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The new year is just around the corner, so resolutions are probably on your mind. If you’ve made a mistake in past years of promising yourself to quit smoking or lose 50 pounds and fell short, don’t get discouraged! Many people set their sights too high when making goals to improve their health for the new year, but there are plenty of ways you can make small lifestyle changes that have a significant impact on your health. Before you decide new year’s resolutions aren’t for you, check out how easy it is to follow these tips to improve your health.
Reduce Caffeine and Sugar
Many people rely on caffeine and sugar to get them through their day, but did you know they could actually be making you more tired? Sugar comes with a sudden high and then an extreme low, causing you to seek out even more sugar. By detoxing your body and ending that high low cycle, your energy levels will naturally even out and increase over time. Caffeine is another stimulant that comes with a great high at first, followed by a sudden drop in energy. Our systems are overstimulated by the world around us and adding another stimulant on top of that actually increases negative emotions including stress and anger. Begin by slowing decreasing caffeine and sugar rather than going cold turkey to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Cut Down On Smoking
Trying to quit smoking all at once is discouraging and nearly impossible for most people. Instead of throwing out your cigarettes at the new year, begin slowly reducing the number you smoke each day. Most smokers have a routine of when they burn throughout the day, so you should evaluate which cigarettes are the most important to you. Then, begin cutting out as many as you can. Smoke half of a cigarette when you do smoke and eventually, cut down to just one cigarette per day. Slowly decreasing your smoking throughout the year will set you up for success that you haven’t been able to find when you tried to go cold turkey. If you’re really struggling, look into local smoking classes and counseling services available to determine why you smoke as much as you do. Finding new mechanisms to cope with stress and anger will make quitting much more comfortable. Other tools such as gum and nicotine patches can be helpful in the beginning, but your ultimate goal should be no nicotine at all.
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