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New Year, Fresh Start Health, Fitness & Beauty Wellbeing reset


A no-pressure guide to kick-starting your wellness in 2026. Words: Alyssa Jaffer


‘N


ew year, new me’ energy is so 2025. Tis year, it’s all about accessible wellness. To help you


ditch the guilt of abandoned new year’s resolutions and approach your wellbeing in a sustainable and genuinely achievable way, we’ve put together a simple guide to help you boost your health, with advice from wellness experts.


Get moving


It’s likely cold outside, so the best way to warm up is to get your body moving — whatever it takes. If, as a beginner, you’re intimidated by the gym or find running boring, the most important thing is to find a type of movement that you like (or at least don’t viscerally hate) and start incorporating it into your weekly routine, whether it’s HIIT workouts at home, virtual classes, a yoga class or simply a daily walk in your local park. “Start with something you enjoy


and that fits your lifestyle,” advises Penny Weston, a fitness, wellness and nutrition expert. “Set realistic goals so you don’t lose motivation and give yourself full commitment to those goals, as half-hearted attempts rarely stick. Te key is to experiment until you find what feels sustainable


and then, focus on maintaining consistency over intensity.” “Behaviour change sticks when


it feels safe, doable and non- threatening, especially if reluctance comes from cost, body image, shame, time pressure or low motivation,” adds women’s health specialist Nikki Antonaccio.


Eat to nourish


Te rise — and increased accessibility — of weight-loss injections has only exacerbated diet culture, so this year, forget the fad diets and make your mindset more about eating for nourishment and sustenance. “Tink of food as fuel rather than


punishment,” recommends Weston. “Tis approach helps maintain energy, supports overall health and is much easier to sustain long-term.” She suggests adding new foods for your diet regularly, particularly seasonal produce, to give your diet variety and ensure you get the nutrients you need. Nikki flags protein as especially


important. “It’s foundational for lean muscle tissue, metabolic health, hormone balance, nervous system regulation and even cognitive capacity.” Prioritise whole protein sources over bars and powders.


When you eat to nourish your


body, take time to savour your food, choose quality ingredients as best you can and try to eat all the colours of the rainbow every week.


Be kind to your mind


While you’re approaching your physical fitness with renewed energy, don’t forget to invest in your mental wellness too. With the stresses and daily pressures of everything life throws your way, it’s important to intentionally look after your mental


Future-proof your health


For far too long, healthcare systems have operated a fundamentally broken model, one designed for an era of shorter life expectancies and less prevalent chronic disease


Te NHS currently spends billions on treatment, while allocating just a fraction of its budget to preven- tion. Tis disparity represents both a clinical failure and an unsustainable economic cost.1


Lord Darzi’s recent


independent investigation of the NHS addresses this failure directly and highlights the need for a tilt of re- sources toward prevention, earlier de- tection and technology-enabled care.2 It’s no surprise that preventive


health companies have emerged to fill this gap. Yet many preventive health platforms offer technology without medical expertise or clinical advice without data integration. Te result? Generic recommendations that miss what matters most. Emerald Health was built to solve this exact problem.


COMPREHENSIVE & AFFORDABLE BIOMARKER TESTING Emerald is a preventive care service that combines comprehensive bio- marker testing with wearable data in- tegration, AI driven insights and doc- tor led clinical guidance. Its approach is simple: advanced technology identifies your health risks, and doctors


translate that data into a


personalised action plan you can actually follow. Emerald helps you track what you


eat, how much you move and how well you sleep. Tese become measurable


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data points, revealing real progress and transforming you from passive recipient of healthcare to an active agent of your own wellbeing. Prevention isn’t about waiting until


symptoms appear. It’s about under- standing your body now and taking action before disease takes hold. Te future of healthcare isn’t something to wait for. It’s something to build. Join Emerald Health and help build a healthier nation, starting with you.


health, as it’ll help you reach your overall health goals. Building mental toughness and


resilience is key. Tis can include stepping outside your comfort zone, practicing daily habits like consistent sleep, hydration and digital boundaries, and using visualisation to feel in control of your goals. “Seeing challenges as


opportunities to learn — rather than as obstacles — also helps, as even small, consistent actions make a big difference in supporting your


wellbeing over time,” says Penny. Checking in with yourself through journaling, meditation, therapy and soulful conversations can help you to build mental wellness throughout the year. “Learn to slow down and


understand the connection between your nervous system, your mindset and your physiology. Tey’re inseparable,” says Antonaccio says. “Slowing down isn’t a luxury — it’s the gateway to clarity, resilience and sustainable mental health.”


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For more information, visit withemerald.com or get in touch via care@withemerald.com


1) OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS (2025) HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE, UK HEALTH ACCOUNTS: 2023 AND 2024. AVAILABLE AT: ONS.GOV.UK/PEOPLEPOPULATIONANDCOMMUNITY/HEALTHANDSOCIALCARE/HEALTHCARESYSTEM/BULLETINS/UKHEALTHACCOUNTS/2023AND2024 2) DARZI, A. (2024). INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE IN ENGLAND. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE. AVAILABLE AT: ASSETS.PUBLISHING.SERVICE.GOV.UK/MEDIA/66F42AE630536CB92748271F/LORD-DARZI-INDEPENDENT-INVESTIGATION-OF-THE-NATIONAL-HEALTH-SERVICE-IN-ENGLAND-UPDATED-25- SEPTEMBER.PDF


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