By coach_jon
It's resolution time and here are some good resolution ideas,
and tips on how to make these resolutions, well, resolute. These
tend to be "process goals" which eventually lead to success.
1. I will manage stress better
2. Every time I eat, half my plate will be veggies
There are high carb, low carb, high protein, low protein and
high fat, low fat debates that will never end (because each of us
is different and needs different ratios of nutrients). However
there is one thing that ALL health experts will agree on.
We need to eat more veggies.
Making half your plate veggies is sure to get the job done.
Besides the usual boiled or steamed veggies, one convenient way to
get this done is to get that big bag of pre-cut veggies from the
supermarket.
By the way, potatoes -- are not veggies, and neither is pizza!
Regardless of what the US department of agriculture might say.
When I say veggies I mean non-starchy ones.
3. I will do things to sleep better
I wrote a whole article on sleep on Yahoo! Singapore so go
read it!
4. I will watch less TV, and surf less internet
I just gave a talk at a book launch this last week, and one of
my points was that successful people have big libraries while
unsuccessful people have big TVs.
Problems with TV
5. I will train 30 mins at least 3x per week
The guidelines for exercise vary and range from somewhere around
30 mins/day to 60 mins/day. But that is for light activity. Simply
walking one extra bus stop to work or climbing an extra flight of
stairs to your flat is not going do to much. Stop kidding
yourself.
I mean 30 mins of training, not light activity. This means a
proper strength training program, or interval training. While the
topic of exercise is too big to cover here, you can use these two
interval methods to get a good workout.
1. Anaerobic intervals.
2. Aerobic intervals.
You can do these running, swimming, cycling, on a stair-master,
rowing machine or elliptical. It doesn't matter, but do try to
change the machine or activity each week to reduce the risk of
overuse injuries.
6. I will take care of my soft tissue
Most of the chronic pain people experience is from their soft
tissues. It's usually not a joint out of place, but rather
mismanaged tension in the interconnected web of muscles, fascia and
connective tissue that make up most of our body.
A good massage once a week will help with these problems. And if
its done by skilled hands, it can actually allign your body
better.
If that is not practical, at least get yourself a gift of a foam
roller to do some self massage.
7. I will eat more home-cooked food
While home cooked food can still be unhealthy if you deep fry it
or make it with lots of refined carbohydrates, at least you know
excatly what ingredients are in it.
I have a friend who is in the food distribution business and he
sometimes watches his buyers prepare the veggies that he
distributes. Often they are not washed before cooking.
I have another friend who is a hobbyist chef. He interned in a
high class restaurant and even in this classy establishment, the
cooking oil was not changed for two weeks.
All this means is that we need to take responsibility for what
goes into our bodies. And that means cooking from home.
There we have it! Stay healthy and strong in 2012