How to celebrate Ditch Your New Year's Resolution Day with self-care

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Friday, January 17, 2020
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Jan. 17 is Ditch Your New Year's Resolution Day, so grab some ice cream, get comfy on the couch and stare at your phone for the next 48 hours!

Or...

Stop biting off more than you can chew. Instead of setting one overarching goal over a 365-day period, set mini attainable goals each month, ABC chief medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton recommended.

In her new book "The Self Care Solution," Dr. Ashton lays out a plan for people who want to reevaluate their own behavior with anything from red meat and sugar to caffeine and alcohol.

She divides resolutions into one-month chunks, starting with a dry January.

"Because I have a degree in nutrition, food or nutritional challenges were a big part of that," she said. "And it didn't always involve cutting something that may be harmful out. Sometimes it involved adding something that may be beneficial."

An example, she said, would be the Hydration Challenge month.

Dr. Ashton's book also includes some behavior challenges, such as pushups and planks and meditation.

She told "Good Morning America" that these challenges are a good way to promote self-care.

"If we can't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of others, and no one will really take the same kind of care for us that we can take for ourselves," she said.

Here are the challenges Dr. Ashton details in her book:

  • January: Dry Month
  • February: Pushups and Planks
  • March: Meditation
  • April: Cardio
  • May: Less Meat, More Plants
  • June: Hydration
  • July: More Steps
  • August: Mindful Tech
  • September: Less Sugar
  • October: Stretching
  • November: Sleep
  • December: Laughter
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