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FashionEarsta celebrates the New Year by giving our New Year’s Resolutions a Disney twist!
So… how are those New Year’s resolutions going, FashionEarstas? It’s 7 days into 2022 and, while I’ve run at least a mile every day, I’ve also already eaten 2 Mickey pretzels! We know that January is a great time to find your motivation, but also that it becomes way less fun after a week or two.
That’s why we’re putting a magical spin on our New Year’s resolutions this month; we’re eating healthier, exercising more, and traveling again… but with a Disney twist! Want to work out but also don’t want to work out? Maybe doing a workout with a Hercules twist (and maybe even a little heroic fashion) is what you need to get you up and moving? Join us as we share some ideas for keeping your New Year, New You spirit, Disney style!
New Year’s Resolutions & Tips for Eating Right
Well, I’ll admit it: I probably had one too many cookies during the holiday season, since it was so fun being around family again in 2021. But it’s time to start eating healthier and finding an eating plan that works for me in 2022! New Year’s resolution #1 – eating healthy!
The hardest part of starting a diet is realizing that Disney Snacks may have to be minimized! At FashionEarsta, we consider Disney Snacks to be their own food group. Pretzels, Dole Whips, Churros… I am now officially daydreaming, which is surely a safe way to protect my new diet plan.
I recently listened to a very informative health and wellness expert at a business conference speak to how the science behind food can prevent aging and promote vitality. It was a fascinating speech and in the end, I took away a couple of important points.
- Always work with your Doctor when you are embarking on a diet to make sure you are still getting the essentials you need for YOUR body.
- No matter what, green vegetables are your biggest friend!
- It’s all about a combination of food choices, exercise and restful sleep!
Let’s break these down a little more to help with your eating goals & New Year’s resolutions for 2022!
Doctor on Call
It’s important to work with your doctor or fitness advisor on a healthy eating plan that gives you the nutrients you need for you. Your body is your treasure and it’s unique to your needs. You may need more iron-based foods or lower cholesterol options to work into your eating plan. And, if you are training for a Run Disney race like our very own Fancy Floridian, your diet will need to find ways to incorporate foods that give you energy.
The good news is that whatever diet or eating plan you choose, there are hundreds of cookbooks and online communities to help you find fresh new ways of making food! Here are some of our favorite finds!
And if you are lucky enough to be travelling to Disney while choosing to eat healthier, you’re in luck. Many restaurants and quick service are now offering healthier options. You might just need to skip the dessert! But plant-based, vegetarian and allergy-friendly meals are available. Just ask a Disney cast member to assist you in your selection! And, check out this page for more information.
It IS Easy Being Green
Kermit is one of everyone’s favorite Muppets, so there must be something to the green thing! One of the best ways to reach eating success is to eat a lot of non-starchy, leafy green vegetables. And, the fun part is that there are so many ways to cook green veggies in a fun, tasty way. Whether you love collards, brussel sprouts, green beans, salads, asparagus or spinach, there’s more than enough green vegetables to try every day of the week so you won’t get bored! Eating green is a great way to help stick to your New Year’s Resolutions.
Check out this recipe we found on D23 for Maple-Bourbon Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apple Butter from The Turf Club Bar & Grill at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.
And, here’s a Disney favorite you can try at home form our friends at The Disney Dish. It’s an ‘Ohana-inspired recipe featuring Green Beans!
Both of these green plates of goodness are going on our menus!
And I find it’s always more fun to cook with a little Disney magic in the kitchen. Check out this recent article on the new Homestead collection!
Food + Exercise + Sleep
Eating right and exercising are great ways to begin your health journey in 2022, but the last part of the formula is to sleep well. A good night’s rest is imperative to energizing your body and mind! Here’s some supporting information from The Sleep Foundation.
Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly
The Sleep Foundation
Lucky for us, besides eating well and exercising daily, a great way to get a good night’s sleep is to be comfortable. We love the loungewear and sleepwear options at shopDisney and have our eye on this set! And, we love the coordinating weighted plush! Put it together and we are ready for a good night’s sleep after eating our greens!
Now that you are rested up, it’s time to take on exercising another one of your New Year’s Resolutions with The Fancy Floridan, a frequent runDisney participant!
New Year’s Resolutions & Exercising: How Can Disney Help Motivate YOU?
It’s January; for a lot of us, that means it’s time to take a look at our fitness goals for 2022. If you’re like me, exercising isn’t exactly your favorite way to spend your time (I’d much rather be eating Mickey-shaped food, let’s be honest). But, surprisingly, Disney actually helped me meet my fitness goals in 2021!
How? Well, I’m pretty goal-oriented. Getting up to go to the gym or for a run isn’t easy for me (is it easy for anyone?) but when I have a challenge or a goal, it’s way easier for me to force myself to exercise. Running still isn’t fun in and of itself, but when I made my running and exercise have Disney payoffs, that made everything surrounding running fun!
Reward Yourself for Magical Workouts
Since I’m goal-oriented, I like to set myself a monthly Disney-themed goal with a reward at the end! The reward can be something tangible that helps me with my fitness journey (like new socks or even a cute top that I’m only allowed to wear while working out) or something less tangible like an indulgent Epsom Salt bath. I save my big rewards for when I complete a monthly challenge, like “streaking” (exercising for at least 10 minutes a day for an entire month).
I’m not always creative enough to come up with my own challenges, but fortunately FashionEarsta favorite brand Crowned Athletics has monthly themed challenges. Plus, if you participate in their challenges on social media they reward you with a discount code and an entry for a gift card! Here’s their January #ChallengeYourCrown:
Each month we will release a new empty calendar with a list of emojis representing different forms of exercise and health goals. We’ve got everything from boxing to hiking and even those lovely rest days in between. The goal is to fill out every square with whatever activities you completed that day – some days will have multiple emojis in one square.
But because we still love a good theme – each month will highlight one goal in particular. For January, let’s focus on hitting our target water consumption at least 20 of the 31 days! I don’t know about you, but the holidays bring lots of festive cocktails and I need to get my hydration in check.
Crowned Athletics
Make Your Fitness a Fantasy(land)
Need some magical ideas for how to fill in your calendar? Some of my favorites are these sneaky workouts that are inspired by drinking games, of all things. Turn on the Disney movie in question and follow the instructions for when to get up and exercise!
You can find more workouts, exercise DIYs and training tips on the RunDisney blog! There are also a bunch of content creators on YouTube and Pinterest who have gotten into the Disney spirit. We put together a few of our favorites on our Pinterest:
Make it a Medal Monday
Are you motivated by bling? There are some amazing communities out there that do fun, themed runs and other fitness challenges, often inspired by Disney and featuring beautifully blingy medals that will definitely get your butt up and moving!
I personally love The Run Princess Family, a Facebook group of walkers and runners who support each other with challenge groups and who occasionally race for fun medals. I earned this “Chewy Challenge” medal for pushing myself to run 24 miles in 24 hours!
Of course, the ultimate Disney medals come from the RunDisney race weekends, but I’ll share more about those as I tackle the Dopey challenge later this week!
Dress for Success
“You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it.”
Edith Head
I’m not sure if the quote rings true, but there is no shortage of cute Disney athletic wear out there and I’m sure going to try it out to see if it helps me to be more active! Here are just a few of my favorite brands for feeling both fit and fly:
Sparkle Athletic Princess Running Crops
Dottie for Running Once Upon A Time Princess Running Skirt
Crowned Athletics AFTER MIDNIGHT PRINCESS ATHLETIC SKORT
Casual Bee Boutique To Infinity Padded Sports Bra
RunDisney also just announced a new line of athletic wear – from athletic shirts perfect for training to joggers and hats – coming soon to shopDisney.com, so be on the lookout for this to drop soon!
New Year’s Resolutions & Traveling (to Disney World and other Less-Fun Places Too)
It’s hopefully not wishful thinking to resolve that 2022 will be the year that we get back to traveling! 2021 picked up a bit at the end, with the US re-opening its borders to most international travelers and the return of our overseas friends to Disney World (in fact, I’m writing this from an airport as I return from spending the holidays with my family)!
Despite new COVID variants and continued uncertainty, here’s hoping that 2022 will be full of magical flights, road trips and fun!
Disney Road Trip Goodies
I (the Fancy Floridian) always drive to Disney World. It’s super convenient to have my car in Orlando so I can go to Publix for room snacks and avoid Uber fees if I want to venture outside the Disney Bubble.
Recently, I’ve had small humans tagging along on most of my drives, so I’m now very invested in finding little ways to help them pass the time so that they’re not just demanding I play “Grim Grinning Ghosts” on the speakers for the 800th time!
But the most important thing I’ve ever invested in is a loooooong charger so that everyone in the back seat can charge their devices on the way to Disney. Have you ever tried to take your phone back from a 6-year-old so that you can charge it and it won’t die in the parks? We have and it is not pretty! Fortunately this gadget is economical and solves that problem!
Flight Tricks & Tips to the Most Magical Place on Earth
Like The Fancy Floridian, I am lucky enough to be within driving distance of Walt Disney World. But that wasn’t always the case. For many years, I would fly to Walt Disney World with my young daughter in tow. Here are some tips I used to score the best flights at the best rates.
Book as far ahead as you possibly can to plan your vacation. When flights are just released you will get the greatest deals from airlines such as Frontier, Allegiant and Southwest Airlines. If you can’t book that far ahead, then try for 64 days prior to your vacation. I know! A weird, number right? But that’s what a survey conducted by CheapAir found to be the optimum booking window.
And, it helps if you have some flexibility in your timing and can fly on off-peak days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Flying on those days can save some money to spend in other areas of your vacation. Because as much as possible, we like to stick to our vacation budget.
In the past, we could recommend travelling to Walt Disney World during off-peak times of year. But, quite honestly, there’s not much of an off-peak season at Disney anymore.
Once you have made your flight, stay on track of any changes made by the airlines. In this day and age, airlines are making more last-minute changes to flights. Stay up to date by signing up for email updates and logging on to the airlines website for periodically checking your reservations.
Disney Magic On The Way
My next suggestion is to start the Disney magic right away on your trip! Whether you are waiting for your flight in the airport or in flight, Disney travel-inspired merchandise is a great way to entertain kids and get them excited for Disney.
FashionEarsta found these great earphones to go with the your child’s electronics which we know will be tuned into Disney movie, right?
And, when you are ready to shut off the electronics, pack a few portable games that the whole family can easily play in route. We love Uno and Family Feud in our family!
No matter how you travel to Walt Disney World on your magical adventure, we hope that 2022 brings back the spirit and fun into travel!
While Fancy Floridian wrote this article with an eye to the holidays, here is a list of some fun, magical adventures you can add to your travel this year! FashionEarsta’s Guide to Making Memories with Disney Experiences.
So, FashionEarstas, it’s a New Year and a New Year full of New Year’s Resolutions! What are your plans for food, fitness and travel? Let us know here, on Instagram and Facebook (@fashionearsta) and our brand new YouTube channel! Be sure to follow us so that you’re always in the loop and can follow along with our adventures!
Pixie dust and glamour!
The Fancy Floridian and Belle of the Ball
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