The Top 3 Things You’ve Got to Address Before the Year Is Over
Perhaps you want to lose weight (along with 160 million other Americans[1]) and that’s your top goal for 2016.
You may have assumed that you’ve been unsuccessful so far because your goal last year to eat in a healthier manner or get to the gym more often didn’t stick much longer than January 5th.
After all, studies show that only 8% of people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions[2]!
Where are we going wrong?
A recent article in The Huffington Post[3] narrows it down to three culprits: the lack of a goal, a game plan and a support network.
I’d venture to add to that top three with a fourth: not truly feeling the goals we set are top priority, and this goes for the entire year, not just when we’re trying to right our wrongs and start off on a new foot.
We want to lose weight, but we feel it’s too hard. We’d love to get to the gym but there’s just not enough time. And the idea to shop at the farmer’s market and cook at home a regular basis also sounds great, but there’s just no way.
Yet somehow, we find time to watch TV five hours per day[4], spend an average $1,200 on fast food[5] and a collective $2 billion[6] on weight loss drugs, programs, surgeries and fake foods that simply lead nowhere but to getting even fatter.
How about if we take a step back and tune into something greater? Like our own mind, body and spirit?
Mind
It doesn’t take being a nutrition expert or doctor to parse apart the funky information we’re plastered with day in and day out, and then to prioritize. Self-educating on the basics of nutrition, such as what healthy fats are, how to source ethical, local proteins and balance out our carbs mostly with fresh veggies, and perhaps some starchier ones when needed for long bouts of exercise is a good beginning.
Body
Once we have a good plan in place, we can then get to the fun stuff: testing out how each of the different foods we decide to try make us feel. Forget about whether or not someone knows what happens when gluten is consumed; how about realizing that when you eat a piece of bread you feel sleepy and bloated, yet when you skip the sandwich and have chicken on a salad instead of slapped between the yeasty stuff, you feel great? Your body will give you all the answers, if you give it the chance.
Spirit
Last but not least, consider your spirit. If you’re really honest with yourself, have you been skipping the Zumba classes your friends go to because you really don’t like them and your heart is leading you to the local mountains to hike more often? If so, that’s your calling. Don’t forget that exercise should be fun and playful… not punitive.
If you keep your own mind, body and spirit at the top of the totem pole these last few days of 2015, you’ll allow yourself that precious time to tune in and make a realistic plan for the coming New Year that is realistic, optimistic and thoughtful all at the same time.
[1] “The Whole World Is Getting Fatter, New Survey Finds – NBC News.” NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 2015
[2] “Only 8% of People Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 2015
[3] May, Danette. “3 Reasons Resolutions Fail and How to Beat the Odds.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 201
[4] “Average American Watches 5 Hours of TV per Day.” NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 2015
[5] Reporter, Daily Mail. “Average American Spends $1,200 a Year on Fast Food – That’s Burgers and Fried Chicken Twice EVERY Week.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 01 May 2014. Web. 29 Dec. 2015
[6] “Office of Dietary Supplements – Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss.” Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss — Health Professional Fact Sheet. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 29 Dec. 2015
