New Year. New You. Not so fast...
January 09, 2019
If you are feeling the pressure to be Instagram fit and eat Keto right now, you are not alone!
As if the pressure to be perfect isn’t enough throughout the year, January is even worse. The difference this time of year is the added feeling of trying not to fail in your resolutions. According to US News, 80% of “new years resolutions” will be forgotten by the second week in February and Static Brain Research Institute estimates that only 9% of resolutions last an entire year.
So what’s the solution?
Small changes!
When you are in fitness business people say “Oh! You must work out every day!” Here’s a little office secret. Every one of us works out between 3-4 days a week. Weights. Cardio. Some of us do classes for the accountability piece. That’s it!
There is no need to try the latest new work out craze, if that’s not who you are. Acro-Yoga looks like so much fun, but if you aren’t used to working out don’t suddenly decide you are going to be an aerialist!
Change your level of physical activity realistically. Get to a place (the local rec center, gym or even your basement) where you feel comfortable working out. Get on a treadmill, elliptical or bike put the settings at a comfortable pace for a week or two. Get in the routine (the routine is key!) and next week bump up the resistance one level.
Small changes aren’t only about the gym. Small changes include what we put into our body.
There’s no need to go Vegan, Paleo or Keto. But take a good hard look at your diet. When are you eating? What are you eating?
In our house we try to eat bread that molds within a week. Why? Because bread that molds with in a week has less sugar and preservatives than the white buns last a month. We started cutting sugar in our morning coffee by half and switched from cow’s milk to almond milk. (Our reasoning for switching to almond milk is a whole different blog post!) We have also made an effort to eat more plant based foods and decrease meat. Meatless Monday have become Meatless Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Trust me I still enjoy eating. I just don’t need to have so much of everything, just because I can. My small change goal lately is eating small snacks/meals throughout the day and drinking more water. This is hard because the days can fly so fast for me.
Notice I didn’t say my goal for 2019. I said my goal “lately”. Small changes make long term impacts. Don’t set a resolution for a year, set a goal for a lifestyle.
Happy Healthy 2019!
-Chuck