New Years Resolution Resolved
Christmas has left and New Year has been and gone for another year, so it is time for people to make their New Years Resolutions. How many of us make these ? And how many of us actually stick to them or achieve them? Well, statistics show that only 8% of people that make resolutions are actually successful in doing what they resolve to do.
Weight loss and exercise and fitness are amongst the top 10 things that people resolve to do and to think that 92% do not get there was a bit tough for me to imagine. What I plan on doing in this blog, is helping you by suggesting ideas in how to achieve these three things. Sadly I cannot help you with love or money or time, but I hope that I can help with these related subjects. At the end of the blog, I will also explain why I did not make a New Year Resolution and explain my alternative resolution method that makes resolutions much easier to achieve, explaining why I achieve 100% of those resolutions.
Here are our top tips for losing weight and getting fit :
1. Cut down or cut out sugar & sweet foods : Ever wonder why people find sugar so hard to cut out of their diet ? Sugar is an addictive substance that is said to be more addictive than both cocaine and heroin – it is a type of drug. We are talking about refined sugar here – the white and brown stuff that you buy in the 
supermarket. In terms of drinks, look at carbonated drinks and cordials – some cans of pop/soda can contain up to 10 spoons of white refined sugar.
Now many people will be tempted to replace their usual product with the “diet” alternative (Slimming World & Weight Watchers will say this is ok, or SYN free), DON’T DO IT!! The sugar is replaced in these items by substances like aspartame – apart from being a poison AND carcinogenic, these substances cause your body to crave carbs (without you realizing) such as breads and cakes, so not even good carbs. These carbs cause you to gain weight rather than lose it and if you continue on this path, then they can also lead to obesity and, as a result, heart disease.
The best thing to replace refined sugars with, is…. Nothing. If you can, drink your drinks without sugar. If you must sweeten your tea there is a sugar alternative called stevia, but the best natural sugar alternative is honey!
The best thing to drink ? Water, just plain old water. Not tap water (that’s a whole other issue) but filtered or still bottled water. We should be drinking between 2 and 3 litres of the stuff a day and nope tea and coffee do not count towards your daily water intake. The beauty of water is that it’s a versatile thing and does not have to be “boring” or “plain”. You can turn water into a beautiful tasty thing. Try one of these :
• Add a slice of lemon to hot or cold water – every morning instead of tea or coffee, I have a mug of hot water with a slice of lemon and a slice of ginger. It’s a great start to the day. Not only is it refreshing, but the lemon helps to alkalise your stomach acid to a neutral pH and the ginger helps to set up your digestive system for the day. When you run out, you just go back to the kettle and fill it up.
• Add a slice of lemon and lime to a jug of cold water
• Add fruit such as raspberries, blackberries and strawberries to cold water to give it a tinge of fruit flavours
• Add a dessertspoon of honey and half a teaspoon of cinnamon to a mug of hot water – not only is this a core warming drink, especially on a cold winter day, but the cinnamon works to break down the fat cells and can aid weight loss (I am currently running this experiment – results are quite promising). You need to drink your first mug on an empty stomach in a morning and follow with another mug just before bed.
2. Cut down or cut out white bread : If you must eat bread then eat wholegrain bread. White flour and white bread have little substance and are almost void of nutrients. It has a high glycemic index putting it in the same category as sweets and cakes, therefore causing spikes in blood sugar and will actually cause weight gain. White bread is also very low in fibre
As a healthy alternative wholegrain bread has a low glycemic index, giving you a steadier supply of energy and lowering your risk of type diabetes and weight gain. A slice of wholegrain bread will fill you up more than a slice of white bread, because it contains more fibre. It also contains more vitamins and minerals.
3. Eat fresh wholefoods : This means stop buying “quick meals” and start making your own. Many processed foods and ready meals are laden with refined sugar and chemicals – these just add to the misery of weight gain and stop you from achieving your New Year Resolution.
Use fresh fruits and vegetables – snack on sweet fruits like strawberries and grapes, chunks of fresh pineapple or kiwi. Now a lot of people will start screaming “But they are full of sugar and you have told us not to eat sugar!!” That is true, fruit contains sugar, but it is not refined sugar, is not addictive and is processed by the body in a totally different way to refined sugars – it is more bio available than refined sugar, contains important phytonutrients and is used by the body in a positive way. You WILL NOT get fat by eating fruit, it is a MYTH that sugar in fruits is as bad for you as refined sugars.
Cook vegetables so that they are “al dente” – i.e they still have a bit of bite or crunch to them. If you overcook your vegetables and they are soft, most of the goodness has been boiled out of them. When they are still a little crunchy, the nutrients are still there and in addition they will fill you up more. I find that steaming the veg for 10-15 minutes is more than sufficient, or eating them raw.
You can also get your fresh fruit and vegetables by juicing – there are many websites that show you how to do this – “Reboot With Joe” and “JuiceMaster” are the best ones. There is also a section on it in my book, available from Amazon. If you use the right ingredients, then you can have a juice for breakfast and a juice for lunch and then eat a full balanced meal on the evening. This is not something that you can do forever, but for a period of 4 to 8 weeks, it can help with weight loss at the same time as giving you all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your body needs.
Some fruits and vegetables are known as “satiaters” and this means that they will fill you up and stave off hunger. Things like bananas, apples, mangoes and avocadoes work in this way – avocadoes are especially healthy and have everything in that the body needs to survive and be healthy. You can eat these between meals and feel full , safe in the knowledge that you are not putting anything in your body that will have a negative effect on it.
4. Exercise : Exercise is an important factor in any weight loss program. By eating healthily you will lose weight naturally, without even thinking about it and your internal organs (especially your gut and colon) will be heaving a big sigh of relief because they are not having to process all of the C.R.A.P. (Carbonated drinks, Refined foods, Additives, Processed foods) that you were eating and in addition they will be cleansed by all of the healthy foods that you are eating.
Exercise will make your body and mind feel awesome. (NOTE : It is always best to check with a doctor before embarking on any exercise program. ) Getting out in the fresh air for a short walk is best for starters. Start with 10 minutes a day – walk a route of 10 minutes, or walk for 5 minutes and then turn back. Do this every day for a week, and then increase this time by 10 minutes at the end of each week, until at the end of the sixth week you are walking for an hour a day. Give yourself two or three days off a week to give your muscles and organs a rest, but try not to have the rest days all together, spread them out over the course of the week.
The weight will be falling off you by now, especially if you are following our healthy eating advice too. On the 7th week, jog for 1 minute and walk for 5 minutes. At the end of each week, increase your running time by a minute but leave your walking time at 5 minutes. By then end of week 12, you will be running for just over half of your 60 minutes. You will feel great, you will have lost weight and you will be looking better too. In addition, your self esteem will be up in the clouds somewhere. Within 3 months you can be jogging for 30 minutes or more each day. After week 12, start decreasing your walk time by a minute each week, until you are running for your 60 minutes by week 18.
We are now four and a half months into your resolution and you are looking and feeling awesome. You may want to join a gym, or go to exercise classes at your local leisure centre, join a local “bootcamp” or even enter your first 5 or 10k race!! The thing about exercise is it’s just like sugar, only MORE addictive. It decreases stress hormones like cortisol and releases adrenalin and endorphins (feel good hormones) like serotonin and dopamine into the brain, making you feel amazing.
5. Don’t Give Up ! : This is the most important one. Whatever you do DON’T GIVE UP. It takes willpower to conquer our addiction to sugar and foods that are not healthy for us to eat and that is something that many people will find hardest of all. This is why only 8% of people succeed at achieving their resolutions each year. It’s not because they didn’t try it’s because they didn’t stick at it.
If you have a relapse, don’t let it stop you. Accept it and take up where you left off (this is where my alternative to the New Year Resolution comes in handy) Nobody will judge you by your relapse, but they will be in awe of you not giving up – you will start to inspire others to follow in your footsteps. Whatever happens, don’t let it stop you achieving your goal.
If you get to a birthday or celebration of some kind, then don’t worry. In fact, spoil yourself! That’s right – there is something we use called “Freedom Mentality” (again this is explained in the book), which basically means that because you are mindful of what you are doing then it is okay. Try and make good choices, healthy choices, but if you want that chocolate dessert, go for it! It’s a one off, tomorrow you will be back to your healthy eating and exercise regime and burning up those calories.
DON’T GIVE UP – and let us hear your success stories 🙂
An Alternative to the New Year Resolution
I promised an alternative to the New Year Resolution – something that makes sticking to your life changes easier. Well here it is : Make a New DAY Resolution! Every night when you go to bed resolve to do something tomorrow that will have a positive influence on your health….
You may wish to give up smoking – resolve to have one cigarette less tomorrow and then the next day and so on. If you smoke 20 a day, then by the end of a month you should have quit and you will have weaned yourself off nicotine slowly and permanently.
So each evening before you go to bed you make a new resolution that will take you one step closer to what you want. Not only does this help you to focus on your health goals and keep them at the forefront of your mind, but it also allows you to have more than one resolution. When you have achieved one resolution and lifestyle goal successfully (eg give up smoking) you can then start to make another resolution and lifestyle goal happen (eg get fit – you may resolve to walk for 10 minutes on the next day). This daily focus on your goals ensures that you never forget what you need to do and you get it done successfully in easy to manage chunks !!
Please let us have your success stories and if it doesn’t work for you let us know too – we may be able to help. My book will help with all of this and more and is available via a link at the bottom of our home page.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog and wish you every success with whatever you wish to achieve in 2016
Peace light & love
Dale 🙂
