5 books to help you build healthier habits in 2018

In this time of giving, is there a better gift to give yourself than healthier habits? You may think that buying yourself something at Christmas could be seen as somewhat selfish.

However, if it is in the interest of your own self-care then it is not! Looking after yourself and ensuring you are the happiest, and healthiest version of yourself will not only benefit you but everyone around you. Below I list my top 5 books to help you cultivate healthier habits in 2018:

1. Foodist by Darya Rose. This wonder woman has a fantastic blog, podcast and book on how to loose weight without dieting. I really like her balanced and evidence based approach.
2. The Power of Habit by Charles Duigg. This is a fascinating insight into why we behaviour in certain ways and how to change our habits for the better.
3. The 5 Minute Journal. This is a staple item in my life. It is based on the research on positive psychology and helps you cultivate a gratitude habit daily. The research shows a whole rake of benefits of gratitude journaling from enhancing positivity and resilience, to reducing depression. The founders of the 5 minute journal also have a fantastic blog on productivity, positivity and habits which can be found here; https://www.intelligentchange.com/. I use either the hardback version of the Gratitude Journal or the app, every day.
4. Willpower, Rediscovering our Greatest Strength by Professor Roy Baumeister. This is a great overview on the research on willpower and how it is a vital factor in achieving success, health and happiness and how to cultivate it.
5. Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think by Dr. Brian  In the next post I will discuss how to engineer your environment to minimise temptation. The majority of the work on eating environments has come from Dr. Brian  Wansink, a Food Psychologist at Cornell University. His book, gives an amazing insight into the research around how our food environment can influence our health.

Christmas can be a difficult time for those who are trying to stick with their health goals. Our good intentions tend to go out the window this time of year. However the choice doesn’t have to be all, or nothing. Coming this week!!! Every day, over the next 20 days, up until Christmas eve, I will be supporting you in sticking with your healthy habits, by sharing a daily evidence based insight to help you find balance this festive season. This will include hints and tips on how to resist temptation, engineer your environment for success and some mindset insights to help keep you on track with your goals right through to 2018.

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