Crashing through that ol’ resolving door
Written on December 29, 2009 at 1:00 pm
The problem with most New Years Resolutions is the way we make them in the first place. We go too big too fast and set ourselves up for yet another crash.
Take the gym membership given with the best intentions for Christmas. How many of us will go from couch potato saying ‘yes I really should be getting fitter’ to gym junkie just like that? If you’re too busy or too stressed to go for a walk for half an hour before work how on earth do you expect to be able to clear your schedule or your head for a daily 45 minute pump class?
If you hate ear-drum perforating Akon music or the sight of men with seemingly steroid-enhanced pecs eyeing themselves off in a mirror, or feel a tad threatened by women who are so slim they are frankly aerodynamically unstable lifting weights the mass of a small mack truck, why go there?
Oh, you think I’m advocating sinking a little further into the lounge? No way José. Exercise is vital for your weight, your mental health, your stress and for preventing every disease known to man kind and I’m guessing most of those unknown ones as well. But the trick is to do it slowly, realistically and ENJOYABLY. Hate running? Go for a walk. Tai Chi in the park? 80s style aerobics to a DVD in your own lounge room? Tennis or golf with a girlfriend? Come on! There’s gotta be something. That something is your starting point and slowly but surely you increase from there till the way you’re feeling becomes its own reward. Rope in a friend and be support or even competition for each other.
Now, diets are also DISASTROUS from a resolution perspective. It starts as; ‘I hate the sight of myself in a bikini- I have got to lose weight.’ It’s already negative! You’re going to install a whole raft of food related punishments- giving up chocolate, Christmas pudding and bread. And you’re going to replace them with punishment foods like refreshing mung beans and delicious raw zucchini batons. Right? And you can’t work out why you can’t handle it for long? That is nuts.
First off focus not on your bikini but you globally. If you’ve added a muffin top to your profile or have sprouted tuck shop lady arms, chances are you feel cranky and tired as well and your skin looks awful. You need to make great improvements to your lifestyle so you can look and feel fantastic again. Not by punishing and restricting yourself, but by tweaking in a positive way.
Step 1. Have breakfast. Show me the breakfast skipper and I’ll show you the blubber battler. Maybe not in your early 20s but by your 30s, for sure. Feel nauseous first thing in the morning? Pack your Weetbix and take it to work with you and arrive 5 minutes early to allow time to eat. I like carbs at breakfast- especially fibre rich carbs. Fibre fills you up and carbs in the morning can help KO the killer cravings at 4pm.
Step 2. Chose a day of the week to give yourself a treat food. Things like white bread, pack of chips or a chocolate bar are not once a day foods. They’re once a week foods. Sit down and enjoy and linger over every mouthful- make it count. Only one rule; must be consumed outside the house and not make a home in your cupboard. Ever.
Step 3. Your only drinks should be water, tea and coffee. Fruit juice is packed with sugar without the benefits of the fibre or the nutrients usually packed into the skins that get left out. Even freshly squeezed veggie juices from the so called juice bars are waist line disasters. Give them a wide berth.
Ok that is three fairly simple and achievable rules that I promise you will pay BIG dividends to how you feel. From there we can GRADUALLY add other steps but this is your launch pad.
Remember to stop and smell the coffee. ‘I’m walking for 20 minutes a day now and I never used to do any exercise. That’s great!’ or , ‘I never used to eat breakfast and now I do every day.’ Happy New Year and resolve well!
