Whew! One week in (to 2016) and I need to take a moment to catch my breath.
The holiday season is filled with a bounty of parties, food and eating, likely to excess and often of the sort that doesn’t best serve your body’s full potential.
I’m hearing the sighs and moans all around me – from my acupuncturist to my sister to my workout instructor! Are you moaning too?
For many of us the new year & our new year’s resolutions don’t start on Jan. 1st.
Instead we creep toward them as we do Monday morning after a long weekend. This leaves that new year hangover lingering, resulting in a state of feeling out of sorts.
And I’m here to let you know it’s OK. It’s not too late. And this year can be all about fresh starts.
You may have passed on making new year’s resolutions this year because, alas, they seem too hard, out of reach or the whole notion of resolutions lands as wildly frivolous. But wait! Please don’t skip the opportunity to come back to your core beliefs, desires and be true to yourself.

Resolution is your solution.

Let me explain…
Evidence shows that people who make resolutions have more success achieving their goals than those who do not. As you might guess, I’m especially fond of resolutions that focus on food and healthy habits – ones that are delicious and yet move the needle toward the outcomes you crave.
The food you eat does make a difference. It impacts every aspect of your health (from your skin to your mood to the energy you have to achieve all that you’d like in this new year).
I encourage you to experience firsthand how you can eat well AND feel well. And, ultimately you can step into this opportunity to open doorways to your other new year’s hopes and dreams (those beyond your body, your health and your food choices.)
Today, my call to action is simple…

Start the new year off with the chance to feel like yourself again!

I know, I know, it’s the time of year when your inbox and airwaves have likely been flooded with the word: “Resolution” (Mine certainly were!)
It’s easy to tune it out or turn it off but wait, don’t leave just yet!

I invite you to consider what you feel in your gut when you hear the word?
Maybe you picture a list of changes you want to make in the new year (eat cleaner, exercise more, learn a new language).
Maybe you imagine standing firm—saying NO to something once and for all.
Maybe the sense of excitement and hope is tainted with a sense of guilt and defeat from past attempts.
I’d like to take a moment to bring you right to the heart of this word, resolution, so we can savor it for a moment.
I searched way back to its oldest roots and here’s what I found:
Late 14c. (v.) < Latin resolvere, meaning to unfasten, loosen, release, undo, settle.

That’s right. Read it again!
For years we’ve thought of New Year’s Resolutions as goals to tighten up, discipline ourselves, and resist temptation. In fact it’s the opposite.
A resolution is a chance to undo, to release, and to settle things by physically letting them separate or distill.

  • What if instead of battling those cravings, you decided to call a truce, to release fears of the future and regrets of the past?
  • What if your gut feeling when you hear the word “resolution” changed entirely, from a hard “should” to an inquisitive “could?”
  • What if instead of saying NO, you started saying YES to more possibilities?
  • What if you made every single meal a feast, giving yourself MORE options instead of fewer?

What would your new year look like then?

It’s time for “resolution” to sound more like “celebration,” filling your soul not with dread, but with anticipation and joy!
Let’s start a resolution revolution together. One week in and I think now I’m ready.
Head over to the Replenish Facebook Page and let me know what your resolution is.
I want to know!
Warmly,
Andrea Nakayama

By:

Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.