Tag: new years resolutions

Saturday Snippets

Well the first week of the New Year is almost under us. How’s it going for you? How’s it going in getting on track with your health and fitness goals? Did you stay fairly focused through the holiday season or did you get de-railed?

New Years Day morning had me out on the road for a few miles. I really love being out on that first day because it mentally sets a tone for me in the up coming year and my pursuit of being physically active.

morning walk
A crisp, clear, cold morning to start the year

Not that I’m “not” planning to being working out… but it definitely centers me for my goals and commitment to being fit.

Maybe you’re like I am though. Maybe you are making some changes in getting your eating back on track after a season of cookies and other treats.

Maybe you want to get back into your exercise after being off your normal routine for awhile.

I hope you haven’t just gone into the “all or nothing” approach. Sometimes easing back into things is the best way to get into a disciplined routine again.

healthy living

Here’s a few tips that may help:

Don’t think you have to eat up all the left over cookies, candy, chips, whatever it is you may have laying around.  I’m kinda joking, but kinda serious too. People do think they will make a final “last supper” moment and eat up stuff before they go on their “diet”.

Do allow yourself something if you’re craving it. Having a piece or two of chocolate is way less damaging than ignoring your desire than binging on a half a bag later on.

Don’t go all extreme and restrictive in your eating.  Your body will rebel if you drastically reduce your food if you’ve been feeding it more than it needs.

Do gradually adjust the type of food and amount of food you have on your plate.  It doesn’t take a lot to satisfy your appetite.

Don’t cut out all things you love.  This goes a long way to being successful in new eating habits.

Don’t “over” exercise. Doing more than you are used to will only make you sore and not want to continue.

Do ease back into your normal routine if you have been exercising but maybe got off of it for a few weeks.  Adding a bit more to what you do through the next week or two will bring you back up to where you were without negative side effects.

Do set small, attainable goals. If you have a set amount of weight to lose, consider looking at it in 5lb goals. This is easy to achieve and makes it a bit of a game.  Weigh in only once a week.

Don’t get discouraged with what you need to do by staring at the “big picture”.  Focus on one day at a time making positive small choices. These will add up. Move through each day with a focus on those choices.

Do remember that change takes time and don’t get discouraged because you are expecting to much to soon.

If you keep in mind that each day is a series of baby steps leading to your larger goal, it will be easier to manage and you will be much more successful in the end.

Do you have any tips or tricks that work for you to help you get back on track or to reach your goals?

 

New Year Goals Not Resolutions

Happy new year

 

Happy, happy New Year to you boys and girls! 2016 is upon us full of hope and new beginnings.

ok well, technically as I write this, 2016 is a few hours away and I am hanging out in Starbucks writing and enjoying a rare treat away from my usual black coffee. They offered up something this year called “Holiday Spice Flat White” and it’s a taste sensory of holiday spices. steamed milk and double shots of espresso

It’s amazingly delicious… and it will be gone soon… just like this year.

If you’re like me perhaps you look at the year ahead and are making plans and setting new goals…or resolutions….

I know the thing to do is make new years resolutions but I really wanna talk to you about goal setting instead.

What’s the difference you ask ? Let’s take a look….

A resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. Do you see how that can go either way for your “resolutions ” ? Kind of subjective to your whim at the time, isn’t it ?  Not particularly concrete.

Now, let’s look at goal setting.

goals

 

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life.
It’s a pretty big difference from an ambiguous “resolution” isn’t it ?
At the top of so many peoples list for a new year is losing weight and starting an exercise program.
Setting small specific goals that are measureable and attainable will lead to your ultimate goal. Making a blanket statement that you want to “lose 25lbs.” without specific steps to get there will leave you most likely abandoning the idea fairly quick.
However, if you set out a specific goal to lose 1-2 lbs per week that is measureable, attainable and time bound. If you lost 2 lbs per week you would realize your overall goal within about a 3 month period give or take depending on how diligent you were.
Same for exercise. To just determine you’re going to go from doing nothing to taking off for a 5 mile run is crazy.  You’ll hurt and pay for it and vow that running really will kill you and you stop.
However,  beginning with a program where you implement walk/run and starting with 1-2 miles you can ease into it allowing your body to make changes and adaptations so you can run farther and longer.  You might have a goal of wanting to run a 5K race maybe 3 months out. By doing a walk/run method with your goals specific to increase your running time, and gradually increasing your distance will prepare you for that 5K (3.1 miles).
One of the things I thrive on is setting up a training schedule for my marathons.  I love the structure of a training program that leads to my ultimate goal of running 26.2 miles.  There is something about seeing my month already written out on a calendar that feels comfy to me… mainly ’cause I know those are steps to where I’m going. Without  specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and time bound steps I’d never make it to the starting prepared and ready for that distance.
Let’s look at it from a nutrition stand point. So many people approach eating healthier as a do or die attempt. They think there must be great suffering and no fun stuff ever.  They believe they have to nail it every single day and if they don’t then they’ve “lost” and might as well “give up”.  (Please don’t give up… even on days you might feel like you’ve failed… you just pick up and keep going… that’s called progress)
When you take steps to make one better choice at a time it’s less painful to adjust. In time, you probably won’t think about some of those changes you’ve made as they become more habit for you.
If you drink sodas and you want to cut back or cut them all together you simply begin making small cuts to let your body adapt to that change.
Not a veggie eater? Why not try one or two new things a week ? You might be surprised at what you like.
Always take seconds at a meal even when you aren’t hungry anymore ? Train yourself to eat slowly and really focus on savoring your first plate of food.
Set specific, attainable,  and measureable nutrition goals for yourself.   A notebook or planner can help keep you on track with your goals.
I can’t claim originality for this but I love the quote “progress, not perfection”.
We aren’t ever gonna have it 100% “right” but we can keep on track to living a healthy, strong, and productive life =)
Tell me…. what goals do you have for yourself this new year ? What steps do you need to take to make them happen ?