basic supplement that helps to fulfil your daily nutritional needs. Apart from that, probiotic is good bacteria which may improve your gut health for better absorption of nutrients while fish oil which is a good source of omega 3 (DHA and EPA) are beneficial for your brain, heart and eyes health.
- Move more and log your workouts
Work on increasing daily energy expenditure in a realistic means. For instance, walk up or down an escalator instead of standing, and walk to your destination instead of taking transport if it is a short distance.
Be physically active and log your workout regularly for a better progress tracking. Set a number of realistic goals and make it a habit which eventually become part of your lifestyle. Don’t forget to reward yourself for unlocking achievements.
- Pay attention to your emotion and mental health
When you are aware of your feelings, it allows you to have a better management of your emotions instead of having them run the show. Stress management is always associated with mental health. A good way to reduce stress is by practising deep breathing.
Deep Breathing
- Get comfortable. You can lie on your back in bed or on the floor with a pillow under your head and knees. Or you can sit in a chair with your shoulders, head, and neck supported against the back of the chair.
- Breathe in through your nose. Let your belly fill with air.
- Breathe out through your nose.
- Place one hand on your belly. Place the other hand on your chest.
- As you breathe in, feel your belly rise. As you breathe out, feel your belly lower. The hand on your belly should move more than the one that's on your chest.
- Repeat for three more full, deep breaths.