BY KEVIN MCCONLOGUE

People like to welcome the beginning of a New Year with one or two New Years’ resolutions. These resolutions usually involve a change in someone’s lifestyle, such as going to the gym more often or making changes to your diet.

Donna LaBar is here to help people make sure they keep up with their resolutions. LaBar is a Health Transformation Specialist and a certified healing coach from Tunkhannock. She is also the author of a published book ‘Simple Natural Healing’ where she writes about how people can change to live a healthier lifestyle.

“In the book one of the main things that I talk about is how people can change their diets,” LaBar said. “Maintaining a normal balanced diet, so people don’t get sick is one of the main ways to support yourself.”

Some ways that people can maintain a balanced diet is to cut down on things like processed foods and reduce their sugar intake. Consuming more minerals can also bring many more health benefits.

“Vegetables provide lots of minerals, and those substances can go a long way into making your body heal faster,” LaBar said. “Getting more minerals into your body can also help a lot with things like sleep and digestion. People don’t eat enough vegetables, and they’re doing themselves a disservice.”

Staying hydrated all the time is also another way to stay healthy. LaBar encourages people to drink purified water because of the added minerals, and to stay away from sugary, carbonated beverages.

One of the main ways that LaBar thinks people can change their lives for the better is by managing stress. Although everyone has experienced stress at some points, especially within the last year, getting that stress out of your system should be a 2021 priority.

“People need to look at their environment, and see if they can make the changes to get stress out of their system,” LaBar said. “Lots of people like to exercise by going to the gym, which is great, but there are tons of other ways to alleviate stress as well.”

LaBar says that doing activities like going for a walk, talking to people who they consider close friends on a regular basis, and getting involved with groups of people who share similar interests are great stress relievers and can raise a person’s happiness.

Life can be extremely busy for everyone, which can add to a person’s stress level. This New Year, LaBar said that everyone needs to take an hour of their day to concentrate on themselves and do whatever makes them happy.

“Finding a period of the day where a person can take time and relax, read, or do whatever pastime that they like will instantly make a person’s health and wellness better,” LaBar said. “Find an hour with no interference to focus on just you, and you will instantly feel like a better person.”

LaBar encourages people to put away their electronics during this hour to themselves, as stuff like that can cause major distractions. She points out that distractions are to be avoided during this hour to yourself.

“Everybody has to find whatever outlet they can enjoy for reflection,” LaBar said. “Whatever they do during their special time is completely their choice.”

LaBar’s book ‘Simple Natural Healing’ is available for purchase on Amazon and contains more of her healing, health and wellness tips.

She also has a website, donnalabar.com, where the public can read more of her health coaching advice.