Keeping up my healthy habits in the New Year

To be fair, I’m a reasonably fit and active person all year round, but I do love the clean, fresh slate of a new year to give me that extra nudge to keep those healthy habits going and to start new ones.

And if that clean, fresh slate of a new year is accompanied by sunny days and smart watches, then I’m even more likely to get outside and get some steps in.

Healthy habits to keep me energised and productive

One thing I’ve noticed recently, which probably isn’t much of a newsflash to a lot of you is, if I go out for a walk first thing (after a cup of tea though, obviously), it totally sets me up for the day and I get home feeling happy, energised and far more productive.

Indoor workout

Because my Fitbit Versa 4 doesn’t just track steps or outside activities, but can tracks indoor ones such as yoga and weight training too, on days where the weather’s not so good, I’ll get my fitness mat out, fire up YouTube and do a home workout.

On days when I feel I need a bit of a stretch, I’ll do some Yoga with Adriene and, on other days, as much as I don’t feel like I’m ready for the ‘fitness for the over 50s’ brigade, I must admit to loving the Fabulous 50s workouts.

Going to the gym

If it’s not raining but I don’t fancy a walk or a bike ride because it’s too windy (which it usually is where I live), then I’ll go to the gym and walk on the treadmill while listening to an audiobook or podcast.

Healthy eating

It’s easy to feel we deserve cakes and chocolate after doing some exercise and they are most definitely not lacking from my diet but after I’ve done some exercise, I prefer to keep the good vibes going and have a protein smoothie or a vegan protein bar. Both of these things can of course be bought easily in any supermarket but a) they’re expensive; and b) I don’t believe they’re healthy, no matter how much they claim to be.

Protein smoothies

So I make my own protein smoothies and protein bars quickly and easily with the help of a Ninja Blender.

I’ve got the Ninja 2-in-1 Blender, which comes with a standard sized jug for all your soups and sauces and stuff but it also comes with a smaller jug that doubles up as a travel cup.

I’ve also used it to grind oats to make oat flour, which I used in these vegan chocolated salted caramel protein bars. This blender is so cool and I especially love how you can put everything except the base into the dishwasher.

Keeping those healthy habits going

Although I started this post off by saying I’m a reasonably fit and active person, it’s only because of gadgets like smart watches that track all my activities and blenders that make making smoothies and protein bars so easy, that I do manage to keep my healthy habits going. Without these products to make healthy habits more enjoyable, I’d probably be sitting around far more often.