This post has been sponsored by Ready To Thrive! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 Healthy Hacks for the New Year

It’s no secret that getting healthy is on the top of everyone’s goal lists for the year, and it’s no surprise. It’s something that we are bombarded with in the media, and everywhere we look. Go to this gym, try this diet, eat this protein bar…once you really step back and look, “health” is trending, and everyone is trying to figure out the secret to living a healthier life.

I’ve been there, time after time. Only a few years ago, I was really confused on how to live a “healthy” lifestyle and was convinced that people who did were miserable.  I wasn’t familiar with healthy food, and just really felt like I had to start from square one. Now that I’m on the other side years later, I’m so happy I took the time to invest in myself and my health and know I will see the benefits for years to come. While living my healthiest life has been a real journey for me, I’ve learned a lot along the way. You don’t have to be a nutritionist, a healthy chef, or a bodybuilder to be considered “healthy”, you just have to find healthy habits that work for you.

What I love about “health” is that it’s something that looks completely different for everyone. There’s no one path to health, and finding something that works for you is so important. Going from someone who had a poor view of exercise and healthy food, to someone who loves working out and eating well, I’m here to tell you it’s totally possible.

Today I’m sharing the 5 things that helped to change my lifestyle for the better and allowed me to live a healthy, balanced, and happy life over the years. Cheers to 2019 being your best one yet!

1) Find healthy meals you actually LIKE

I get it, when most people think “healthy food”, they think of salads and broccoli. Psssssst, girl, if that’s all there was to eat, I would never have lasted this long. Once I determined all of the amazing *healthier* options the world now has to offer, I became so excited and obsessed with food.

One of my favorite tricks is to pick a meal you love, and healthify it! For example, if mac n cheese is your thing, opt for a potato mac n cheese with veggie pasta. It tastes so similar, and satisfies your cravings! I also love making healthy pizza with flatbreads, healthy burgers with veggie/black bean burgers & guac, and healthier stir fry with tofu and light oil. With a little googling and research, you can find healthy meals you’ll love and just can’t get enough of. I have tons of recipes on my site here that are just waiting to be eaten! Some of my current favorites are Overnight Oats (perfect for breakfast), DIY protein bars, and Buffalo Cauliflower.

PRO TRO: CHECK PINTEREST. I could spend HOURS scrolling on the “healthy meals” tab on Pinterest – it’s where I find so much of my inspiration when it comes to recipes! The drool-worthy photos will reel you in right away.

2) Pick a workout routine that’s do-able

When I first started working out, I picked workout routines that just weren’t going to happen. You know how sometimes you talk yourself into doing a half marathon when you’ve never ran a day in your life? That’s what I’m talking about. I threw myself into daily workouts I didn’t like, and I was bad at sticking to a routine since it was such a huge change from my regular life at the time.

Once I found a workout I liked and that was realistic for my schedule, I quickly fell into the habit. My advice is to try everything! I’ve spent weeks doing sprints, weight lifting, taking yoga classes, barre classes – pretty much everything under the sun! Once I tried *almost* everything, I determined that I liked fast, hard workouts, rather than slower, longer ones. I now love going to the gym and creating a circuit workout that takes about 25-30 minutes, but really gets me sweating. It’s my favorite! I also adore yoga as it really helps me stretch out and be mindful.

Start out however you need to; whether that be 2 days a week or 5! Just get moving any way you can.

3) Have healthy snacks on hand for when the cravings hit

This is a piece of advice that helped me SO MUCH when I was kicking junk food out of my diet. Instead of buying chips and crackers, I now opt for healthier options like protein bars, lightly salted popcorn, rice cakes, dark chocolate, etc. The more I started eating these things, the more they became what I craved.

I’m also all about keeping smoothies on hand for when I want something sweet. You guys I love making my own, but recently I’ve been stocking up on Ready To Thrive! Smoothie Cups for when I’m on the go.  These are amazing and I’m addicted to how convenient they are. Ready To Thrive! takes the guesswork out of smoothie making, and creates all-in-one smoothie cups designed to make healthy eating both exciting and accessible. They’re super easy to prepare in just three simple steps: 1) add your favorite liquid, 2) blend, 3) pour the smoothie back into the cup and take it with you!

With no prepping, cutting, or measuring of any ingredients, Ready To Thrive! takes the hassle out of making smoothies at home, which really helps to keep you on track with your New Year’s resolutions. While all of the flavors are crave-worthy, the “Rise” Drink is my favorite to drink day after day. It’s a mashup of all of my faves: banana, strawberry, peach, mango and orange. Sooo delicious & sweet – you guys will love it! Each flavor features seasonal fruits and vegetables to offer natural, real food nutrition and no extra sugars or preservatives added. I pick up these Ready To Thrive! smoothie cups from my local Target. They’re 2 for $8 from Feb. 17-March 2nd so head over to stock up like I did during the promo!

4) Pay attention to your mental health

While physical health is talked about so often, you hardly ever hear people focusing on mental health. In the past couple of years, I’ve really tried to spend time caring for myself and my mental health. Some ways I care for my mental health are: meditate, yoga (I use an app for this! There are so many that bring you through an easy flow), and stretching. Since I’ve had back problems in my past, stretching became a great way for me to cure my issues, and relax. I love to just sit on the floor, pop on some good music or a TV show, and stretch it out for about 20 minutes. These are some of my favorites, but there are SO many ways to take care of your mental health!

Whether that be relaxing with your favorite show, taking a bubble bath, or cuddling up with your favorite book, it’s so important to take time for ourselves to relax and recharge.

5) Reflect, reflect, reflect

One of the most important things in setting goals and creating habits is checking in on them. Every now and then, I like to reflect and check in on how I’m doing in terms of health. When I catch myself slipping up, I re-evaluate and see what I can change. For example, for the past year I’ve been really into circuit workouts, but I’ve noticed over the past few weeks they haven’t felt as tough. I decided to find a new workout to challenge myself again so that I’ll stick to it and feel motivated.

Checking in on goals is helpful when seeing where you’re at in terms of progress, and what you need to change to see success.

While I could go on forever about hacks and habits that helped me to get healthy once and for all, these are the 5 that have been the most helpful throughout the years. I hope these help you guys out, and encourage you to give your health goals a go. You’ll thank yourself later – I promise!

Sincerely, Katerina