New Year...New You?

It's finally 2013. I no longer have to wade through pages of Facebook statuses proclaiming that it's "1/1/01, 2/2/02, 3/3/03..." and so on. In fact, if you make it your New Years' resolution to NOT make a post pointing out the date, then you will have finally actually gone through with one.

Maybe. There will always be May the 4th (be with you...)

But seriously, how many people really go through with their resolutions? According to this, only 8% of people who make resolutions come out successful. 25% don't even last a week! And only 46% last six months or longer. So at this point you're probably thinking, "ugh Emily, you're so negative. At least they're trying!"

Sure, they're trying. And in all seriousness, that's great. 54% of people in America don't even make a resolution. However, I've come to understand that people set their goals unrealistically. Television, movies, magazines, you name it. Inspiring stories of weight loss and self-improvement easily become muddled up with reality. For example, I think that The Biggest Loser, as much as I like to watch it, sets people up for unrealistic expectations. They see the contestants on the show losing 12+ pounds every week, but what they don't always remember to take into consideration that those people are extremely overweight, so losing that much weight every week is actually easier for them (and you can see later in the season that the weight they lose each week typically starts to decline more and more as they lose weight). This is because what has caused them to get so overweight: overeating, and not exercising enough, has been completely flipped upside down in a highly contained and inspiring environment. Those people are working out numerous hours every day with celebrity trainers, and have dietitians planning most of their meals. For the average person who hasn't been blessed enough to have such an awesome opportunity, this just isn't possible.

What is possible, however, is setting several short-term goals over the span of a year. Instead of having one big, vague resolution, like "eat healthier" or "lose weight", be specific. Here's an example:

• For one month, I will replace my caramel frap with a home made peanut butter banana smoothie.
• This will help you transition into a habit of eating foods that offer more nutrient density, that is, foods that are pretty low in calories compared to the benefits that have (fiber, vitamins, etc).
• Just replace caramel frap and the smoothie with your own vice and alternative.
• It would also save you some money ;)

•  I will continue to replace [vice] with [alternative], and replace 3/4 of refined carbs with whole grains/"good" carbs for another month.
• Again, you're replacing bad with good, but not totally cancelling it out. Restriction leads to temptation, which leads to succumbing and then failure.
• You don't have to cut out carbs, either. Mypyramid.gov has a handy little tool called Supertracker, which you can use to track your meals. Take an average of three days and see if you eat too little or too much of something. For example, if your results show (or maybe you just know) you eat too much meat and beans, but not enough fruit, replace some of the meat you eat with fruit at your meals.
•  Continue to either add new goals and adjust as you reach each one, or lay them all out from the beginning. Just remember - allow yourself some flexibility. If you're in school and busy most of the year, don't worry about a gym membership, but do try to work out when you can. Use your time out of school, such as during Winter break or Summer, to get out and do more than your normally would. Go hiking, swim some laps, run on the beach while you're on vacation (it's pretty hard on the dry stuff)!
•  A good workout for beginners, or people who are just short on time is this:

1. Run (or walk) for 10 minutes a day. See how far you can go in the ten minutes. Every day, push yourself just a little bit more. You'll notice quickly that you'll be going further and further every time.
2. Try to get to the point where you can comfortably run a mile within the ten minutes. If you can run more, great!
3. Add 5-10 minutes as you get faster. Eventually, your speed will level off, but your endurance will continue climbing.
4. Add as much time as your schedule allows. Getting out to run for 15-20 minutes a day is better than doing nothing at all! 

What's great about running is that you don't need to pay for anything, unless you don't have any kind of running shoes already. What's great about this plan is that it's easy to change to fit with a schedule that always changes.

Finish off your runs with various body-weight exercises like push-ups and squats, and core exercises like planks. One of my favorite core exercises is doing headstands. Throwing your body off it's normal balance challenges your muscles to relearn how to keep your body aligned.

Changing your habits isn't a matter of a single goal. It's a process and ultimately a complete change of lifestyle. You can't cut out carbs forever. You will literally die, or get very, very sick. You can't live your life constantly counting points or ordering pre-planned meals, either. However, you can take 10 minutes out of your day to challenge yourself to run as far as you can, or replace something in excess. A lifestyle overhaul is what will really give you "lasting results" because it's real, and it is for the rest of your life. So give it a try this year, if you have a resolution, to make it realistic, flexible, and life-long.