Resolve to Embrace Healthy Habits in 2012

Many people will be thinking about their new year’s resolutions this week. With New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday, the start of a new week, it’s inviting to consider embracing a whole new lifestyle to kick off the new year. Unfortunately, many people set goals that are unrealistic and end up feeling discouraged.

Set yourself up to succeed this year by choosing one or two habits to implement that will improve your overall health. Perhaps it’s replacing soda with unsweetened iced tea or water. If an all-out switch is too lofty, start with just one day a week. You can always increase the days as you go. Here are some other possible habits you might consider starting with:

• Walking ten minutes (or once around the block) every day.
• Eating one serving of vegetables at lunch and/or dinner every day.
• Listing ten things to be grateful for every day.
• Keeping a food diary of what you eat.
• Incorporating one physical activity the family can do together every weekend, such as hiking, swimming, or Frisbee.
• Setting an alarm to remind yourself every 90 minutes to get up and stretch when at your desk.

Adopting small, simple habits will enable you to be successful, and success breeds success. Start with just one or two and once you have those down, add another or step those up. If you miss a day, don’t worry. Just start over. The point is not to be perfect, but to be on the path.

Did You Eat the Whole Thing?

It’s holiday time and food is everywhere. I believe in moderation in all things, so I don’t encourage people to eliminate the foods they really love. It’s a matter of portion control. When I joined Weight Watchers in 1994, one of my primary goals was to learn how much to eat. I grew up with three brothers who ate whatever they wanted, it seemed, and restaurant sizes were already starting to expand.

Does watching portion sizes mean you have to weight and measure everything? Well, when you can do so at home, it helps. But don’t become obsessed with it. WebMD and Weight Watchers have some great tips for estimating how much food you actually have on your plate. This is a great thing, because researchers have found that people tend to underestimate how much they eat, a sure recipe for weight gain! Use these comparisons to help you get started:

• 3 oz. meat = deck of cards, the palm of your hand or a cassette tape
• 2 oz. nuts or peanut butter = golf ball
• 1 teaspoon = a poker chip or the tip of your pinkie finger
• 1 tablespoon = your thumb from the end to the first knuckle
• 1 oz. chips = six large tortilla chips or 20 potato chips
• 2 servings of rice = light bulb
• 1 c. vegetables = a baseball or your fist
• 2 c. leafy vegetables = two tennis balls
• Baked potato = computer mouse
• ½ c. pasta = ½ of a baseball
• 1 serving waffle or pancake = CD
• 1 small muffin = a tennis ball
• ½ bagel = a hockey puck
• 1 oz. cheese = one die

For a great wallet-sized guide to portions, visit WebMD at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/printable/wallet-portion-control-size-guide

If you’re not sure how many portions you should be eating a day, give me a call to schedule your personal consultation.

Stay Active During the Holidays

With the increased demands on us, it’s easy to give up exercise during the holidays. Who has time for trips to the gym or exercise classes when there is shopping, decorating, mailing, baking, and so forth to accomplish? People intent on enjoying their holidays do! Actually, maintaining your exercise program is essential to getting the greatest pleasure from your holidays.

Given the hectic pace, be creative in your approach. Rather than eliminate exercise, look for ways to modify your regular routine. Cutting the time in half is better than skipping it altogether. Take a walk during your child’s piano lesson. Try NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis, to expend calories by building activity into your day. Stand rather than sit, and pace rather than stand. Return telephone calls on your cell phone while walking, ironing, or folding laundry. Park at a distance from the store, and make several trips to the car. Strive to take the stairs everywhere, and be less efficient at home to take the stairs more often.

Keep in mind that activity is an effective way to alleviate stress. Consider trying yoga, a wonderful relaxation technique. Besides the great physical benefits it affords, yoga harmonizes the body with the mind, enabling people to perform activities efficiently while enhancing overall satisfaction. Need something simpler? Take a brisk walk and spend quiet time alone or invite a loved one and talk out your stress. How about dancing? Music is a terrific mood enhancer, and the aerobic movement will energize you and release excess emotion after a stressful day.

Finally, when planning your holiday activities, include those that get you and others moving. Set up a caroling event or tree-trimming party. When dividing the tasks among family members, choose to decorate or go shopping. Volunteer for a local charity wrapping gifts, delivering gift baskets, or serving food. Make your family outings and events active. Walk off your holiday dinner and enjoy the lights, go skating, or clear the living room for dancing.

Whatever you choose to do, make it fun and have your best holiday yet this year!

Minimize Holiday Stress

Despite the celebrations and good intentions, the holidays are stressful for many people. Time demands, limited funds, unrealistic expectations, and family issues – all of these and more can turn what should be a joyous season into a hectic and even traumatic time. This year, make a conscious choice to create the holiday experience you want to have.

Start by being selective with the events you attend. Just because you’re invited to six parties, doesn’t mean you have to attend them all. Consider rotating your attendance; attend his employer’s party this year and yours next year. How would it feel if you went separately – you attend your work party while your spouse attends hers? Or simply just decline – whatever works best for you.

(scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Once you’ve decided on your priorities for the year, “pen” those on the calendar first, and plan everything else around them. Shopping, baking, and decorating can all be worked in; plan ahead so you can enjoy attending your son’s holiday concert.

Holiday time can mean cutting back on sleep as we strive to fit everything in. Avoid this temptation and maintain your sleep routine as much as possible. This will enable you to minimize stress, maximize your productivity, and maintain good judgment. Burning the candle at both ends only makes us unproductive as we waste time making errors and being indecisive.

Look for ways to save yourself time and effort. Order preprinted holiday cards and have your gifts wrapped by the store or at the charity booth at the mall to save time and do a good deed. Buy your holiday pies from the local bakery, or do your shopping online. As you work to accomplish what you need to, consider what tasks you can delegate. Don’t pass up any offers of help, and if others don’t offer to help, ask them to! If you can, hire some outside help for house cleaning or other chores you don’t need to do yourself. Remember that the holidays are for having fun, so be sure to allow time for relaxation.