We’re officially at the start of 2021, which is—no surprise—the time of year when many people resolve to make major lifestyle and diet changes. In many of these cases, that means weight loss resolutions, intense diets or unsustainable exercise habits. Weight loss resolutions that involve a drastic change in lifestyle are often nearly impossible to keep—and likely lead to far more harm (and food obsession) than good. In fact, many experts in health and nutrition urge their clients to take a more body-positive approach, and focus on healthy New Year resolutions.

Instead of encouraging these clients to change their bodies, experts encourage mindset shifts around food and fitness that make healthy eating and movement simple and flexible, instead of strict and punishing. Because this is easier said than done, STYLECASTER asked a few experts to suggest gentle “resolutions” that aren’t pass/fail.

The suggestions below will all help you work towards a positive relationship with food and movement, instead of making an unsustainable New Year’s resolution centered on losing weight. It’s your body, your life, your year—love yourself and the rest will follow.

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1. Step Out Of Your Food Comfort Zone.

“Having a healthy relationship with food means also having room for curiosity, satisfaction, and adventure,” says Kimmie Singh, MS, RD, a dietitian in NYC who works with clients on intuitive eating and body positivity. “You may want to eat a meal alone at a restaurant, take a fun cooking class, throw a themed dinner party, or try cooking with ingredients from other cultures.”

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2. Engage In Movement That Helps You Feel Embodied.

“As you find ways to move your body that helps you feel more connected, you will notice a natural shift in your ability to be present with yourself and less focused on trying to change your body as a response to how society says bodies should look,” Singh says.

If you’re not sure where to start with this, think about the kinds of movement that were fun for you (maybe as a kid or in high school) before you started moving explicitly for exercise. Maybe that means picking up an intramural sport like kickball or basketball; maybe it means throwing solo dance parties in your living room every evening.

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3. Stop Beating Yourself Up For Not Feeling In Love With Your Body Every Single Day.

“It’s hard to embrace body positivity when society hasn’t quite caught up yet,” Singh says. “Have extra compassion for yourself on tougher body image days. Remember that having love for your body isn’t an all-or-nothing experience.” More important than body positivity is body neutrality and body acceptance—you don’t need to love your body, but you should aim to treat it with the respect and compassion it deserves.

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4. Get More In Touch With How Your Body Actually Feels.

“Each morning before I rise I take a second to lay still and do a full body scan,” says Ilya Parker, PTA, CMES, a physical therapist assistant, medical exercise trainer, social justice activist and educator whose work centers racial, gender and healing justice. “You can do this by taking three deep breaths and paying attention to what sensations you feel from head to toe. Do you notice any aches, tightness, or tingling? This allows you to drop down in your body, regain a connection to it and listen to the messages it’s giving you.”

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5. Let Go Of Food Rules And Food Guilt.

Food isn’t something to feel guilty about. In fact, food guilt can actually make you obsess over the very foods you’re feeling bad about eating. Dalina Soto, MA, RD, LDN, a dietitian in Philadelphia, describes a situation in which a client felt so guilty about eating chips (because she thought they were “bad”), that she thought about them all the time and couldn’t imagine keeping them around for fear of overeating.

Once she was finally able to let go of the guilt and stop restricting, she was able to enjoy chips when she wanted them, instead of all the time. Take a page out of her book and stop your inner monologue about foods being “good” or “bad.” No food guilt in 2020.

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6. Realize That There’s No Such Thing As “Perfect” Eating.

We’re all different, which means we all have different food needs, preferences, and cravings. Plus, there’s room in everyone’s life for all kinds of foods. Rabiya Bower, RD, LDN, a dietitian in Philadelphia, shared a story about how a photo of her eating a sandwich sparked a controversy on social media when another dietitian called her out for promoting “junk food.”

Her response? “Food has no morality. It’s not inherently good or bad. Food will not face judgement day. Foods have different levels of nutrients and calories, and that’s all okay!” You don’t need to eat salads all day in order to be healthy—Eating salads all day is likely not healthy. This year, focus on eating a variety of foods that you enjoy, instead of trying to eat “perfectly” all the time.

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7. Stop Believing That Food Will Solve All Of Your Problems.

These days, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that certain foods have magical healing powers. But, that just isn’t the case. “Wellness culture will tell you that food—or ‘nutrition’—can prevent, treat, or even reverse medical conditions or physical symptoms,” writes Amee Severson, RD, a non-diet dietitian in Washington State. “I’m here to remind you: That might not be the case.” While food certainly plays a role in overall health, and eating in a certain way might be helpful for some people in managing some conditions, food isn’t medicine. Stop thinking of food (or foods) as a miracle cure-all—the vast majority of the time, food is just food.

A version of this article previously appeared in December 2019.

Twice a year, Bath & Body Works pulls out all the stops and discounts holiday and everyday favorites up to 75 percent off, which new discounts throughout the week. The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale for holiday 2020 is no different—actually, it might be even better. We’ve got the details on all the goods so you can game-plan your shopping trip.

Of course, deals will be online as well as in-store so if you feel safer shopping from your couch, you can still stock up on Bath & Body Works favorites. Now’s the chance to score the beloved holiday fragrances before they’re gone (until next year), as well as throwbacks including Secret Wonderland, Honeysuckle and Sensual Amber brought back just for this sale. Christmas body care will be just $4.95 and select Christmas 3-Wick Candles will be $11.95.

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For the best of the best deals, you’ll want to dig for those 75 percent off products. These include body care, candles, hand soaps and tons of non-holiday items you’ll want to use all-year round. You’ll even be able to find some best-selling fall body scare scents and ones you haven’t smelled for months. It’s basically like a rummage sale where you never know exactly what you’ll find.

The sale begins Saturday, December 26. If you’re shopping in store, don’t forget your face mask and hand sanitizer and maybe even consider going on off hours to avoid the crowds. Or, there’s always delivery! As much as we want to shop and treat ourselves this year (we deserve it), we also have to stay safe too. Set your iCal and get ready to get your haul on. Then, have big New Year zoom with friends to share exactly what you got.

Usually, we look to Black Friday for a brand’s biggest sale of the year but Lush does things differently. On Black Friday, the retailer rolls out new products as part of the Green Friday campaign. The UK-based company’s big sale is on Boxing Day instead, which starts the day after Christmas. Lush’s Boxing Day sale for 2020 is its only big sale of the year and trust us—it’s worth the wait. 

Get 50 percent off on selected items (look for the items with the ’50 percent off’ tag online or in-store). As products fly off the shelves—and virtual shelves—Lush will continue to restock so you’ll want to check back. Holiday products and gift sets are included in the half-off sale, of course, as well as non-seasonal items like soap, shower goodies, fragrance, skincare and haircare.

Need some last-minute gifts? Here’s your chance to grab them at a discount. But don’t forget to pick up some self-care items for yourself, too. The holidays might look a little different this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own celebration.

The Lush Boxing Day sale starts on December 26. Check out a few must-haves, below.

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Show Showers Gift Set

Be set with shower gel for the year, with yummy Sleepy, Yog Nog and Roasting Chestnuts on an Open Fire scents.

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Veganese Conditioner

This lightweight vegan conditioner is perfect for anyone with fine hair, including curls.

Lush.

Clean & Calm Hand Care Kit

Get your dry hands in check with hydrating 13 Soap Unlucky For Dirt and Sleepy soap, Dream Cream lotion, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter and Tiny Hands Hands Serum.

Lush.

Jingle Bells Bath Bomb

This festive bath bomb has a gentle orange-patchouli scent.

Lush.

Once Upon a Time Body Lotion

Hydrate your body with murumuru butter and jojoba oil.

Usually, we look to Black Friday for a brand’s biggest sale of the year but Lush does things differently. On Black Friday, the retailer rolls out new products as part of the Green Friday campaign. The UK-based company’s big sale is on Boxing Day instead, which starts the day after Christmas. Lush’s Boxing Day sale for 2020 is its only big sale of the year and trust us—it’s worth the wait. 

Get 50 percent off on selected items (look for the items with the ’50 percent off’ tag online or in-store). As products fly off the shelves—and virtual shelves—Lush will continue to restock so you’ll want to check back. Holiday products and gift sets are included in the half-off sale, of course, as well as non-seasonal items like soap, shower goodies, fragrance, skincare and haircare.

Need some last-minute gifts? Here’s your chance to grab them at a discount. But don’t forget to pick up some self-care items for yourself, too. The holidays might look a little different this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own celebration.

The Lush Boxing Day sale starts on December 26. Check out a few must-haves, below.

Lush.

Show Showers Gift Set

Be set with shower gel for the year, with yummy Sleepy, Yog Nog and Roasting Chestnuts on an Open Fire scents.

Lush.

Veganese Conditioner

This lightweight vegan conditioner is perfect for anyone with fine hair, including curls.

Lush.

Clean & Calm Hand Care Kit

Get your dry hands in check with hydrating 13 Soap Unlucky For Dirt and Sleepy soap, Dream Cream lotion, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter and Tiny Hands Hands Serum.

Lush.

Jingle Bells Bath Bomb

This festive bath bomb has a gentle orange-patchouli scent.

Lush.

Once Upon a Time Body Lotion

Hydrate your body with murumuru butter and jojoba oil.

Many of us after 50 and 60 are continuing to look to make changes in our lives. We might want to do the thing we always wanted to do but never got around to. Maybe we want to retire and spend more time with grandchildren or traveling. For many of us, we are looking to change a life role in some way – which can be a major life redefinition.

There are also many of us in this demographic who are perfectly happy with where we are in terms of our major life roles. We like our job or our retirement life. We see our kids and grands the perfect amount. We travel the perfect amount (when there is no global pandemic, anyway).

But maybe we have a habit we’d like to change or create in our lives. And we are afraid that we’re too old or have been doing what we’re doing for so long that it will be impossible to change.

As a career behavior analyst, I can tell you that’s incorrect. Any person can change any behavior at any time. It’s a matter of using a few tools and techniques and knowing that “slow and steady wins the race.” When we jump in too quickly, we become overwhelmed and then we throw in the towel.

Where to Start?

Typically, we have an idea of what the general habit is that we want to create. We might want to exercise more, eat better, start journaling, keep better in touch with our friends – the list is endless.

The first step is to take your general habit change idea and turn it into a very specific and measurable goal. Some examples would be:

• Instead of saying, “I’m going to exercise more” you might create a goal such as, “I’m going to walk for 45 minutes each day and do strength training 3 times per week.”
• Instead of saying, “I’m going to start eating better” you might say, “For lunch and dinner each day, ¾ of my meal will be plant-based.”
• Instead of saying, “I want to start journaling,” you can create the goal of, “I will set the timer each morning for 20 minutes and journal with my coffee before I look at ANY screen.”

It’s always important to phrase your habit and goals in the positive. State what you WANT to do, rather than what you don’t want to do.For example, instead of saying “I’m going to stop eating junk food,” you might say, “I’m going to eat 5 fruits or vegetables every day.”

Next – Break Your Goal Down into Manageable Chunks

It is important when creating a new habit to do it every day. So, when breaking it down into chunks, do it daily and slowly build up the time.

For example, if you’re wanting to walk for 45 minutes each day and do strength training 3 times a week, start off by setting the goal of walking for 20 minutes each day. Do this for three weeks, then increase it to 25 minutes each day with once per week of strength training.

Three more weeks, then 30 minutes each day and twice per week of strength training. By this time, you will have been walking every day for 9 weeks. The walking itself will be an ingrained habit.

Most Importantly – Reinforce Yourself Frequently and Consistently

This is the key to behavior change. Reinforcement. When you start pairing the habit change with something that you look forward to, you will be much more successful.

The reinforcement at the outset must be frequent. Telling yourself when you first embark on your habit change journey that after you exercise for a month you can get a new pair of shoes will be setting yourself up for failure. A month is too far in the future.

Sit down and make a list of everything that is reinforcing to you – from the smallest to the most extravagant. Once you’ve done that, go through your list and number the top 10 from the easiest and least expensive to the hardest to obtain and most expensive.

Each and every time that you successfully complete your daily goal, immediately reinforce yourself with the small thing. So, after your walk each day, treat yourself to a delicious sparkling water. Or, while you’re journaling each morning, buy yourself a yummy creamer to put in your coffee.

These are things you ONLY get when you are working on your habit. That way, in your brain, they will become paired with your new habit.

Increase the reinforcer as you continue your habit with time. So, if you’ve successfully journaled each morning for 3 weeks for 10 minutes, treat yourself to a pretty new journal. But continue with your yummy coffee and creamer.

If you’ve walked every day for 15 minutes for 3 weeks, treat yourself to a new pair of yoga pants but continue with your refreshing sparkling water after each walk.

Last Couple of Tips

Work on only one habit at a time. Do not decide that you’re going to exercise, eat differently, drink 64 ounces of water a day, and journal all at the same time. This will not allow you to effectively use the goal setting and reinforcement tools without becoming completely overwhelmed.

Create affirmations around your habit – write them down and put them up where you can see them. On your fridge, on your bulletin board in your office, on your mirror. These will be constant visual reminders for you.

You got this! We are NEVER too old to start doing the thing.

Leslie has started an online book group for women over 50. If you’re interested in further information on this, feel free to email her at leslie@lifebalanceafter50.com.

Is there a habit that you’d like to change or create? What motivates or reinforces you along the way? Have you tried creating new habits? What affirmations have worked for you? Please share below!