Yes, 2018 is hurtling towards us filled with all those obligatory health and lifestyle rituals many pledge their allegiance to in the early days of January…. Yip, those RESOLUTIONS we’re expected to make to be fitter, thinner, drink less, healthier, stop smoking……… The adverts from the weight loss industry usually start on boxing day, and crank up several notches ahead of the New Year’s resolutions deadline – abs of steel, diet programmes, replacement meals and shakes, celebrity-endorsed fad and crash diets, celebrity endorsed fitness DVD’s. It’s hard not to get sucked in by it all, I have too in days gone by! So…… before you pay some pounds for the privilege of losing some pounds, here are some tips for a happy, healthy and fad-free new year!
1. Ditch the diets! Did you know that the many dieters regain the weight (and often more) that they worked really hard to lose. A number of reasons are proposed for this high rate of weight regain. Some interesting research is now being published: http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/301/3/R581.full https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/ 2. Choose to give yourself the priceless gift of kindness and health 3. Banish those feelings of guilt; the stress only adds to comfort eating and weight gain 4. Focus on nourishing foods, not calorie counting 5. Don’t focus on losing a set amount of weight or aiming for specific label size on your clothing – Focus on health from a nutritious diet 6. Make time to prepare nutritious meals – I do a big cook once every month where I fill the freezer with home-cooked ready meals 7. Reduce your portions, it may not be what you are eating but how much you are eating 8. Focus on understanding the reasons behind comfort and overeating – Emotional Freedom Techniques can help overcome this 9. Find physical activities that fill you with joy 10. Set SMART health goals, with an emphasis on the A and R!