Not so
New Year’s Resolution
Did You
Make This New Year's Resolution Again?
Why?
…do we make the resolution every New Year’s Eve to:
a. eat healthier
b. lose weight
c. exercise more
…do we do this only half hearted spending a couple of weeks practicing a, b and c, and then abandon
the effort.
…do we then recklessly enter into a, b and c two weeks
before our next beach vacation.
…do we fail miserably year after year and gain a possible 10
lb every decade
Drove by the gym yesterday.
(Sunday)
The parking lot was full. This is the gym where I
work. Usually pretty quiet on a Sunday ….but Memberships are up!
It’s Christmas for the gym. Stopped by Whole Foods Grocery yesterday
also. Traffic jam in the produce aisles. Everyone was wearing
fitness attire. We will assume many have made the “a b and c”
resolution. I understand how the gym traffic works. It will quiet
down in a few weeks, smell better and have no treadmill time limit sign ups.
Whole Foods will be serving beer tastings at yesterday’s empty counter
bar. But hey! What a fun experience! Grocery shop and drink
beer! Like me, does a drink inside a grocery store loosen your wallet
permitting an unbridled urge to purchase a wheel of brie? Reminds me of a
funny trip to Tijuana where all the store employees offered me a
complimentary shot of peach tequila! Now I have digressed and will save
this thought process for future review.
So Why?!
A bit comical yes, but these are some of the reasons why year
after year we get....FAIL! Can we drive to work or out for errands
without the waft of restaurants enveloping our senses? French fries smell
a lot better than bananas. Don’t they? A banana muffin smells a lot better than
bananas. It has become very trendy to deep fry just about anything.
How do we fight this? Clothespin on the nose perhaps?
Bottom Line
It’s so easy to eat so wrong.
It’s easy to skip exercise when we eat bad foods. (so much of our food is bad).
Many food products, (aptly named) do not provide necessary nutrients for energy
and restorative hormone release. We all know this sluggish feeling.
It’s the rebellion of our one and only vessel of life!
Do This!
- Spend at least 5
minutes every day with quiet breathing practice. Quiet your thoughts
and relieve some stress.
- Get a good
night’s sleep. You may think you can rock on 4 hours of sleep, but
you are kidding yourself.
- Eat these
alkaline forming foods: Figs, dates, molasses, green leafy vegetables,
almonds, beets, (I love beets) celery, parsley and cantaloupe. Read
here why:
- Decrease refined
sugar.
- Add more
protein.
- Drink more water
(duh).
- Moderate
caffeine.
Then think about these
things:
We know the not so new
Resolution just doesn't work!
I don’t claim to have all the
answers for healthier lifestyles. I too fight the “Muffin Top” battle.
The answer (although I joke about this) is NOT to buy pants with a higher waist
line! Yes Folks, admittedly it's an uphill battle! I'm certain I
remember the first box of Pop Tarts my mom brought home from the store.
Eggs were out, and Pop Tarts were in! Now our own kids get a taste
early in life for Goldfish, hot dogs, French fries and chicken nuggets.
How does a banana taste to a kid who is having Lucky Charms for
breakfast? I’m so proud of my daughter who is feeding her baby real sweet
potatoes, carrots, pears and yes bananas. I'll wager that he,
nor any of his friends will ever get a bowl of Lucky Charms in her house.
Take your kids to the grocery and give them a color to pick a vegetable
and fruit. They might think this is fun. Let them help you prepare
a meal using this food.
Do you know?
New research shows that the “21 days to form a habit” is a myth.
66 days is a more accurate time frame to notice that our increased exercise and
healthier eating habits feel completely at home after you've stuck
with it! Make it through this winter (Jan, Feb, and March) and don’t lean
your motivation toward Spring Break. Come up with a New Year’s Resolution
to improve relationships, your community, maybe the world. Decide never
to make the ” a, b and c” a resolution again. Wow! I’m getting
hungry and there are some lovely Gala apples right in front of me. It’s a good
thing the Christmas cookies have been tossed with the fudge because I am weak.
Now that we are armed with a new mindset that might change our eating
habits from "comfortable" to "I FEEL INCREDIBLE", I'm
wishing all my Friends a Happy Healthy New Year!
Kimberly Robinson has been a Fitness Instructor for over 30 years
and a Personal Trainer for 19 years. She is certified in many areas of
fitness and nutrition and affiliated with the American College of Sports
Medicine. "Experience is key as life hands us new physical
challenges every decade. I help my clients find a "fit balance"
when the brain says, "I'm twenty," but my body says, "oh yeah,
I'm 48!"