The Essential Guide to Transforming Your Health For Good

A new year, a fresh start. 

The beginning of another year always feels like the perfect opportunity to set big goals, pick a ‘theme‘ for the upcoming twelve months or create healthy new routines. But dreaming away and making plans is the fun part – actually realizing your goals is a lot more challenging.

Making New Year’s resolutions has gotten a bad reputation, because so many of us fail to quit smoking, lose weight or hit the gym on a regular basis once the initial motivation and excitement wears off. It’s not surprising that we often don’t succeed in our efforts, since we tend to get carried away with ambitious goals we want to achieve in no time. Real change doesn’t happen overnight; it takes clear intentions, realistic expectations and setting yourself up for success – plus a good dose of perseverance and luck.

Now, I’d hate for you to set your New Year’s resolutions because you feel you need to improve yourself in order to be ‘good enough’. No matter your size and shape, health, abilities and all your quirks, you are perfectly fine just the way you are now.

But I also know what it’s like to wish you were fit, strong and able enough to make that once in a lifetime trip with your lover or dance on your best friend’s wedding. To hope your brain fog would clear so you can study and take driving lessons. If you want less pain and more energy, less worries and more happy moments, less dependence and more mobility, setting goals the right way can surely help improve the quality of your life.

That’s why I rounded up my best articles from the archives, packed with science-backed tips on how to build healthy habits and tried-and-tested ideas for eating healthier, moving more and stressing less. 

And hopefully this will be the year in which you’ll transform your health for good, one baby step at a time.

Healthy Habits

12 Timeless Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

In a world that’s constantly changing, what’s considered “healthy” seems to differ from time to time and from culture to culture. Is there any health advice that passes the test of time? Get back to basics with these evergreen habits.

21 Simple Habits to Kickstart a Healthier Lifestyle

A total transformation of your health surely sounds appealing, but too many drastic lifestyle changes at once is not a recipe for longterm success. Instead, focus on creating one small habit that makes a big difference at a time.

Getting Back on Track: 11 Expert Strategies for Rebuilding Healthy Habits

Did you have one too many christmas desserts or glasses of champagnes over the holidays? In this article, I share the best tips from behavioural psychologists and habit experts on how to create lasting lifestyle changes that you enjoy.

Nourishing Nutrition

The Finest Healthy Eating Tips from Your Favourite Food Bloggers

Eating healthier can seem overwhelming, especially with all the conflicting information about nutrition around. That’s why I asked best-selling recipe creators like Deliciously Ella Woodward and Sarah Britton from My New Roots (plus many more!) for their number one tip to start tuning up your eating habits!

How to Effortlessly Eat a Balanced Diet

Getting the entire range of vitamins and minerals without consuming too much of one particular nutrient is vital for a healthy body and mind. But coming up with new recipes every day can be quite a challenge. Luckily, this article shows you a smart but simple strategy to eat a more balanced diet – without stressing out.

Crowding Out: Why Adding Food Equals a Healthier Diet than Subtracting

What if, instead of thinking of which foods you have to give up to eat healthily, you start focusing on nourishing your body with wholesome foods that actually taste good too? Here are 12 ideas for applying the principle of ‘crowding out’ in your life.

Moving Your Body

19 Quirky Ideas to Fit More Physical Activity into Your Busy Day

Most of us drive to work, sit behind a desk all day, before we go home again to chill out on the couch. Apparently, the average adult spends 9,3 hours sitting down – and it’s slowly killing us. Have a look at 19 small ways for you to move more often.

Expert Advice: How to Overcome Obstacles to Exercising with Chronic Illness

Pain, fatigue and limited mobility can make it hard to move around, let alone stick to a regular exercise routine. In this blog post, a few of the finest fitness experts share their best advice on how to overcome these common barriers to physical activity when you’re chronically ill.

The Simplest Exercise to Improve Your Posture, Energy Levels and Overall Health

Slouching and poor posture doesn’t just affect your appearance and spinal health; research shows that how you carry yourself also impacts your energy levels, mood and ability to focus. So straighten up and start your day with this power pose!

Rest & Relaxation

6 Unconventional Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Getting plenty of shut-eye is the foundation of a good health. But following the standard sleeping advice is not always sufficient when you have a medical condition, your baby is keeping you up all night or when you work night shifts. If that’s the case, try these 6 unconventional tips to beat insomnia naturally.

Reframing Stress: 7 Psychological Tricks to Change How Stress Affects Your Health

Did you know that changing the way you look at a stressful event can therefore change your experience of it – and the effect it has on your wellbeing? Check out how your own thoughts can lessen the negative impact daily hassles have on your health and happiness.

Mindful Microbreaks: How to Recharge Yourself Within Minutes

What if you would spend the small pockets of spare time during your busy day doing something that truly recharges your body and mind, instead of scrolling through your social media feed – again? Have a look at 7 mindful practices to quickly de-stress and renew your energy.

Would you like to get more in-depth advice on healthy living in the new year? Sign up for free weekly updates here.