9 Tips for a Stress-Free Year
This year, keep it simple and focus on the things that matter.
The secret to not letting stress get you down is making time for self-care and maintaining your healthy habits, while creating new ones. This will set you up for a stress-free and successful year.
9 Stress-Reducing Tips
- Plan your meals and make extra. You can ditch the drive thru when you have dinner ready at home, even during the most stressful of times. Focus on convenient low carb slow cooker recipes, sheet pan meals or casseroles. Double the recipes so you have multiple meals ready to heat and serve.
Low Carb Versions of Takeout Meals
- Plan your menus in advance. Make a shopping list so you can avoid the stress of last-minute grocery shopping. Prep your meal in advance, for example, you can clean and chop veggies the day before. Focus on delicious, wholesome low carb ingredients, which may boost your mood while satisfying your appetite.
Good Foods for Your Mood
- Make snacking convenient. Manage your hunger and energy levels with fulfilling snacks like almonds, jerky, Atkins bars and shakes, plus a refillable water bottle so you can stay hydrated, even when you’re on the go or at the office.
- Turn your home into a cozy retreat. There’s nothing like coming home to flickering candles, cozy blankets and pillows to take your stress level down a notch. This feeling of cozy well-being while embracing the simple things in life is a popular Danish lifestyle trend called “hygge”. Here’s how you can hygge your house:
How to Hygge When You’re Low Carb
- Just say no. You don’t have to commit to every obligation. Pick the ones that are most important to you and politely decline the rest. Enjoy the new openings in your calendar by relaxing with friends and family and taking time for yourself, whether that means hitting the gym or reading a good book
- Meditate on it. Mindfulness meditation is a relaxation technique that helps you become more aware of the present moment and has been shown to have a positive effect on stress levels, as well as anxiety and depression. Take a deep breath, download a meditation app and get started!
- Start a journal. A research review has shown that writing in a journal may reduce your stress, improve your mood and give you a greater sense of well-being.
How to Start a Gratitude Journal
- Get your ZZZZs. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. Anything less than 7 hours of sleep a night may lead to increased stress, depression, obesity, diabetes and several other health conditions.
6 Tips for Better Sleep
- Break a sweat. Exercise has many benefits beyond its role in weight loss. It may help you sleep better, reduce stress and boost your energy.
