o you have just turned another page on the calendar and it's a brand new year.
New Year's resolutions are great actually. It shows you have the desire to change something in your life for the better.
But many people, by the third or fourth week of January have decided they have had enough of this and they are right back to their old lifestyle.
What Happened To Your Desire Then?
Nothing really! You just need to balance it with a dose of motivation and drive also to achieve lasting results. Start by trying to add a few of these suggestions to your daily routine - over time - and soon you will start seeing results.
Never drop your favorite foods
The biggest mistake most people make is depriving themselves of what they like. You have just doomed yourself to failure before you even start.
So instead of dropping foods, just find a way to fit them into your new life. Smaller serving sizes, increase your activities to burn off the extra calories that day or just choosing your other food selections for that day carefully so you can control your total calorie count for the day.
Savor every single bite
Stop scarfing down your food as fast as possible like this is some kind of contest to see if you can empty the whole plate in 5 minutes or less.
Change your motivation - Don't wait for the next big occasion
Have you ever heard this line? We all do it. This list of excuses can be:
I need to lose 10 lbs. for my upcoming class reunion
My wedding is in 3 months
Or, I'm the maid of honor (or bridesmaid) and I look like the Good Year blimp in that dress
We are renewing our vows and I just have to fit into my original wedding dress
We are taking a cruise (or going to the beach). I just can't go with this spare tire.
Picking any event in your upcoming life to strive to get healthy for, this gives you permission right up front to stop after the day is gone.
Major Health Complications May Sneak Up On You
Do not ever let a major health complication for you or a family member be your motivation to get healthy. Think of your priorities right now before the complication overtakes you completely. If you wait, it may yield consequences such as, it is now too late to reverse the downward spiral.
Never skip any meal
Skipping meals, especially breakfast, just to reduce your daily calories will not help you to lose weight. Your body is programmed to need a certain amount of foods per day. If you skip one meal you always tend to pick the wrong food choices later because your body is now craving sustenance.
Forget exercise
The number one excuse people use anyway for not getting any is "No Time". So change your mind-set and realize exercise is just not feasible in your life.
But now, knowing that, that does not mean you can not move. Get out of that office chair once every hour and walk to the water cooler and fill your glass. Add a couple of trips a day to the rest room. Don't email a colleague in the same building. Get up and walk the note right to their door.
Or you can start by taking the stairs, forget the elevator, on your way to the cafeteria. Leave your car in its parking space and walk the two blocks to the deli. That way you get to walk back.
The person you pay every month to walk your dog, buy your wife some flowers, pick out a new pair of shoes for the kids, pick up your dry cleaning and on and on, all of these services are just a convenience. All of these little jobs you can fit in yourself on the drive home from work each night.
Ignore all drive-up windows. Tell yourself, if you must be at that fast food place, that old cliche that those are just for the fat and lazy people. Park that car and go in.
Every single day we take short-cuts to prevent our body from moving. Stop the shortcuts and just move. All of this adds up to non-exercise in the present, but greater future health.
Have an appetizer
Every single meal you eat from now on gets an appetizer. This includes a bowl of broth-based soup, a small vegetable salad, some steamed vegetables or a fruit and vegetable Smoothie right out of the blender.
Research has repeatedly proven you will automatically eat at least 100 calories plus more in fewer calories each and every day. This alone is 1-2 pounds per month at least, that you did not gain because you added more food to your daily diet.
Stop drinking your daily calories
Documentation from the 1970's and 80's showed the average American drank approximately 70 calories per day in their diet. Today that figure is over 200 calories. As a civilization, we are drinking ourselves into obesity.
Remember soda is not the only culprit here. Fruit juices and drinks, sweetened tea, coffee latte's and mocha's, energy drinks and sports drinks. Almost every drink you place in your mouth - besides water - is another source of calories. Start a new program of knowing how many calories is in that item you are drinking. If you believe that number is unacceptable, change it. Pick another beverage for your choice of drink.
Take your new routines slow
A major upheaval of all your former habits from day one is an invitation to mutiny. Make small changes one at a time and follow that pattern until it becomes a habit. Then add the next one, and the next, following this pattern over time.
Remember, you did not gain all this weight in the last month so give yourself a year, two years, or even more to get it off. Actually your body is grateful for every single pound you lose at a slow and steady pace. While it gives you the advantage of ever-increasing better health, you will also notice your brain seems to be functioning better and you have more energy each and every day.
Kathi Robinson
Losing weight - and keeping it off - has got
to be one of the most difficult "occupations" of many people in any
society. So stop dieting and just learn to adjust your new lifestyle for
a better return on your weight loss efforts. For many more ideas please
visit my site at
http://www.allergy-and-diabetic-health.com/
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