Happy New Year. The new year is the season that signals a fresh start and new beginnings. That is why there’s no better time to refresh your daily wellness routine and find new ways to de-stress or recharge. To help, I asked a handful of wellness experts for tips for a healthier year ahead. Read on for their best advice on:

• Enter 2020 Anxiety-Free by Krista William, Co-Host of the #1 health podcast
• 3 Steps to Mindful Eating by Erin Palinski-Wade, Dietitian & Expert
• Take a “Time In” by Josephine Atluri, a meditation teacher
• 5 Ways To Have Better Periods by Amanda Montalvord, Women’s Health RD
• Daily Workouts by Genevieve Farrell, Fitness & Wellness Director at POPSUGAR
• ‘Less is More’ Mindset by Lizzie Delacy, founder of Bodypeace app
• Better Sleep by Alex Curtis, Los Angeles Wellness Blogger

Wellness Tips For The New Year by The Experts

In the new year, pick one of the wellness tips by the experts that resonate with you and apply it to your daily wellness routine.

Enter 2020 Anxiety-Free

Krista Williams, Creator of the blog that keeps it ‘100’ Hundred Blog, Co-Host of the #1 health podcast Almost 30, Creator of the go-to resource for podcasters, Your Podcast Pro

The holidays can be a lot (I know for me they always have been)! It’s a lot of fun, stress, emotion, travel, family time, food….it can feel like the least relaxing time of the year for some! My wellness tip is simple and has made such a difference for me.

It’s checking in on each moment to make sure I am present. For soo long I always felt like I looked forward to the holiday time, and then when I got to it, I wasn’t in the moment and was already planning for 2020 or felt anxious overall.

This year I am trying my best to remind myself that the holiday time can be relaxing and that I can make it a restorative time if I am present to each moment and not rushing around or in my head. With the reminder of presence, this year I felt way more relaxed with my family, around food and travel. I was able to even be productive doing things that felt good to me at the moment. So, if it’s a hard time for you, or a fun time, reminding yourself that it only happens once a year and to there for all the feels! 

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3 Steps to Mindful Eating

Erin Palinski-Wade (RD, CDE, CPT), Dietitian & Diabetes Expert, Best-Selling Author, Writer for Everyday Healthy & Readers Digest

My favorite tip for getting healthy in the New Year is to focus on HOW you eat and not just WHAT you eat. When you focus on how you eat, it can allow you to be more mindful, which in turn can help you to be more in tune with your body’s cues. So how can you start eating more mindfully in the New Year?

The 3 Step Plan:

Step #1: Always put your food on a plate. Then sit down to eat. Eating out of a bag or eating on the run doesn’t allow you to really experience what you are eating. Instead, you are rushed, eat too fast, and don’t feel satisfied.

Step #2: Eliminate distractions. When you sit down to eat, focus only on the food you are about to enjoy. Put away your phone, the computer, and anything else that may distract you. Be fully present and focus on enjoying every bite. The more you pay attention, the more enjoyable the food will become.

Step #3: Eat slowly and savor every bite. I recommend using the ‘rule of 5’ when eating. This means, chew every bite of food at least five times before swallowing. Then put your fork down for 5 seconds in between bites. It may seem like a small adjustment, but you will be amazed at how much less you need to eat to feel satisfied when you truly slow down and listen to your body instead of eating with your eyes.

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Take a “Time In” 

Josephine Atluri, a corporate meditation teacher in LA, who has also taught at Equinox and Unplug Meditation. Josephine and her work have been mentioned in the LA Times, The Thirty, and Women’s Health Magazine.

Take a moment to refresh and re-energize yourself by using the power of your breath. Breathe in slowly through your nose aiming to fill up your body with as much air as possible then breathe out slowly through your mouth releasing any tension or stress that you may have within you. Repeat for as many times as necessary. By taking this moment for yourself to become present, you will feel more relaxed and better able to return to what you were doing in a more productive manner.

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5 Ways To Have Better Periods in 2020

Amanda Montalvord (RD), Women’s Health RD & founder of HormoneHealingRD

Most of us have been taught that it’s normal to feel crazy, have painful cramps, heavy bleeding, and overall a very stressful event that is your period each month. This may be common, but it is not normal. I’m sharing five important tips to help you have better periods in 2020.

Better Periods

1. Track your cycle! As cyclical creatures, we are lucky to be able to have these monthly cycles that give us insight into our overall health. Pay attention to how long your cycles are, how heavy your period is, your symptoms, etc. This information allows you to see patterns/changes and you can incorporate the below tips accordingly.
2. Boost magnesium intake. Magnesium is a very important mineral. It’s a calming mineral but most people are deficient in This is why it can be helpful for preventing and improving period problems. You can eat magnesium-rich foods (such as nuts, legumes, leafy greens, avocado, seeds, plantains, and bananas), use a magnesium oil spray, use Epsom salt baths or take a magnesium supplement.
3. Eat seeds daily. Seeds contain fiber and micronutrients that support hormone health. Fiber is essential for supporting hormone balance since our digestive health has a big impact on our hormones. Vitamins and minerals found in seeds are the building blocks of our hormones and help our bodies actually produce hormones.
4. Increase vitamin B6 rich foods. Vitamin B6 is important for progesterone. When it comes to hormones, there’s a delicate balance. Stress can lead to lower progesterone levels, which often causes fatigue, intense PMS symptoms, painful periods, cramping, bloating, etc. Include foods that are high in vitamin B6 such as pork, poultry, fish, eggs, beef, liver, carrots, spinach, sweet potato, chickpeas, and avocado.
5. Get into a relaxed state every day. Many of us spend the majority of our days in a stressed state. When our bodies are stressed, they do not prioritize hormone balance. This is why so many of us struggle with PMS, painful periods, irregular cycles and more. Prioritizing 15 minutes a day to truly relax (ideally with deep breathing) can do wonders for your hormones.

Just remember

It’s important to remember that the last 100 days impact our current cycles. It takes 100 days for your follicles to mature and reach ovulation. If your follicles are unhealthy while they are maturing, you can get symptoms months later. Remember this if you feel frustrated or like things are moving slowly—hormones take time to heal. If you want more information on hormone health, you can download A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Period for free.

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Daily Workouts

Genevieve Farrell, Fitness and Wellness Director at POPSUGAR and producer of Class FitSugar. 

Don’t skip on a workout or self-care because you don’t have enough time. Even taking five minutes for a quick workout to get your heart rate up, a walk around the block or a few moments of meditation can do wonders for your health. Being consistent with your wellness every day is a lot more valuable than only doing so when you have a lot of time. 

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Less is More

Lizzie Delacy, Nutritionist, a 200-hour RYT Instructor, and founder of DeLacy Wellness & Bodypeace app (offering yoga-inspired movements and functional fitness in an online platform). 

We saw a lot of extremes this year with the rise of CrossFit and ketogenic diets, which are both somewhat hard on the body. In 2020, listen to your body and pace yourself throughout the year to meet your fitness and wellness goals in a safe and sustainable way. Stretching more before/after a workout to prevent injury and incorporating more plant-based foods to your diet are good ways to kickstart your wellness in the new year without feeling burnt out by mid-January. 

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Your Way to Better Sleep

Alex Curtis, Los Angeles Wellness Blogger, and Psychology grad student. Alex blogs about wellness, sleep struggles and anxiety. 

• Keep your bedtime and wake up time as consistent as possible, this helps maintain your internal body clock and makes your sleep routine easy to maintain. 
• Turn your phone on do not disturb or airplane mode starting at 9 pm.  Not only is the light from your phone disruptive for your sleep patterns but it also stimulates your mind and you can find yourself sucked in for way longer than you expected. 
• Have something at night that is calming, something like a magnesium drink or a tea with adaptogens.  This cozy soothing routine helps put you in the mood for sleep.

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I hope you enjoyed the wellness tips by my favorite experts for the new year!

For more Wellness content, check out this category including a guest blog post on liver detox by Amanda Montalvord and the best workout classes in Los Angeles.