New Year, Healthier You

Welcome to 2019! Today we are going to break down some of the best things you can do to become a healthier you this year, and provide some useful strategies for sticking to your goals. [caption id="attachment_26335" align="aligncenter" width="980"] Goal Setting, Any Time of Year[/caption] Setting Attainable Goals If you’ve set New Year’s Resolutions in the past, you’ve probably experienced the feeling of disappointment when your big goals fizzled out. If this sounds familiar, just know you’re not alone. Roughly 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February! We want to help you learn how to be a better goal-maker, whether it be your New Year’s Resolutions, or any other time of the year. Be Clear, Know Your Purpose, and Make a Plan The first step for success is knowing your why. Goals that succeed are set with intention. “I want to lose weight” → Ask yourself why you want to lose weight. Look at the bigger picture to find your purpose: do you want a more physically capable body? Or, perhaps you are at risk for health issues that could very well be avoided by making some diet changes. Make a Plan: Break down your goal into actionable steps. This part is crucial. The idea of a goal is nice, but without a clear path to follow, goals often stay in your head. If your goal is to workout, get specific. What kind of exercise are you going to do? How often are you doing it? And when (days of the week, times of day) are you exercising? Example: “I want to exercise more” →

1. I want to build muscle by going to the gym,
2. 3 days per week,
3. On Monday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings.

Treating Your Body Right Now that we know how to make our goals achievable, let’s look at some of the best ways you can self-improve in the New Year. The return on treating your body right is invaluable. More energy, improved focus and recall, and plan ol’ feeling good. Below are some of our top tricks to optimize your health & overall wellbeing. Each tip is broken down into actionable steps that make them easy to implement into your unique daily routine. [caption id="attachment_26336" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Honor your biology: Move your body![/caption]

• Move Daily: Our bodies are designed to move. Thousands of years of evolution has crafted our whole bodies to move optimally. The sedentary lifestyle that has become all-too-common is a shock on our biology, and the consequences cascade into other aspects of our physical and mental health. Movement is more than just exercise- you don’t have to lift weights every day to be healthy. Dancing to your favorite songs, going for a swim, taking a yoga class- heck, even opting for the stairs instead of the elevator- are all little ways of incorporating more movement into your daily life. The Alitura Clay Mask is an incredibly simple way to get your body moving- it promotes circulation, oxygenation, and a healthier cardiovascular system. Find your favorite way to move and do it daily!
• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate: Water facilitates thousands of metabolic functions; it aids the body in digestion, promotes cellular detoxification, stimulates the production of collagen and keeps your skin looking youthful and radiant. We recommend striving for 3 liters of pure spring water a day; however, your intake may vary depending on activity levels. Adding a pinch of high-quality Himalayan or Celtic sea salt to your water helps enhance bioavailability and optimal hydration by balancing electrolytes.
• Optimize Your Diet: Each person’s needs are different, but the paleo/keto diet is a great place to start. Taking things a step further, we have the Bulletproof diet, which also takes into account mycotoxins in our food and optimal eating times.

For impressive results and easy-to-implement diet changes, the main things to focus on are:

• Eliminating gluten. Gluten is very inflammatory; many people have an intolerance and don’t even know it!
• Limit your dairy, sugar, and alcohol intake. These foods are very inflammatory, which causes internal issues as well as skin breakouts! (Pro tip: If you have a dietary slip up, the Alitura Clay Mask is a great way to hide the symptoms. But remember, you can’t hide how you feel on the inside, so making healthy choices is still important!)
• If you aren’t already eating organic, this is the year to begin doing so! Organic veggies, healthy fats, grass-fed beef, and antibiotic free chicken should all be staples in your diet. You may also want to give intermittent fasting a shot. Intermittent fasting (basically, a restricted eating window) enhances cognitive health, metabolic efficiency, and cellular detoxification.

[caption id="attachment_26334" align="aligncenter" width="752"] Healthy fats, organic vegetables, wild sockeye salmon[/caption]

• Get Serious About Skin: Your skin is your largest organ. It is incredibly absorbent, so be cautious of what you put on your skin. This includes topical lotions and serums, as well as the water you shower under. Most tap water is filled with a variety of chemicals and heavy metals that are absorbed into the skin (and breathed in, too, as the steam created by the warm/hot water). We recommend doing your research to purchase a high-quality shower filter.

[caption id="attachment_17841" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Click to Shop: The Alitura Pearl Cleanser, Moisturizer, Clay Mask, Night Cream, and Body Lotion[/caption] The skin is often considered the window into your inner health, as the health of your skin reflects how things are going inside of your body. We at Alitura recommend holistic skin care, which includes supporting the external canvas with nutrient-dense clays, medicinal and therapeutic moisturizers, while taking great care of our internal organs with high-quality nutrition, medicinal mushrooms and tonic herbs, and by regularly taking our Revitalize formula. We wish you all the best in 2019, and hope that you’ve found these tips helpful. Here’s to a happier and healthier New You!