Diet & Life Style Info

Ok, Christmas and new Years are just around the corner and first we celebrate Christmas with lots of gifts, getting to gether with family and enjoying that traditional Christmas dinner with all of the special foods we all love and enjoy. We don’t take a second to think about the calories we may be eating or drinking. In fact this is the one meal next to thanksgiving that we actually indulge way over our calorie limits and not give it a seconds thought!.

After that it is New Years and it is another party time, with lots to drink for some and more fabulous meals.  There are lots of calories in those drinks and we only start thinking about New years resolutions on the day of New Years, knowing full well that we will blow it that evening, and then start the year adhering to all of the rules we put in place for ourselves.  Really as if that is going to happen. The vast majority of us make these resolutions in good faith, however within a week or less, they are forgotten and have fallen by the wayside. We are quickly back to our old habits. So what can we do to make sure we stick to our resolutions, especially if it involves losing weight?

• Make your resolutions public
• Make them with someone so that you have a team mate
• Use each other to help you stick to the plan
• Make realistic resolutions, those that you have a reasonable chance of keeping
• If you need to lose a large amount of weight, set goals for each month that re achievable
• Remove the enablers of weight gain
• Place things or people around you that will help you
• Write your resolutions and goals down
• Stick them on a wall were you see then everyday
• Read them everyday
• Make a conscious effort to work at them every day
• Focus on a few rather than a lot. Too many and you are overwhelmed

These are easy words to write, but the real struggle is in making them happen. Find out what works for you and do you very best!

More than half of Canadians (58 per cent) say resolution success or failure depends on what the resolution is and many are easier to keep than others.People  who resolved to travel someplace special, save money and spend more time with loved ones in 2011 will have the most success keeping resolutions. People who’ve resolved to drink less and quit smoking are the least likely to  succeed. Don’t be discouraged by these statements, but do be realistic in setting your objectives so that you can achieve them early in the year.

Good luck and Happy New Years!

We all have trouble keeping New Years resolutions for many reasons. Some of us never intended to keep them in the first place, it is just the thing to do so we can tell everyone that we have made them. For other people they honestly want to keep them and achieve what ever New Years resolutions they have made. They may not have the will power, they may get discouraged, they may get side tracked by outside influences and just give up.

What ever the reason is , we all have to find away to meet our objectives and use what ever help we can get to keep our resolutions.  We think that most people will need help and so we have put together a list of things that might help people keep their resolutions.

Not all ideas will work for each person, but if one or two work for you then this post has achieved the objective of helping people with their New Years resolutions. Here is our list :

• Make New Years Resolutions, some people don’t – you have to think about them and actually make serious well thought out resolutions. Otherwise they are just words with no real plan and no idea of how you will accomplish these objectives
• Tell others what they are, so that they are public – sometimes telling others is away of forcing ourselves to keep resolutions. Making them public and then not meeting those commitments is embarrassing and looks bad. No one wants to look badly to others
• Write them down = writing them down will help you remember them and will make you just a little more committed to meeting these goals and objectives
• Look at your resolutions every day – place your goals somewhere were you will see them every day. It might be on the table, beside the mirror, even on your smart phone. As long as you are reminded of them every day it will help reinforce the commitment to stick with the plan.
• Post them on your to do list – add them to your todo list, which forces you to look at them and deal with them each day as you pull up your list of things to do on any given day. Being reminded all of the time will help build habits which is really what we all need.
• Keep them reasonable and achievable – we all need goals that there is a reasonable chance we will be able to complete them. If they are unrealistic, you may give up before you can complete whatever goals you had in mind.
• Make them complete – well thought out goals are always easier to achieve. Stating a goal with a plan of how you will achieve that goal will help you make them happen. There is a far greater chance that you will achieve your plan if there is a step by step approach outline with your resolutions.

Hope this helps. Even if one reader gets something out of this post, we have achieved our goal. This web site is about diets and losing weight and obviously we think that your New Years resolutions should center around dieting, exercise and nutrition. However these ideas can be applied to any type of New Years Resolution.

Comments and additional suggestions are greatly appreciated!

• Make only a few resolutions
• Make a plan

Let’s face it we all gain weight over the holidays. There are parties to go to and then there are the meals. We consume thousands of calories with the drinks, the food and the deserts and lets not forget the snacks and munchies that seem to be available everywhere.

Unless you are a robot, it is really tough to avoid or resist all of these temptations. We all love to snack and when the food is so good, why not. Now it is time to make some new years resolutions, but will we stick to it?

New Years Resolutions

I am sure you have made New Years resolutions in the past and you are probably going to make some this year as well. I know that I have and I will make some more resolutions which I will probably break within a few days of having thought about them or even gone as far as writing them down.  Doomed to failure , right!

Well they do not have to be broken right away. Many people some really drastic resolutions that call for them to make significant changes in their lifestyle. These are really difficult to keep. There are too many temptations and let’s face it our will power is just not up to it. Who wants to turn down that piece of chocolate cake or that extra helping of food.

My solution this year is to make smaller resolutions that are aimed at something I can actually complete. For example, instead of saying I am going to lose 50 pounds this year, I am going to focus on losing one pound a week and I am going to utilize small plates at supper which will limit the amount of food that I can pile on my plate! Hopefully this will work and if I lose some weight or half the weight I am trying to lose, well I will consider it to be a success.

Small Portions

It is all about limiting the number of calories we intake. If we can eat smaller portions pretty soon our bodies and our stomachs will tell our brains that we are full after we have eaten a small amount. Using a small plate is one way of doing this, so that you are forced to think about filling up a second time.

Stay away from buffets, were the natural tendency is to always eat more than you planned. I always take a little bit of everything, but before you know it I have an overloaded plate! This is were the small plate really works well. By the time you finish the first plate and are heading back for the second you are going to feel full and you just may avoid a second helping.

Most of us do not have the will power to stick with it, so playing these little tricks on our selves, is a great way to condition our bodies to expect less. Try it.

Exercise

We cannot write a post about New Years resolutions without talking about exercise as well. Many people will go out and buy a membership at a gym, only to quit a month later. Actually the gyms love these people, because they pay for a full year and then never use the facilities. Talk about profit margin!

Get out there and move. Walking around the block, walk around the mall if it is cold outside, whatever works for you, but move and get some exercise. If the gym works and you will stay with it, it is a really great way to exercise and get it done, but you do need to form the habit of exercising daily for at least 20 minutes a day!

Diet

Lastly there is diet. New Years resolutions cannot just be “I am going to lose weight”, or ” I am going to lose 10 pounds”. There has to be more than that. It has to encompass, eating less, exercising and of course diet. You might eat smaller portions, however if you are still eating high fat content foods, then you are probably going to lose some weight if you are reducing your portion size, but you could lose a lot more if you watch your diet and eat  food that is going to help you lose weight.

Eat salads and low fat foods, which means you have to limit what you eat that is deep fried, food that has a lot of sugar in them etc.

Good luck with your New Years resolutions. Remember – smaller portion sizes, exercise 3 times a week, eat a proper diet and set reasonable achievable goals! Comments and suggestions are welcome!