Yes, pretty much everyone makes a new years resolution or two. What are your 2010 resolutions? Does at least one of them have to do with health? I hope so! Without your health, what’s the likelihood that you’ll be able to fulfill any of your other resolutions or goals for the year? I’ve created a top ten list for healthy resolutions I’d like to see you adopt for the upcoming year. They are simple, yet life-altering. This doesn’t mean I think you need to have 10 resolutions! I’ll take just one change in your life-you’re more likely to actually be able to do it! Recent studies on willpower suggest that willpower is a limited resource. If you make too many resolutions, you won’t have enough willpower reserves to stick to all of them. In other words it’s better to make one resolution and stick to it than make five and not stick to any of them. By the way, you can make a new resolution at any time of the year-you don’t need to wait until the next Dec. 31. A recent story in the New York Times in 2007 talked about how four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions will eventually break them. In fact, a third don’t even make it to the end of January. I’d like to change those figures and improve your chances of success. My general ground rules for choosing my top 10 resolutions are: ¥ Make sure each is something you actually like. Feeling pleasure is healthy, as is explained in a book I’m crazy about and that I contributed to: it’s called “Healthy Pleasures.” It can’t be healthy for your psyche to keep doing something you hate–and maybe the stress of that negates whatever health benefits you’re getting. So, pay attention to your five glorious senses that can be a conduit for healthy pleasures. ¥ Make it specific so you can see if you’re actually accomplishing something. The typical resolution often reflects a general desire, rather than a specific goal. It’s best to focus on small, tangible one-day-at-a-time goals so that you feel less overwhelmed. ¥ Take small steps. Otherwise, you might get overwhelmed and that’s a prescription for failure, not success. So, here are my top 10: 1. Eat a healthy sweet everyday.
The eating plan I recommend is a low glycemic one, which means it does not cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash, which can have all kinds of unhealthy effects on your body and mind. Instead, when you crave something sweet, turn to whole unprocessed foods. Sweet potatoes are wonderful and won’t cause that dramatic spike–as are carrots, winter squash and all fruits. You can have them prepared simply or even raw, or you can dress them up for the holidays. One of my Transitions Lifestyle System participants brought dried figs cooked with fresh ginger to a meeting. It had nothing else in it, but tasted so rich and sweet, yet with a marvelous ginger zip to it-very satisfying and a little went a long way. Make them a treat for you eyes, too–the more colorful, the better in terms of nutrition. In the winter, for example, choose sweet juicy Clementine; in the warmer months berries are best.
2. Treat yourself like royalty when you do splurge.
When you do choose a sweet or high-fat food, treat yourself to the very best quality you can afford. The higher the quality, the purer the ingredients and the more satisfying they will be. My favorite treat is high quality dark chocolate. It’s so sophisticated and adult, and I am happy with the melt in my mouth pleasure of just one or two squares. I don’t gobble down the whole thing and then want another.
3. Take the time you need to eat mindfully.
Eat more slowly and give your digestive system and taste buds a chance to do their job. You not only give your brain a chance to realize you are satisfied, but you enjoy your food more than if you were mindlessly gulping it down in front of the computer or TV. I’m always the slowest eater at the table in a restaurant, but I’m having the best time, savoring every bite. It’s so different when I allow myself to get sloppy and eat in front of the computer. It’s like when I’m web surfing. Three hours go by and I think: where did they go? Similarly, can eat a plate of food in front of the computer, and have no recollection of having eaten it. Of course I’m going to feel less satisfied than if I’d paid attention to what I was eating.
4. Take a relaxation break every day.
Chronic stress has been linked with overweight not to mention a slew of other serious and annoying conditions. Think about it-the more stressed you are the more likely you will turn to food as a release or as comfort. It’s not always possible to avoid stress, but we can adopt practices to deal with the unavoidable stuff. Incorporate a stress-relieving strategy into your life, such as yoga, focused breathing, or meditation, even if it is only 10 minutes a day. One of my recorded Nancercize shows on Blog Talk Radio provides you with a relaxation technique that is easy to learn and do on your own. The title of the show is Detox and Destress to Lose Weight.
5. Go to bed earlier.
For some of us, this sounds like the ultimate luxury-and it is delicious! But it’s not a luxury-it’s a necessity. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to be crabby and slow-thinking and to turn to sugary foods for an energy boost. It’s no wonder that chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked with overweight. Too little sleep wreaks havoc with your hormone systems, including your hormones that tell you whether you are hungry or not. So, you get the wrong signal that you’re hungry, even when you’re not. Most people need at least 7 hours of sleep a night. If you need the alarm clock to wake up most mornings-what is that telling you? If you are too stressed to fall asleep and stay asleep, see # 4.
6. Get touched more.
Any kind of touch, whether it be a hug, or petting an animal, or a massage, or sex-can have health benefits. It fulfills a normal human desire for physical contact and affection that releases feel good hormones. Many studies show that without touch we fail to thrive, we feel something is missing. If you’re not getting these hormones, you might look for comfort in other ways-such as food. 7. Find a way to make your body laugh and sing.
What I mean by that is physical activity should be fun. For some people, this means lifting weights or doing a hard run in the park. For others, it might mean dancing or a walk or a bike ride in nature. In the winter, it could mean gliding along on ice skates; in the summer, a delicious swim in a lake or the ocean. Exercise not only burns calories and builds metabolism-boosting muscle. We were born to move, and not moving hurts our bodies, minds, and spirits. Everyone can do something, no matter their age or ability. Move your body every day, even if just for a few minutes-you’ll feel much better, burn some calories, boost your metabolism, improve our ability to cope with stress and sleep better. The guidelines say 30 minutes a day-and its great if you can do that, but if you can’t it’s not an excuse to do nothing. Take 5 minutes here and there, to walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, get off the bus or train one stop earlier, boogie to your favorite tune, or take a walk after lunch or dinner.
8. Share food, time, and activities with other people and other creatures.
For example, cut down on large portion and easy way: Share your entr?e and dessert. Have pot luck dinners and share recipes and company. Get a dog and walk it and pet it regularly. New research from the University of Missouri has found that people who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more improvement in fitness than people who walk with a human companion. One of the researchers said she suspects differences will show up in other areas, like depression and anxiety. Be a part of the world and of other people’s lives. Resolving to play with your kids at least one extra day a week gives you more time with them, and also means more exercise. It’s fun and easy to work up a sweat playing catch in the backyard or park. Video games such as Wii-fit or Dance Dance Revolution are great for sharing too.
9. Take the right nutritional supplements.
Take a basic multi-vitamin and -mineral formula to make sure your body is producing the enzymes it needs to digest and absorb your food properly. Many people have trouble taking pills, and I’m among them. So, I take a delicious fruity liquid formula in the morning, which is highly absorbable and bio-available. Why waste your time and money on supplements that are only partly absorbed? Or that you hate to take so they sit in the drawer?
10. Treat yourself to a coach. Are you having trouble making changes on your own? Don’t beat up on yourself. It’s not easy to change your life, break old habits that you’ve had for decades, and start up new ones. If you’ve made the same resolutions to eat less, exercise more, lose weight every year, but have not lived up to them, it may be time to resolve to get the help you need.
Just adopting one of these simple, life-altering resolutions will help you take back your body and your life and get your year in gear.