Simple Changes for an Amazing 2022

The beauty of each new year is the promise of a new chapter in which to achieve goals, find love or embrace adventure. So, let’s do it right, shed the bad habits of the previous year and embrace health and also happiness as we move through an amazing year.

How do we get started? We suggest three ways.

Reduce your sugar intake. Sugar is seductive stuff: Cake, doughnuts, frosting, sprinkles, ice cream, cookies, fudge, brownies …. These are a few of our favorite things! But there is a downside to these yummy items. Eating refined sugar can lead to headaches, low energy levels and inflammation. A diet high in sugar can lead to insulin resistance, heart disease, cancer, allergies and obesity. And America has more than 70 million adults dealing with obesity.

These are not our favorite things.

Cutting down on sugar intake provides rewards with some great health bonuses, including a reduction in inflammation of the body and a boost of energy levels and even an increase in the ability to focus.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that women should eat no more than 100 calories of sugar, 24 grams, a day. Men should have no more than 150 calories of sugar, 36 grams, a day. That doesn’t give us a lot of wiggle room, so we should keep only what counts.

How do we find the unwanted sugar in your diet and eliminate it? It’s pretty easy to identify sugar in candy and other desserts and sugary drinks, like pop and some juices. But sugar can be hidden in sneaky ways, like in simple carbohydrates, like pasta and white bread, and in processed foods. Sugar can be found in cereals, some fruit-flavored instant oatmeal, protein bars, granola bars that add corn syrup and honey, pasta sauces, some yogurts, salad dressings and ketchup. That is not so obvious.

Those hidden sugars can add up quickly and result in a whopping daily intake. So, be savvy and read the labels on your favorite foods until you identify the best ones to keep and cut out the rest.

Cut down on alcohol. Alcohol affects brain chemistry, can create a sensation of euphoria and blurs memory and perception. This may be exactly what we hope to find in the bottom of a bottle of champagne or with a couple shots of tequila, especially if dealing with depression and sadness after a loss.

And, for the past couple of years, we’ve been coping with a worldwide pandemic. It’s no wonder that at the beginning of the pandemic, liquor sales in the United States increased by 20 percent. The future was uncertain and most of the nation was self-medicating. May still be. But drinking to drown our sorrows can lead to other issues.

Drinking can develop a dependency on alcohol. It can also lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, digestive problems and cancers, including breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon and rectum. And, because it slows down and blocks certain brain functions, it can make depression worse. This is not good.

Those of us with a tendency to binge drink or who are using alcohol too much as a crutch in daily living should probably pour the last of the bourbon down the drain and say good-bye forever. But those of us who can truly drink on a moderate basis can feel free to drink as a treat or for celebratory occasions. Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture say that intake of alcohol should be limited to an average of two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.

What is considered one drink? Not something poured into a glass container the size of a goldfish bowl. The definition of one drink is considered 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine or 1 oz. of hard liquor.

Exercise. Now that we have discussed what we need to cut out of our lives to embrace a healthier 2022, we will talk about something to add: Exercise! Activity stimulates various brain chemicals, chemicals that lead to you becoming happier, more relaxed and less anxious. It can boost moods and improve skin health, muscles and bone and can also help us sleep. Wow. That is a lot and it’s all positive. Oh, wait, there’s more. It can also boost self-esteem.

So, what kind of exercise and how much? The general consensus is that the goal is moderate aerobic exercise of two-and-a-half to five hours each week or vigorous aerobic exercise for a total of two-and-a-half hours each week. Those exercises falling into the moderate category include walking fast, water aerobics, riding a bike or playing doubles tennis. Vigorous exercise includes running, cycling, walking briskly or jumping rope. Many of these activities can be done at home or without expensive equipment.

To get started, you can also select an exercise buddy to keep you accountable to someone until you get the habit ingrained into your 2022 routine.

So, what are you waiting for? Set down that cookie or beer and head out the door for a brisk walk around the block. You’ll feel better for meeting your health goals. Besides, you knows what is around the neighborhood block – just possibly love and adventure!