Happy New Year, friends! We hope the first few days of 2017 have treated you kindly. With a fresh start among us, and a list of hopeful goals and resolutions, we know many of you are anticipating this year to be better than the year before. However, while some believe a new year should call for an entirely new you, we at Wild Planet have to respectfully disagree —because truthfully, we think you’re already pretty awesome. So rather than listing all of the ways in which you can become an entirely new version of yourself, we’ve enlisted the help of our friends, Jo and Jules from The Conscious Cleanse — a website & nutrition program that specializes in providing simple ways for individuals to flourish in their body and live their best life — and asked them to provide practical and sustainable lifestyle tips to help you become the best, and happiest, version of yourself.

It’s estimated that over 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only 8% actually achieve their goals. With the odds stacked up against us, why do we keep doing this to ourselves?!? To be honest, we’ve never been into the whole New Year’s resolution thing. Don’t get us wrong; we’re all for taking stock of the things that are important to you, but what we've learned through the Conscious Cleanse is that resolutions are like strict diet plans. Strict diets are generally very black and white, all or nothing. You either succeed or you fail. Either you’re on the wagon and kicking butt, or you’ve fallen off miserably, only to feel bruised, battered and even worse than you did before. New Year’s resolutions are usually made with the best of intentions. Most of us want to improve our lives, feel better in our bodies, connect more to our loved ones, and so on. We know that’s how our resolutions used to go, anyway. That is, until our idealistic goals shape shifted into guilty thoughts, judgments, criticisms and failures.

So we’d like to suggest a paradigm shift. Instead of focusing on unsustainable change in the New Year, consider a new tradition: consider a reflection on the year past, focusing on your successes, and how you can bring those successes with you as you move forward. Because regardless of resolutions, you will be moving forward. Make a list, shoot a video, write a blog post, or record yourself commemorating all the ways you kicked ass in 2016. Remember the moments when you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off and kept going. Recall the times when life was flowing. Give yourself the year-end gift of basking in positivity. Consider how you will work to empower yourself to bring this energy with you into the new year, how you will build on your successes, learn from your setbacks, and work to find joy and vibrancy in each moment. And understand that one “off” day doesn’t mean you have to wait another whole year to start over. Fresh starts happen the moment you decide you’re ready to take them on.

With that said, we want to give you some concrete positive actions that you can use now to nourish and take care of yourself in the new year. What’s truly remarkable is that with small tweaks and adjustments to what you’re already doing well, you can yield big changes.

5 Tips for a Healthy New Year

Start your day with 32 oz of warm lemon water.

Warm water first thing in the morning hydrates the body and plumps up your skin. Vitamin C from lemons helps to fight those nasty, free radicals associated with aging and wrinkles.

Swap your normal breakfast for a green smoothie.

This healthy habit takes less than 5 minutes to blend up. The line at starbucks takes longer than that! Green smoothies infuse your body with life enzymes, vitamins and minerals and will help you tame your cravings fast. It also gives your diet an instant boost of veggies, fruits and healthy fats.

Take a high quality probiotic.

Holiday eating is filled with sugar, caffeine and alcohol, which can put your tummy out of whack. Since 80 percent of our immune system is in our gut, it’s important to keep the healthy bacteria in balance by taking a high-quality probiotic daily. Look for one at your health food store that is gluten, dairy, and soy free.

Sweat.

Sweating helps push out toxins in your body. Exercise is a great way to sweat. We also love taking a detox bath 3 to 5 times a week. Fill your tub with hot water, and add 3 cups of Epsom salt, ½ cup of baking soda and a few drops of lavender oil. Relax for 15-20 minutes. This is a great way to wind down each evening.

Join a healthy community.

Surround yourself with like-minded healthy people. We created the Conscious Cleanse with this as our #1 priority. Whether you join a gym, become a member at your favorite yoga studio or join our online Conscious Cleanse community, it’s so important to have people who will are supporting your healthy goals and lifestyle. We’d love to support you this New Year in getting healthy without the guilt and shame of your typical resolutions. Join us, during our online cleanse starting tomorrow, January 4th! Visit our website, www.consciouscleanse.com, for more information on our cleanse and for tons of healthy recipes. We hope you have a healthy and happy everyday, and this holiday is no exception!

We’re cheering you on. Go for it! Love, Jo & Jules