The Post Holiday or New Year "Diet" Trend

Now is the time! The time to jump on board with a new year's resolution in hopes of keeping it throughout the year.  According to statisticsbrain.com, losing weight was the #1 new year's resolution and "staying fit & healthy" was ranked #5 in 2012.  Here are a few more stats from statisticsbrain.com:

-45% of Americans usually make new years resolutions
-8% successful in achieving their resolutions
-24% never succeed and fail on their resolution each year

It's interesting that "lose weight" is the #1 new years resolution, but it's not surprising since the overweight/obesity trend in America is rising each year.  Why is this?  Plain and simply answered...over consumption.  Americans are eating too much; too many calories that is.  And the new year falls on the heals of the major 6 week, "over consumption period of time", beginning with thanksgiving.  So, Americans spend 6 weeks (or more) eating too many calories then they decide to make a goal or resolution to lose weight.  Great idea if they are the 8% who are successful in achieving their resolutions, but not so good when it means another fad diet ending in starvation and disappointing results. 

What Americans really need is a reliable program that will provide them with the necessary tools to make lifestyle changes.  

life·style noun (ˈlīf-ˈstī(-ə)l): the typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture;  a particular way of living:the way a person lives or a group of people live 1
 

Trying each year to participate in a short term diet or short term stint at the gym to accomplish weight loss is not the key.  The key is participating in changes that you can do for the rest of your life (all year round; including holidays, get togethers, etc.).  Those are considered "lifestyle" changes. When a person is able to make lifestyle changes that they can do ALL year around and not just the first 6 weeks of a new year, this is when they are successful in achieving their goal of weight maintenance or weight loss. 

 

HNT is that reliable program to provide quick weight loss results (that's what you want) while meeting nutritional needs (that's what our registered dietitians and other health professionals on staff want) as you learn the tools you need in order to make the necessary lifestyle changes. 

 

The idea of weight loss is simple....if you overeat or eat too many calories at some point you must compesate by eating fewer calories.  Otherwise you will gain weight if you continue to eat too many calories-as many Americans do each year.  Did you catch that?  I said the "idea" or "concept" of weight loss is "simple".  I didn't say actually "DOING" it was! That is why we are here to help-it's our job!

 

We are here when you are ready.  Call 317.489.4817 for more information on how you can break the cycle of creating the same new years resolution each year and not being able to be successful.  Come to one of our FREE orientations to get started.  

Need Motivation for Exercise?

It's all you think about for days and weeks on end. The possibilities of having Carrie Underwood's legs, or maybe even Carrie Underwood's moms' legs would be fine too.  How do I get them or how do I get in the grove of something to do with physical activity?  Well...first thing is first, dust off that exercise bike in the front room, remove the clothes from the treadmil, or sell the equipment you don't use and buy a gym membership!

When we look at our activity levels and the Transtheorehtical Model for stages of change, there are 6 stages:

1. Precontemplation: no action is being done and typically people do not know the behavior they are or are not doing is harmful
2. Contemplation: people start to understand their behaviors may be problematic so they start weighing the options
3. Preparation: people intend on taking action in the near future and may begin with small steps in the right direction
4. Action: modifications have been made and taking action has begun...positive change has occurred
5. Maintenance: people are working to prevent relapse (in other words...going back to #1). This stage could last forever
6. Termination: people have zero temptation & 100% self efficacy.  There is no way they are going back to the old behavior

What stage are you in regarding physical activity?  If you are in the precontemplation stage, rethink whether it is a good idea to be sedentary all the time.  What are the risks of being sedentary?  Does this improve your overall health?  Gaining knowledge about WHY physical activity is important will help you in this stage.

If you are in the contemplation stage, think of the barriers that are preventing you to be physically active.  Is it because you are in pain from joint/hip replacement, injury, etc or is it because you are limited in time, money, energy?  Identify your barriers and find ways to overcome them. 

If you are in the preparation stage, come up with a plan on HOW to get physical activity in.  Make a list of motivating sayings & post where you will see them daily. Write down your goals and vocalize them with someone to hold you accountable.

If you are in the action stage..this is great! However, it can be daunting to know that you are doing what you need to be doing. So...rewards are OK, but we prefer non-food related rewards such as a new shirt or pedicure, tickets to your favorite sports teams next game, etc.  Seek out social support or ask your spouse if they will be your workout buddy. 

If you are in the maintenance stage, know what you need to do to deal with temptations that may take you away from doing physical activity.  For instance, snoozing your alarm clock! Instead put your clock on the other side of the room so you have to get up to turn it off.  Or, schedule time in for activity so it's not forgotten about at the end of the day. 

Once you work your way up through the stages of change your are that much closer to your goals (whether they are to have Carrie Underwood's legs or not...is a different question).  Doing what you know you can do is motivating all in its self, but find other things that motivate you whether its a special reward system, signing up for local 5k walk/runs or time later in life with your family! Whatever it takes for you to get moving is what you NEED to do now!

Weight Loss: Not an All or Nothing Mindset

When I was growing up I often heard the saying "If you can't do something right then don't do it at all".  This kind of mantra can lend itself to an 'all or nothing mindset' which is so popular when attempting to lead a healthier lifestyle.  The quest for perfection can actually sabotage our best efforts and in some ways be a convienant cop-out in achieving our health goals.  Are you prone to the 'all or nothing mindset'?

Answer these questions to find out:

1.  Do you typically begin your new program, idea, meal plan, exercise routine on a Monday?
2.  Do you use the words good and bad to describe certain foods and your eating behavior?
3.  Do you typically want to speed up the process by eating less food or Health One Meal Replacements than your meal plan suggests to reach your goal?
4.  Do you expect to suffer, feeling starved & deprived?
5.  Do you expect to completely eliminate your favorite foods?
6.  Do you 'fall off the wagon' and 'throw in the towel' after making just one unhealthy food choice?
7.  Are you convinced that past failed attempts were due to lack of effort and/or staying focused?

What changes have you made over the years to decrease the pattern of 'all or nothing'?

Here are some suggestions to help with the 'all or nothing' mindset:
1.  Don't start on a Monday! Of the 46% of the people that started on Monday, by Tuesday evening 32% were back off track.  Starting on a Monday can be a subtle way of giving yourself permission to go all out on the weekends.
2.  Ditch 'good' and 'bad' foods.
3.  Stop starving yourself for faster results.
4.  Don't suffer through your diet.
5.  Don't dump your favorite foods.
6.  Don't let mistakes derail you.
7.  Forget the past.


(information modified from Sparkpeople.com)