Healthy New Year Resolutions Beyond the Scale - Tayler Silfverduk, DTR - new year new you, new year resolutions, new years resolutions, healthy new year, new year health goals, new year goals, new years goals, celiac disease, gluten-free living

I could list a billion reasons why your healthy new year resolutions should not include weight-loss but chances are that if you’ve chosen to read this post, then you’re well aware of the benefits.

That being said, I’ll just briefly touch again on the benefits of choosing resolutions beyond the scale.

  • Weight is not a behavior and should not be measured or treated like one.
  • Weight is not a good indicator of health, it fails to take into account a variety of lifestyle factors (like sleep, movement, stress, etc.)
  • Weight does not define worth.
  • BMI and weight are used as quick screening tools by health professionals – nothing more and so again, they say little about your health.
  • There are plenty of other goals you can set that will honor your health.

If you are struggling with weight gain and you have celiac, check out this post I wrote all about weight-gain following a celiac disease diagnosis.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are 10 healthy new year resolutions that don’t include weight-loss.


1.
Better sleep habits

Are you getting enough sleep? Are you getting high-quality sleep? Perhaps a healthy new year resolution might involve you improving your sleeping habits.

We know that getting enough sleep can benefit gut health, reduce food cravings, improve mood, help with overall energy levels, and more. If you think about how you want to feel on a daily basis, I can say that getting enough sleep can help you get there.

If you want to improve your sleep habits, take a moment to look at your current bedtime routine and identify some ways you might be able to improve it.

For me, one of the most helpful things related to improving my sleep has been not working in bed. This means I never take my laptop or planner to bed with me. My bed is for relaxing only and that has really helped with my sleep quality.


2.
Enjoyable movement

Much like sleep, physical activity and movement are linked to a variety of health benefits. What’s great about it is that you don’t have to run 5 miles (or run at all) in order to get these benefits. A habit as simple as walking for 30 minutes a day can help. Heck, even gentle stretching for a few minutes has benefits to doing nothing.

Think about how you want to feel this next year and see if movement can help support that. If it can, find a form of movement that you enjoy and make it a habit. For me, I love walking, dancing, and lifting weights. I find some way to incorporate one of these forms of movement in my day, even if it’s just for 10-15 minutes. I find that I sleep better and just feel overall better when I do.


3.
Develop a self-care routine

If you’ve been reading along with me for a while, you know that I am a huge advocate for self-care. It’s super important yet often overlooked (or if it is looked at, it’s this out of reach or expensive seeming trend).

Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as taking a shower or brushing your teeth. Honestly, self-care is whatever you need it to be and that is different for everyone.

I developed a self-care routine printable, if you want it, sign up for my email list below.

If you need some inspiration or need more convincing on the importance of self-care, check out my self-care routine blog post and my 15 ways to practice self-care when you have celiac disease post.


4.
Develop a sick day self-care kit/plan

My self-care routine planner includes a section to help you do this but you don’t need my self-care routine planner to do this. Having a plan for taking care of yourself when you sick can be so helpful.

Ask yourself, when I’m sick, what do I usually need? What needs do I struggle with honoring? How can I help myself take care of me more easily when I am sick?


5.
Start to journal

Writing in a journal can be a great way for you to get in tune with yourself. It can also be a great way to track gratitude, a practice that has a vast amount of benefits.

For me, writing in a journal daily is too overwhelming, but I do have a goal of trying to get my thoughts on to a page at least once a week (but I try to do it more than that). Whenever I journal, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest and that my intentions have been clarified.

If you feel like you are having trouble identifying what you really want or need, or perhaps you feel like you are full of emotion, writing in a journal might be a good habit to start practicing.


6.
Build social media feeds that inspire you and make you feel good

I’d say limit and remove social media altogether because research shows that it has potential negative mental health impacts again and again, but I feel like I’d be a hypocrite because I have no intention of doing that, ever.

That being said, I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been following accounts that have been making me feel bad rather than good. I’ve been making an effort the past few months to remove or mute these accounts from my feed in order to better support my own sanity.

I’ve also made a point to find and follow accounts that open my mind to things beyond celiac disease and gluten-free living. I’ve been really loving following HAES aligned accounts along with creative accounts.

If you feel like you leave social media feeling worse than you did before using them, perhaps this resolution of cleaning up your social media feeds is right for you!


7.
Find your community

Support is important. Whether you’re a woman in a male-dominated workforce, a struggling student, or someone with celiac disease, support is always helpful for staying sane in these situations.

Personally, being a dietetic professional and student brings on it’s on isolating battles. Finding my people and seeking support from them has been so helpful. Additionally, my supportive community on Instagram surrounding celiac disease has really helped me live beyond my disease.

If you’re struggling with feeling alone, perhaps finding and participating in a community that speaks to you is a resolution to consider!


8.
Focus / build supportive relationships

Focusing on and building supportive relationships is an awesome healthy new year resolution to have. We all know that saying that we are as good as the top 5 people we surround ourselves with. I’m not sure how true the saying is, but I do know that when I am around supportive people I feel better.

I’ve spent a lot of time working on my inner circle the past couple of times and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve removed toxic people and focused on nourishing my supportive friends. On top of that, I’ve tried really hard to make sure that I support my friends.

If you think you need more support, perhaps focusing on and cultivating more supportive relationships this year is a resolution to consider.


9.
Choose people over paper

My mentor, Kelly Schmidt says “There will always be work to do” and this new year resolution focus is inspired by her.

As someone who struggles with working too much, I really resonate with this idea of choosing people over paper. When I work too much, my health suffers. This is why choosing people over paper is 9th on my list of healthy new year resolutions.

If you find yourself working too much, perhaps saying yet to people more and no to working overtime more is the key resolution for you.


10.
Buy clothes that fit

This is something I do every year since I learned about HAES practices. I realized that having clothes that fit and that were comfortable was much better than hating that I couldn’t fit into my high school jeans.

If you have a tendency to keep clothes that don’t fit or to try to keep squeezing into clothes that are too tight, perhaps this resolution is for you. Maybe it’s time to let go of your small clothes and instead, replace them with clothes that you love and that fit.


These were my 10 healthy new year resolutions that go beyond the scale, now I want to know from you, what healthy new year resolutions do you have that don’t involve weight-loss?