To improve your health in the coming year, follow these 12 tips. Start by selecting up to three items on the list which you think will have the greatest positive impact on your life. Every 1-2 weeks choose a few more health goals to integrate into your daily life. I am confident that if you work your way through this entire list by the end of this year, though you will be one year older, you will feel younger, happier, and healthier.

1. Rid your cupboards and refrigerator of processed snack food and sweets. If there isn’t any ice cream in the freezer, it can’t call to you at 10:00pm. Invest in some high quality, ¬¬¬¬rich dark or raw chocolate for the occasional indulgence.
2. Treat yourself to a new piece of workout attire, equipment, or gadget. I remember when I mounted my first bike computer. I had so much fun geeking out over the numbers that 35 miles seemed to go by in a flash.
3. Be present when you are with your family and friends. They should not have to compete with your computer or mobile phone for your attention. Connecting with those you love (especially parent to child) will bring you great joy, emotional fulfillment, and happiness.
4. Prioritize buying higher quality food- even if it costs more and means buying less other “stuff”. My favorite places to shop for quality produce, seafood, and meat are the Farmer’s Market, Whole Foods, and El Salchichero (an incredible butcher on the west side, owned and run by a father-son duo from Boulder Creek).
5. Practice standing on one leg while brushing your teeth. Balance on the right foot while you brush the uppers and the left while you brush the lowers. This simple exercise improves balance, neuromuscular connections, and reflexes, which can reduce the risk of rolling an ankle or falling.
6. Buy yourself a 32 oz BPA-free water bottle and fill it everyday before you leave the house. Being properly hydrated can improve energy, mental clarity, digestion, detoxification, and helps control hunger. Aim to drink around 64 oz of filtered water per day.
7. Set a physical performance goal that challenges and excites you. Based on where you are now, choose a goal that you can accomplish within 4-12 weeks. Here are some ideas: hike the Berry Falls loop in Big Basin, run a 10K, complete 50 push ups in a row. Performance goals are often more motivating than weight loss goals.
8. Take time to make more home cooked meals. Cooking from scratch with fresh whole ingredients promotes a deeper connection with your food along with greater control over the ingredients. Put on some nice music and enjoy chopping, mixing, and the wonderful aromas that fill your kitchen.
9. Eat your meals at a clutter-free, computer-free, phone-free, clean table. Savor your mealtimes- relax, slow down, and take pleasure in the flavors. Eating this way helps lower stress, improves digestion, and sharpens awareness toward your body’s signals of satiety so you naturally eat less.
10. Reserve half of your lunch and dinner plate for vegetables. Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber which can protect you from age-related degenerative disease and help you feel full longer.
11. Learn something new. Whether it be piano, Italian, tennis, or knitting, learning something new is fun, rewarding, and is said to promote anti-aging benefits for your brain.
12. Cut off all electronic input and work related activities one hour before going to bed. Use this time to unwind, kick your feet up, and even do a little relaxation yoga or breathing. A good night’s sleep can decrease appetite, reduce stress, improve energy, aid recovery from workouts, and brighten your outlook on life.

Here’s to a healthy New Year!

The truth is, I need these interludes now more than ever. When I’m outside running through the trees, there are no emails to answer, phone calls to make, laundry to fold, or diapers to change. It’s a time when I can simply be me, not a personal trainer, or mother, or wife, or any of the other hats I wear. I do not feel guilty because I know that taking a break to focus on myself makes me better in all the other aspects of my life.

Six weeks after I gave birth to my first child I dusted off my cycling gear and prepared to head out for a light ride. As I strapped on my shoes and topped off my tires, my husband stood there pleading, “You can’t leave me alone with her. I don’t know what I’m doing.” I mounted my bike and replied, “Neither do I, but I need a break!” I had to have faith in him in order to allow myself some time away. I knew he might not do everything exactly as I would, but I realized that is a good thing. Giving him time alone with our baby girl not only built his confidence as a father, but it strengthened the bond between him and our daughter.

Seven years later and now a mother of two, I have employed multiple strategies to continue my training and stay fit both physically and mentally.

Weekends are easy because my husband can help watch the kids (remember, good bonding time) while I workout. I typically go in the morning so we can still enjoy the day together.

Exercising during the week is a little more challenging, but definitely still doable. Here are a few things that have worked for me. I have put my daughter in the jog stroller with a bottle of extra-pulpy orange juice (the pulp clogs the hole so it takes a good hour to drink it). It’s not the healthiest snack, but a worthy compromise wouldn’t you agree? During naptime, I’ve ridden my bike in the garage on rollers with the baby monitor next to me. I have even jumped into an outdoor pool for a master’s workout before the crack of dawn in order to be back home in time for my husband to leave for work. Sadistic? Maybe, but I always feel great afterward. On days that I go in to work, I make a point to block out an hour for my workout. I clearly mark my schedule as “not available” so nobody will book anything else during that time.

If you are a single mom, consider arranging a trade with a friend or two. If you have a group of three moms, each one could watch the kids just one day and everyone would get two days off to workout. You can also try an early morning garage workout while the kids are still snoozing. On weekends, you might experiment with running while your kids ride their bikes.

There are numerous creative ways to get in your workouts, but the most important thing is to schedule them in. If you don’t make it happen, nobody is going to do it for you.

The primary benefit of multi-sport training is injury prevention. Every time you exercise you put stress on your body which, in moderation, it adapts to by becoming stronger. However, repetitively stressing your body in the same way eventually creates muscle imbalances which often leads to over-use injuries. I’m sure you know runners with knee injuries or swimmers with shoulder problems. When people who train in only one sport become injured, they don’t have any other activities to fall back on, which can create an unfortunate (and depressing) domino effect of fitness loss and weight gain. When you train in three sports you are less likely to get injured but if you do, at least you have 2 alternative activities to keep you fit and trim while you recover.

Other perks of multi-sport training include greater overall fitness, reduced incidence of burnout and boredom, more options for staying fit while you travel, and social enrichment by meeting new people with similar interests.

Variety is the spice of life and the key to well rounded fitness and injury prevention. Which three sports define you? Swimming, cycling, Pilates? Dancing, running, surfing? Raquetball, hiking, weight training? Mix it up!