The best success in any diet is when you find a plan that that leaves you feeling your best, has a long-term focus, and actually tastes good!

January is the time where we all swear off certain groups of food, vow to only eat healthy, and promise our selves to only drink wine on special occasions (like Tuesday through Sunday, with our dinner, and after meals). Kidding! Maybe!?

What the new year brings, is an opportunity to TRY something new. Think for a moment: if you could choose to feel any way, physically and mentally, what would it be? Maybe you’d wish to have more energy. Perhaps, losing weight would be up there. Or, you’ve heard so much about the benefits of cutting back on meat consumption, it’s something you’re thinking of trying.

The new year is a great time to leap with faith towards those goals! But, what happens when you shift from a short-term resolution and elevate to a long-term solution? We go from taking on just another diet plan, and focus on creating a healthy lifestyle plan instead. But, like anything that’s new, it takes time to adjust, perseverance for when we fall off track, and an open mind to adjust the sails when needed, without changing the destination.

Make sense? Let’s break it down.

Say your goal is to have more energy from the current food you’re eating. Well, becoming vegan did just that for me! However, my genetic make-up, activity level and lifestyle is completely different from yours.

Insert: Bio-individuality.

So, having a “one-size-fits-all” approach doesn’t exactly work when it comes to finding a nutrition plan that works specifically well for you. Here’s where the open mind and patience come in to play.

While you may want to kick-start your goals for the new year full-steam ahead, it will take a bit of time to try different foods and diets to ultimately find the habits that offer the outcome you’re seeking.

I can honestly share, Whole Foods Market offers one of the greatest selections for dietary needs, when it comes to stores to purchase from. I’ve partnered with Whole Foods Market Miami to talk about some of the top dietary resolutions in the new year, tips to get started, and some of my favorite products to try that support your goal.

 1. REDUCE MEAT CONSUMPTION

The Deets:

According to a recent study by Rabobank (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-chart-proves-americans-love-their-meat-2016-08-15?link=sfmw_tw), Americans eat roughly 193 pounds of meat per year. That number is up 9 pounds from 2012.

Well, I don’t eat meat, and neither do an additional 3% of Americans out there. Someone out there is making up for me! That number is projected to go higher, and while not all meat consumption is bad, at that current rate of consumption, we are destroying our eco-system just in an effort to keep up.

How to get started:

Going meatless one day a week is actually the way I started before going vegetarian and, eventually, vegan (more on that below). The best way is to just began and start small.

Meatless Monday is a global movement designed to increase awareness about the effects that meat consumption have on our environment. For example, skipping steak once a week with your family is the equivalent of taking your car off the road for nearly three months. Further, if the entire U.S. didn’t eat meat or cheese for just one day a week, it would be the equivalent of not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million cars off the road (earthday.org).

It all adds up. The bonus? You may feel better too from eating a plant-based diet. The trial and error, as mentioned in the opening paragraph: try it, see you feel, and adjust the sails as you move along.

Foods to Try:

• Gardein Teriyaki Chick’n Strips
• 365 Everyday Value Veggie Dogs
• 365 Everyday Value Organic Garbanzo Beans
• Simple Mills Everything Sprouted Seed Crackers

 2. EAT A CLEANER DIET

The Deets:

Cut out the extra sugars, salt, processed foods, microwaved meals, if it comes in a plastic wrapper — get rid of it. It’s probably a part of the reason you’re feeling slow, low in energy, weighed down, and sick at times. Remember, the fewer the ingredients, the better.

How to get started:

Read labels! It’s honestly the number one tip I can offer you in this category. If you’re reading a label, you become so much more aware of what you’re putting in to your body and what you’re consuming. You also begin to realize how much fake crap gets pumped in the foods we traditionally deemed as “healthy.”

Foods to Try:

• Waterloo Sparkling Water (I am obsessed with the watermelon flavor!) 
• Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce (no sugar or preservatives added)
• Engine 2 Organic Moroccan Style Stew (most soups are loaded with added sodium and preservatives—not this one!) 

3. EAT HEALTHIER ON THE GO

The Deets:

Traveling? Lunchtime at the office? No time to prep dinner at home? This section’s for you. Being on-the-move or having a “busy” lifestyle doesn’t mean you don’t have time to eat well. Like you would schedule in a meeting, a departure time, or afterwork drinks, schedule in time to plan ahead and invest in you. And, just because you are out of the home, there are still plenty of easy options you can carry with you or prep ahead.

How to get started:

Plan ahead. Look at your schedule, and plan in what you have on your agenda for the day and prepare your food in advance. If you’re short on time for making a lunch in the morning, prep it the night before. If you know you have a long flight from New York to LA and the only options are the pizza shop and the airplane pretzels, pack some TSA approved snacks to take with you.

Honestly, I always stock up on snack packs, bars, nuts from the bulk section, and dried fruits from Whole Foods Market before any long flight or trip overseas where I know the healthy picks will be slim. i can’t emphasize it enough: take the time, plan ahead.

Foods to Try:

• Think Thin Plant Based High Protein Bars
• GoMacro Bars
• Square Organics
• Vega Protein Packs
• Justin’s Almond Butter Individual Packets

4. EAT FOR MORE ENERGY

The Deets:

The cause for your lack of energy can come from a variety of issues, but something to definitely rule out is food allergies. In addition, eating fresher quality foods, with no hormones, additives, or fake ingredients (do you really think yellow40 is grown in the forest?) will decrease your body’s load of work it needs to do to filter out the toxins and processed crap. In turn, that leaves your body more energy to do the things you want to do and leave you happy!

How to get started:

While I am 100% vegan, something I’ve tampered with from time to time when I need to clean out my system is removed extra gluten from my diet. I have a super sensitive stomach from years of destroying my gut system. Experimentation is key here.

Again, read the labels. A reason I shop at Whole Foods Market is because of their careful selection process in products that actually make it to their shelves. Unlike many grocers that focus on just the bottom line, Whole Foods Market has high standards in providing top quality produce, organic selections, packaged foods, and even meats and dairy products as well. Read more about their standards here. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/quality-standards

Foods to Try:

• Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour (gluten free and non-gmo)
• VegaSport Sugar-free energizer (sugar-free, no additives)
• Coconut Secret Soy-Free Seasoning Sauce (gluten free, soy-free)