2017. January is nearly over and I still can’t remember that it’s now 2017. Apart from my memory, there are many things I wish to improve this year, but I’m starting with my health.

As you can see from my Pinterest page, I’ve done a lot of thinking about improving my health, and not much acting on it recently. So throughout January I’ve been trying several different ways to improve both body and mind wellbeing.

I started with the mind. Mindfulness is the art of being in the moment, not letting the mind get distracted with daily worries and in my case I was just hoping to de-stress a little. So off I went, downloading e-books and apps to start me on my journey to peace. As I’m in my final year of university with 2 jobs, I was willing to try anything to unwind the mind. After research and recommendations, I started using Headspace

It’s free for 10 days of sessions and thoroughly convinced me of myriad of benefits associated with mediation. The free ‘Take Ten’ audio tracks introduce you into how to meditate and has several cute animations to explain points. It recommends to meditate as part of your daily schedule, such as after you brush your teeth in the morning to remind you and set you up for a calm day. The only problems was, as a uni student who values sleep more than, well, mediation, I found I didn’t have 10 minutes to sit down and try not to think about all the things I needed to do. So I ended up mediating in the evening, which did wonders for relaxing before bed, but little for the pile of work on my desk.

I enjoyed the Headspace sessions but after approximately 5 days of mediation, through no conscious choice of my own, I stopped. That said, the tips I learnt I use daily to control anxiety and stress, so I will most likely try and continue the headspace programme… at some point..

Stage 2: Healthy eating. I started the new year by buying various vegetables and fruit on our daily shop. Although by day 20 I’ve had to throw out half a bag of kale (only 40p!) the fruit has definitely stuck. Instead of toast with nutella in the morning, I eat a yoghurt and a banana, and have seen no difference in hunger levels. More energy, less heartburn. We have taken to buying 2 bags of oranges between the two of us, as there’s just not enough. Desserts are still a sore issue but I’m slowly working my way through the meals, making small changes and giving my body the TLC it needs.

If there’s one thing true about new year resolutions, is that they are hard to make stick. But we all must remember to count the little win’s. Every change is a step closer to a healthier mind and body. So I’m going to keep working on my resolutions, and I hope you do too.

Small progress is still progress. SO, Move More.