Setting New Year's resolutions is a powerful way to create the future you want. Resolutions come in all shapes and sizes of course, but Savers are likely to be setting health and wellness-related goals for the coming year.
There's always something we can improve, and if we have the will, we can find the way. Today you'll get eight suggestions for resolutions that will support your bone health. Pick one (or more!) to add to your resolutions list, and this time next year you'll find yourself stronger, healthier, and celebrating your success.
1. Build A Healthier Environment
Don't underestimate how much your surroundings are influencing your choices, and make changes accordingly.
Replace your unhealthy snack drawer with fresh fruit– a source of bone-building vitamins– and nuts— a source of energizing protein and healthy fats.
Dedicate a space in your home to your favorite workout routine and make sure everything you need is ready to go at a moment's notice. That way you can reclaim spare moments for bone-building exercise.
When you're in the grocery store, make sure you're spending your time in the produce aisle, not among the temptations of processed and packaged foods.
Synopsis
Change your surroundings to support your health goals– fill your pantry with healthy snacks, keep an exercise area ready, and spend your grocery store time in the produce aisle.
2. Read Food Labels
Do you know what's in your food? This year, make a resolution to find out– modern food labeling makes it easy!
When you're cooking at home from whole ingredients, you always know exactly what's going into the meals you eat. Take the time to read the labels on packaged or prepared foods to ensure you know what's in them. Always check food packages for a label, sometimes food that seems simple may actually be filled with unexpected ingredients you'd rather not be eating.
This simple practice can help you achieve other goals, like reducing your sugar intake, or getting more B Vitamins! Look up nutrients and ingredients you don't know, and turn this new habit into a chance to learn more about nutrition and health.
Synopsis
Read food labels so that you know exactly what you're eating.
3. Reduce Your Screen Time
This one might feel strange since you're reading this on a screen! It's not that you should never use a screen, but that you should be cognizant of how much time you spend.
Screens are how we communicate now, whether we're getting the news or talking to family, so they're not going away. But it can be easy to spend an unintentionally large amount of time scrolling through social media pages, blogs, and websites. Most devices will track your screen time so that you can see how much you're spending, and on what. You can even get apps or programs that will send alert notifications when you've reached your limit.
This year, dedicate yourself to figuring out how much screen time your spending, and reducing it. That can help improve your sleep and prevent dry eyes, both of which have bone health benefits. Plus, cutting down on screen time will free up more time for doing things you love, including bone-healthy activities like long walks, cooking healthy meals, and enjoying good company!
Synopsis
Track your screen time and replace some of that time with bone-healthy activities.
4. Go Organic
Every year the Environmental Working Group publishes a list of the 12 most pesticide-laden produce items in the grocery store. Every year, the takeaway is the same: buying organic is the best way to reduce your intake of acidifying and potentially harmful residual chemicals.
Choosing organic foods protects your health and the health of your family, and prevents the ecological damage that can be caused by many agricultural chemicals and the harm that comes to the agricultural workers who make contact with those toxic substances.
If you can afford to buy all or mostly organic foods, make that investment in your health and your future. And if you need to pick and choose, check out the Clean Fifteen list to see which items are least likely to carry toxic chemicals, even when grown conventionally.
Synopsis
Buy organic produce to avoid the dangers of residual pesticides. It's good for you and good for the planet.
5. Meditate
If you've never tried meditation, make this the year.
Meditation can reduce stress. That helps to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone that can impair healthy bone remodeling when too much is present in your system for too long. Schedule a regular time for meditating– start off small and then work your way up to longer periods. For most people, it takes some practice before they start to see the benefits of this ancient technique for improving mental clarity and building inner peace.
You'll find guided meditations for beginners and long-time practitioners alike on SaveTrainer.
Synopsis
Build a meditation practice to reduce stress, improve mental clarity, and increase inner peace. Find guided meditations for beginners and long-time practitioners on SaveTrainer.
6. Get Social
Hopefully, this resolution feels like permission to have fun.
Find social activities you enjoy and people you enjoy doing them with. That could mean playing tennis or cards, joining a book club, volunteering for a local organization, a standing lunch date, or just meeting up for a walk in a local park.
Then prioritize those activities. If you've found something you love to do, it can be easy to treat it like a luxury instead of as an important part of your well-being. But socializing isn't a special treat– it's a basic necessity for human beings.
Socializing has positive mental health benefits– and if you're meeting up to do something physical, you get the added benefit of exercise.
Synopsis
Regular social activities are good for your mental and emotional health, which impacts your physical well-being. Find a social activity you enjoy, and prioritize it in your schedule.
7. Build Accountability
Don't attempt your resolutions alone. Find an accountability buddy who knows your goals and how you plan to reach them– then check back in with that person to report your progress.
Use the power of social pressure to your advantage. Sometimes what other people think of you can matter more to you than what you think of yourself. And the support and encouragement of another person might be more effective than giving yourself a pep talk in the mirror.
It could be a friend, a family member, or a colleague. Sometimes having someone else watching is all it takes to keep you motivated!
Synopsis
Find an accountability buddy, someone who knows your resolutions and how you plan to keep them, then check in with that person about how it's going.
8. Resolve To Be Gentle With Yourself
Successfully keeping your resolutions doesn't mean you have to be perfect. In fact, demanding perfection of yourself might be a path to failure.
Instead, forgive yourself for slip-ups, assess how you could better support yourself, and then get back on track. Beating yourself up doesn't help you keep your resolution, but it does stress you out and make the experience of building new habits miserable. Choose kindness instead.
When we're able to recover from mistakes and keep moving forward it makes us more likely to achieve our wellness goals– and that benefits our health. Plus, avoiding the stress that comes with beating yourself up means less cortisol in your system– and that reduction has direct benefits for your bones.
Synopsis
Be kind to yourself when you slip up. Learning to be gentle with yourself can help you to get back on track faster, and avoid the physical and emotional burden of stress.
What This Means To You
With each new year comes a chance to make new choices. No matter which area of your bone health and overall wellness you hope to improve, Save Institute has resources to help you accomplish your goals.
Find exciting recipes for healthier eating in our cookbook and meal planner Bone Appétit. Take on a new exercise program, try yoga, or get into meditation with the guidance of professional trainers on our online video workout platform SaveTrainer.
And of course, the Osteoporosis Reversal Program contains everything you need to put all the pieces together and build a lifestyle that is fully in support of your bones and your health.
Ultimately, only you have the power to change what you eat, how active you are, and what steps you take to feel good and live life to the fullest.
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How Natural Detoxification Works And What It Does For Your BonesComments on this article are closed.
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Oh Antoinette, stay the course. Explore eating more veggies, including dried beans and grains like quinoa. Even as organic, these foods are quite economical. There are so many places online to find easy ways to prepare these foods, including this site, Save Our Bones. Another thing to try is a garden so you can have good quality fresh veggies. Even if you only have a pot with lettuce or kale growing in it, that will help your budget. One more thing, if it is very cold where you live, sprouting seeds like broccoli, will help you detoxify plus give your body great nutrition. Again there is lots of information online about growing sprouts and it doesn’t cost much!
So glad to hear you are exercising. That is my weak point. Much success this coming year!-
Thank you so much! Appreciate your help
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I am doing supplements with a ND, using a weighted vest, eating well (bone broth) and still my dexa bone scan is beyond worse, My chiropractor said he never saw a T-score so low in all his years in practice (-4.9) in spine. I just cannot comfortably (through prayer, research and my gut feeling) take the shots or infusions being offered to me (Evenity, Prolia and Reclast) for the next 7 to 10 years. I know they build bone, but the bone is not good quality and you can have a rebound fracture anyway down the road. I will continue to do all that is natural as above plus fall prevention classes, stress reduction, etc. I have never had an osteoporosis fracture and am 66 years old. I am very active walk, ice skate, kayak, love love being outside hiking, etc. I know that as you age your bone density density decreases, any other suggestions for me. Thank you in advance. Marie
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Did you see the last message from Vivian, where she talked about two tests to do? If you can do those then statistically you should be pretty safe from hip fractures. I can’t remember where I read it, but Dexa scans are not the end all to determine our bone health. Sounds like you are living a good life! Refocus on the food plans included in this Save [Our Bones program.
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I have been taking all recommended supplements and eating well. I walk most days 40 min in the the tread mill. I had a recent bone density test and I am much worse than the last test. I know my Doctor will want me to take meds for it. Would you be able to go over what I should do especially fir bone strength in the spine.
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Dear Sharon,
We look forward to answering your questions and helping you out, so please check your email inbox within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Yours in excellent health,
Customer Support
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Hi Vivian! Could you please comment on the “Tree of Life” – MORINGA – which is said to be so good for building strong bones. Is this correct? I am taking a teaspoon every morning but haven’t noticed any difference yet after four weeks. Would be interested to hear your views please.
Thank you Vivian from Rosemary in Western Australia.-
Rosemary, moringa is rich in nutrients and an excellent source of Vitamin C, potassium, and polyphenols, such as quercetin. However, it doesn’t contain enough to really have an effect on your bones, so make sure you still take all the Foundation Supplements listed in the ORP.
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Wonderful and very helpful analysis.For me Meditation, Socialising,Praying always helps me.On top eating healthy is the best.I get the information from your newsletter and follow those.Wish you a Happy New Year 2023.
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Thanks for your kind words, Shawkat! And I wish you a happy and healthy New Year 🙂
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Many of your ideas are very good and healthy, but you forgot the most important one: put God in the center of your life and pray every day.
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Thanks for chiming in, Yvonne!
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Thank you for this….we do need a reminder from time to time and most of the points you make I find so essential but they’ve slipped rather, especially over the Xmas period!!
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Glad to help you stay on track, Ros 🙂
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Has anyone had any experience of the keto diet and if it affects bones in a good or bad way? My daughter is encouraging me to try this diet regime but as I have osteoporosis I am unsure and my online research is confusing and contradictory! I would very much appreciate any advice. Thanks.
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Rosalin, here’s our article on the keto diet. It will answer all your questions:
https://saveourbones.com/is-the-ketogenic-diet-bone-healthy/
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Thank you for motivating us and sticking with us over the years!!!
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You’re welcome, Patricia!
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I went through 4 reclast injections. The first two help improve my bone scan. The second two did not improve but the results were the same. Now my doctor wants me to take Prolia. I really don’t feel comfortable taking anything else. I didn’t even want to take the reclast but my bone scan was not good. I first tried to exercise and eat right. I am not perfect on that area but getting better. Especially staying away from sugar. I eat nuts , we buy some organic but it’s so expensive and doesn’t always look healthy. I exercise daily and I feel great. Please encourage me to stay strong and say no to Prolia. Thank you