Instead of a resolution, make a promise this New Year. Vow to look after your body, not because it’s January 1st and everyone is choosing some new routine for 2017, but because you will feel good. Think carefully about the goals you don’t seem to meet and why.
Typical Goals
Almost every resolution begins with starting a diet and workout program or giving up cigarettes and chocolate. Definitely, ditch the cigarettes. Chocolate isn’t so bad, as long as the attitude is a positive one, not addictive. How about exercise, is that a chore? Diets certainly are. They sound good with their promises of weight loss and firm, flat stomachs, but any form of self-deprivation is sure to fall on its face eventually.
Better Goals
This year, decide to set objectives that are manageable. They should show your body respect and lead to better health. One’s goals should not involve self-deprivation and torture. Stop trying to please others and do something good for yourself.
Food Fads
Let’s start with food. Everyone needs to eat, but eating well is a challenge for many people. They either eat too much or the wrong things clutter their plate if they ever sit down and eat from a plate at all. Under-eating (dieting) is just another way of hurting your body, so that’s not the answer. Anabolic cooking, a trendy way to eat at the moment, is also a great answer for people who want to lose fat but gain muscle.
Anabolic Cooking
Along with the Atkin’s Diet and Paleo cooking, this is a way of getting more protein into your day. Anabolic cooking doesn’t completely do away with grains, but consumers are shown how to get most of their nutrients from lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. The plate is always full and colorful. One benefit is that you won’t feel hungry. Another is that, when paired with exercise, this type of menu makes it much easier to build muscle and promote fat loss.
Even if one doesn’t follow a “diet,” the idea is simple. Avoid simple carbs and artificial or processed ingredients. Instead, each meal should make protein the centerpiece. Avocado, chicken, salmon, and nuts are all excellent examples. Eat dessert, but avoid unnatural sugars and keep the protein count high. Indulge occasionally to prevent binging.
Dreaded Word: Exercise
You knew we would get to the much-feared topic of exercise when discussing a change of lifestyle and body shape. Hearing that exercise is essential and you have to do it only makes most people want to turn and run the other way. It’s like saying “you must go to the dentist”; “must-dos” are unappealing. Instead, look at exercise from a different angle.
Firstly, anything that gets a person out of breath is exercise. A regular routine should involve daily exercise for periods of 20 minutes or more at a time. Ideally, there is a warm-up to start with and a cool-down at the end. One shouldn’t simply pick up the weights and start lifting or tie on a pair of shoes and sprint out the door.
Are these rigors really necessary? No, you can get out of breath by gardening, cleaning, or playing with children. Many people are thin and say they were just made that way but watching their daily routines reveals they are active. Exercise is built into their daily routines. If you already do these things and aren’t losing weight, here are some possibilities.
You could be eating too much. That’s what most people find. Simple math reveals the average person eats more calories than he or she expends during a day or that they even out so a person can’t lose weight. Those calories are also poorly chosen and contain too many refined carbs. Constant hunger is holding them back from weight loss success as a result of the carbs they are eating.
Each body is different too. It might take a different sort of exercise to burn fat from your trouble areas compared with a friend whose fatty spots are somewhere else. The internet and sports shops are loaded with trouble area workouts available for streaming or via DVD. Investigate further if you find that working out at the gym for an hour a day isn’t shifting flab from a trouble spot. You could get more from short workouts that are precisely designed for shifting fat.
You might also have to accept that your body is made uniquely. A six-pack isn’t on the horizon, but your body is still beautiful. Focus on a healthy attitude where you choose to be fit in order to keep your heart, lungs, and brain working at optimal levels.
Hobbies for Health
Weight starts melting away and you discover you love exercises along the lines of group fitness, water-based sports, or martial arts. It isn’t practical to work out all the time, though, and sickness or injury can scuttle your plans too. Have you got any hobbies? These will keep bored hands away from the fridge and, depending on the hobby, could help to promote friendships. Loneliness has a horrible effect on plans to lose weight or stay motivated. Get out and be with people. Discover a hidden talent or interest that provides enjoyment. Being good at it doesn’t matter as long as doing it makes you happy. Join a choir and start singing. Holding a tune is all that matters; men and women with confident voices can tackle the solos.
If you select an individual activity like knitting, find a knitting club and get involved. Women (and sometimes men) get together and chat while they knit and even help each other learn new techniques and styles.
Volunteer
Often, retirees seem to be the fittest, happiest people in town. Their secret seems to be that they keep busy with activities they didn’t find time for when they worked. They take up hobbies or pursue them with renewed vigor. Seniors start skiing and join walking clubs; take yoga classes together and hang out socially. They also give back to their communities. Volunteer work will often be energetic, like working in a thrift store warehouse or looking after babies. Giving back also brings happiness, a key part of overall well-being.