January diets promise a fresh start. A reset. A new you. Yet most of them are built on the exact same idea... eat less, push harder, override your body.
It works for a few weeks, until hunger catches up, energy drops, cravings spike, and the cycle quietly resets. Restrict. Burn out. Maybe even notice a yo-yo effect. Start again next January.
As you can probably tell, we’re very against this cycle. Not because trying new health habits is wrong, but because this pattern keeps you distracted from a much quieter truth. There are ways of eating and living that are so deeply supportive, so biologically familiar, that health stops feeling like something you have to manage.
Habits so foundational, so aligned with how the body is designed to be fed, that you no longer need to micromanage calories, willpower, or motivation.
You’re not constantly “on” or “off” a plan. You’re simply nourished. And when the body is truly nourished, it doesn’t demand obsession.
A year in health, your guide map
1. Live in alignment with your circadian rhythm
Circadian health is the foundation of every biological process your body depends on. When it's aligned, every system in your body exists in harmony. Your energy is high, sleep is restorative, and your body performs with maximum functionality. But when it’s out of sync? Cue the chaos... sluggish mornings, hormonal mayhem, and long term health consequences like metabolic dysfunction and even cancer.
Our ancestors effortlessly synchronised with the rhythm of day and night, but modern life: jet lag, artificial light, and erratic eating, has thrown our natural cycles into disarray.
Luckily, the antidote is deceptively simple: align your day with nature. Here’s how to structure your day for circadian mastery:
2:00–6:00 AM
While you sleep, your body temperature lowers, and inflammation drops. This is the time for deep restoration, where healing and repair take place. Prioritise quality sleep during this window by maintaining a cool, dark, and quiet sleep environment.
6:00–8:00 AM
The day begins with a cortisol spike: your body’s natural alarm clock. Heart rate rises, glucose production kicks in, and adrenaline readies you for action. Step outside for morning sunlight to sync your circadian rhythm, reduce melatonin, and boost alertness. A nutrient dense breakfast with proteins and healthy fats supports this surge in energy.
8:00–11:00 AM
Sex hormone levels are at their peak, providing mental clarity and physical vigour. This is an excellent time for focused work or creative tasks. Hydrate well, and incorporate light movement like walking to keep energy steady.
2:30 PM
Muscle coordination and reaction times hit their stride. This is the sweet spot for physical activity, whether it’s strength training, yoga, or a run. Take advantage of this window to push your fitness goals.
5:30 PM
Cardiovascular efficiency and recovery are at their highest. Another great window for exercise if you missed the afternoon slot. Blood pressure and body temperature peak, enhancing endurance and performance.
7:00–8:00 PM
As the sun sets, your body transitions to rest mode. Reduce exposure to artificial light, particularly blue light, to encourage melatonin production. Opt for warm, dim lighting and enjoy a calming dinner rich in proteins and fats but low in carbohydrates to support overnight repair. Prioritise relaxing activities like reading or meditation to ease into sleep.
11:00PM-2:00AM
This is when your body enters its most profound state of restoration and repair, with growth hormone reaching its peak levels of secretion. But here's the catch, your body only unlocks this powerful hormonal cascade if you're already in deep sleep during these golden hours. Studies show that the disruptions in this window can diminish growth hormone release, leading to impaired recovery, accelerated ageing and decreased metabolic efficiency.
At this time, the glymphatic system, your brain’s detox system, begins to activate, clearing out toxins and cellular waste, reaching its peak activity during the deeper stages of non-REM sleep, clearing out waste products like beta-amyloid, which is associated with cognitive decline and diseases like Alzheimer's.
This process is also supported by adequate hydration throughout the day which supports cerebrospinal fluid flow, which is essential for glymphatic efficiency.
Studies also suggest side sleeping may enhance glymphatic clearance compared to back sleeping
12:00 AM
Leptin, the hormone responsible for releasing fat reserves during sleep, becomes active. Your nervous system enters a deep recovery phase, ensuring you’re ready for another day
2. Ground with the earth
Grounding is an ancient practice that science is finally catching up with, a reminder that health often lies in the simplest, most primal connections.
Beneath our feet, the planet emits a subtle, steady flow of free electrons. When you touch the ground directly, these electrons flow into your body, acting as nature’s most powerful antioxidant.
Emerging evidence suggests it also regulates the autonomic nervous system, shifting you out of a fight-or-flight state and into rest-and-digest mode. This recalibration strengthens everything from your immune response to your sleep cycles.
The hours just after sunrise are ideal for grounding. Your cortisol is naturally spiking, preparing your body for the day ahead. A barefoot walk on dew covered grass amplifies the Earth’s conductivity, syncing your circadian rhythm while calming inflammation.
Feeling that post-lunch dip? Step outside and ground for 10–15 minutes. This small window of reconnection not only resets your energy but also stabilises blood glucose and reduces oxidative stress, a game changer for metabolic health.
3. Buy your food from your local farmer
Buying food from your local farmer gently brings you back into conversation with the land. When you eat what’s growing nearby, you naturally become more creative in the kitchen, meals are shaped by what’s abundant now, not by endless choice, and that simplicity invites intuition.
Eating seasonally supports your body’s natural rhythms too. The foods that grow at certain times of year often contain exactly what your body needs in that season, supporting digestion, hormones, metabolism and circadian health in a way imported food never quite can.
Choosing local also means supporting farmers who are deeply struggling right now, people who care for soil and usually even know all of their animals by name. When food travels fewer miles, it doesn’t need heavy pesticides or preservation tactics to survive long journeys, and it arrives more alive, more nutrient-dense and more aligned with how humans have always eaten.
Don't know who your local farmer is? We get it, running a farm often leaves no time for social media and so they often have (understandably) terrible or nonexistent online presences, but you can find them using our free Organised app.
Photo from our trip to Hill Farm Real Food one of our beloved family farms who you may already know too as, contrary to everything we just said, Matt from Hill Farm, does share regular farm updates on his Instagram (you will love each one).
4. When struggling with ideas of what to cook, think nose-to-tail
This practice, rooted in ancestral wisdom unlocks the full spectrum of nutrients your body needs for robust health. By utilising every part of the animal, from the prized muscle cuts to the nutrient-dense organs, you’re not only honouring the life of the animal but also creating meals that are deeply nourishing and remarkably versatile.
Take organ meats, for instance. Liver is packed with bioavailable vitamin A, B vitamins (particularly B12), and iron, all essential for cellular energy and oxygen transport. Heart provides CoQ10, a compound vital for mitochondrial function and cardiovascular health. Bone marrow is rich in essential fats and stem cell-supporting compounds, while bone broths are a powerhouse of collagen, glycine, and proline, amino acids critical for joint health, skin elasticity, and gut repair.
Practicality meets nourishment here: blending heart into ground meat makes for a nutrient-boosted burger without altering the flavour, while a slow-simmered bone broth can serve as a mineral-rich base for soups or stews. Even the simplest recipes, like crispy fried chicken skins or roasted marrow bones, deliver a nutritional punch far greater than many conventional meal staples.
The possibilities are endless, and the rewards, both for your health and your palate, are immense.
5. Take care of your lymphatic health
The lymphatic system is the backbone of your immune function. It’s the body’s filtration network, working silently to transport white blood cells, flush toxins, and deliver nutrients to where they’re needed most. Every time you move, stretch, or even breathe deeply, your lymphatic system springs into action, circulating lymph fluid and keeping your immune defences sharp. Lymph nodes, scattered throughout the body, act as checkpoints where pathogens and harmful particles are trapped and neutralised
Unlike your circulatory system, the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, which means stagnation can set in without conscious effort to keep it flowing, leaving your immune system sluggish and overburdened.
- Daily movement is key. Walking, stretching, and even deep diaphragmatic breathing create the pressure changes needed to propel lymph fluid through its vessels. Rebounding (bouncing on a mini-trampoline) supercharges this process by combining gravity and motion, helping to flush lymphatic pathways and energise your immune system.
- Lymphatic drainage massage is another potent tool. Through gentle, rhythmic strokes, it stimulates lymph flow. Add in the ancient practice of dry brushing: using long, upward strokes toward the heart, to not only awaken the lymphatic system but also exfoliate the skin and boost circulation.
- Hydration is equally critical. Lymph fluid is primarily water, so dehydration thickens it, slowing its movement and hampering your immune system’s efficiency. Supporting this process with sauna sessions or alternating hot and cold showers can further boost lymphatic flow, encouraging the release of toxins through sweat while enhancing immune strength.
6. Reduce exposure to toxins
We’ll keep this one short because, unfortunately, the ways our bodies are attacked by the modern environment feel endless. From hormone disrupting plastics to synthetic fragrances and pesticide residues, these invisible intruders quietly chip away at our health.
But don’t panic, this isn’t about living in a bubble. Small, intentional changes make a big difference:
If you’re interested to dive deeper, our full toxin reduction roadmap here breaks it all down step by step, without the overwhelm, helping you weave a more harmonious environment that brings alignment to your health.
7. Honour your parasympathetic nervous system
Dr. Gabor Maté, renowned for his work on trauma and stress, emphasises how unresolved emotional wounds keep the body locked in survival mode, hijacking our immune system, digestion, and hormonal balance.
When the sympathetic nervous system dominates, keeping you in a perpetual state of alert, your body can’t differentiate between a missed deadline and a life-or-death threat. This state of hypervigillance burns through resources, leaving your body inflamed, fatigued, and disconnected. Trauma compounds this, embedding itself in the nervous system and perpetuating cycles of stress that undermine every attempt at healing.
Breaking free begins with inviting the parasympathetic nervous system to take the reins. Gentle, intentional practices like slow diaphragmatic breathing, mindfulness, and even body focused therapies like somatic experiencing (a method endorsed by Maté) can signal safety to your body. Cold plunges and humming exercises stimulate the vagus nerve, the main highway of your parasympathetic system, sending a loud and clear message: it’s okay to rest now.
The connection between emotional health and physical health is no longer a mystery, it’s a necessity we can no longer overlook. By tending to your nervous system, you’re not just calming your mind. You’re laying the foundation for real, lasting vitality
8. Find movement that exhilarates you
Exercise isn’t just a physical act, it’s a state of being, a rhythm that aligns the mind, body, and soul. The most transformative movements are not born of obligation, but of devotion, a love for the act itself. As author Haruki Murakami reflected: “Running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself.”
For Murakami, running was a personal dialogue. Movement isn’t about punishment or perfection, it’s about showing up each day, meeting yourself where you are, and growing just a little more than yesterday.
To find movement you truly love, strip away the expectation of achievement or comparison. Forget rigid schedules and “must-dos.” Instead, ask yourself: what makes you feel alive? For some, it’s the grounding rhythm of a morning walk as the world stirs awake. For others, it’s the meditative flow of yoga, the primal joy of dancing, or the quiet strength found in weightlifting. Maybe it’s running, as it was for Murakami, a solitary act that becomes a refuge.
If you’re stuck, try everything. The key is to find what draws you back, day after day, without forcing it. When you fall in love with the act of moving, it stops being a task and starts being a gift, a time to recalibrate, reflect, and renew. Make it simple. Make it sacred.
Actionable rituals:
1. Morning sunlight upon waking
2. Ground with the earth
3. Buy your food from your local farmer
4. Eat nose to tail
5. Take care of your lymphatic health
6. Reduce exposure to toxins
7. Honour your parasympathetic system
8. Find movement you love, something you can't wait to do every day
