Jan 1

New Year's Resolution - Get Healthier!

Year after year most of us start out with good intentions about making a healthier plan for ourselves. We say this is the year for me to lose weight, eat healthier, etc. That's great. However, you must have a plan if you are going to stick with it. So here are a few tips to help you along the way.

1. If you are going to make this resolution, start NOW! Don't wait until January 1st. The reason behind this is simple. If you start to make a significant change, setting dates in the 'near' future is an easy way to keep pushing it back. You were going to start Jan 1 but last night's NYE party was extreme so you push it back to the following weekend. There's no time like the present.

2. Treat your health goals like a job. We all have the same amount of time per day. We make time to sleep, eat, work, play. Getting healthy is one of the most important things you're going to do...if you want any type of quality of life, that is. Everyone has time. Seriously. Whether it's waking up an extra hour early in the morning (going to bed earlier at night) or realizing you can forgo that episode of "House Wives of Beverly Hills" (TiVo?) I guarantee when you're in the hospital or paying for you medication because of poor health, that episode will not comfort you.

3. Do NOT DIET! Getting healthy is not a project with an end date. From an intellectual point of view, "diet" implies changing your eating habit until a task is completed even if that task is to fit into that dress or get to that desired weight. Again, treat it like a job. You don't work until you have enough money to pay for your car then quit. So don't treat your health goals that way.

4. Create a food journal of what you eat. It's important to log what you eat because it helps you to dial in your diet as necessary. Plus when writing down what you eat if it's not the best choice, chances are you'll think twice the next time you look through your journal and realized what you did eat. If you see twix, twinkie, potato chips, etc, you'll have an idea of why you may not be getting healthier.

5. Ensure your fitness/exercise plan is all inclusive. Here are some components you might want to include: cardiovascular training,flexibility training, resistance training, rest. CV training like running, swimming, etc these help with shedding the fat calories as well as improve heart and lung function. Flexibility helps with range of motion and it just generally feels good to stretch. Resistance training or lifting weights help with muscle hypertrophy(growth) as well as overall strength. Remember as we get older our bones generally loses mass which is why you have older folks breaking hips and such. Resistance training helps to slow/reverse bone mass loss. Rest puts the whole thing together. It prevents over-training. It's when you muscles are actually growing and repairing themselves. More is not always better.

6. Leave your ego and pride at the door. When beginning a weight training program, you may be around others who are stronger and faster than you. Remember you are there to get yourself in shape not impress or even keep up with the people around you (unless you are being trained by me). And for the macho guys, just because it's heavy, it doesn't mean you should automatically be able to lift it. Work up to it.

7. Give it time. You didn't wake up one day and was automatically unhealthy or fat or whatever. Don't expect the opposite to happen. As you track your food, also track your training and take pride and joy in any progress you see no matter how small. You shaved 10 seconds of your 1/2 mile jog. Great! You went from walking to jogging. Fantastic! You lifted 5 lbs heavier than last week. Awesome! Just stick with it and you will progress.

Courtesy of CrossFit AGG