New Year’s Resolutions?

First off, Happy New Year!!! It's still January so I can still say that;)  Hoping your 2014 

is healthy and happy!  

Now, how about those New Year’s resolutions?  I know,  I know we all have the 

same one  every year:lose weight. And every year it seems as if we drop the ball. 

This year let’s try a different approach and see if we can lose some of those unwanted pounds.

You’re not alone!

Shocking: only 1% keep their New Year’s Resolutions for the entire year and 

93% blow it by January 12th!

Dieting alone does not work!

Fad diets typically are impossible, so we quickly return to our usual bad eating 

habits and add back those lost pounds. So this year, try making a few subtle 

changes instead of extreme ones.

1.  Eat less. That’s it -  just eat less.  No changes in dietary choices, just less.

Since 1970 American’s caloric intake has increased a whopping 57%, from 2168 

calories/day in 1970, to 3800 calories/day in 2013!  Food Facts Nutrition Data, 4/20/13

Example: instead of eating 4 pieces of pizza eat 3, that equates to 25% less calories!

2.  Eat breakfast.

People who eat breakfast every morning are half as likely to be overweight or show signs

of diabetes - Children's Hospital, Boston, 2003. Skipping breakfast can decrease your metabolic rate by 5%, adding up to 10 lbs to your body in a year.  Medical College of Cornell University, 2005.

3. Eat more often. Usually we skip breakfast, eat a super fast lunch and a huge dinner right before bed.  All will add to your weight.  The ideal diet is 4-6 small meals.  Not eating for long periods can actually lower your metabolic rate 10-20% preventing the use of 250-300 calories a day!  Dr. Sears, The Zone

4.  Less soda.  One soda a day can add 15 lbs to your weight in a year.  CDC, 2006

5.  Of course eat better foods as well: lean protein - grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild fish - more fruits and vegetables, organic whenever possible.

Exercise.  

You thought I forgot!

1. This year, think baby steps. So many people dive into an extreme exercise program that they just will not continue for a long period of time. It is too physically demanding or, more often, too time consuming so we stop all together.  As with diet, we have to make changes we can stick with.  Start slow!  Choose a form of exercise you actually like or at least, when you think about doing it, you don't say "Ugh!".  I like a spin bike (the kind used in spin classes with a heavy flywheel), an eliptical machine, or a good rower like a Concept or WaterRower as seen on "The Biggest Loser" as all of these are low-impact.

2.  Time. We are all so busy that we always feel there is no time, so

exercise is left out. Did you know that there are 1440 minutes in a day? That’s right and a beginning exercise program should be maybe 10-20 minutes per day,

3-4 times per week.  So, what will you do with the other 1420 minutes a day?

3.Strengthen your muscles.  Most people when they try to lose weight only diet. If they exercise they often focus on aerobic exercise and do not strengthen muscles.  Big mistake! Strengthening your muscles requires fuel to help the muscle build. This process of muscle building will actually help you burn fat, even while you sleep. Just a few minutes a day, push-ups, sit-ups etc will do the job.

4.Check out this link about recent studies showing short intervals of exercise - even only 6-9 minutes per day of intense, full-out effort - gives similar health benefits as 5 days/week gym workouts!  http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/the-no-workout-workout/Content?oid=2563041