Why 2010 is Different
How to make this your healthiest year
Not this year. This is not the year of setting unrealistic health goals, making a heap of lifelong changes overnight, or constantly having to say the words, “I’ll start tomorrow.”
After a few holiday months of “live free and eat hard”, it’s natural to want to do a 180 with our lifestyle habits, and finally, make our own health a priority. But the blatant reality is that most of us tend to fail when it comes to making sensible, maintainable changes that actually lead to the results we desire. Don’t get me wrong. We don’t fail because we are weak. We fail because we are strong. Let me explain…
Look at everything we do on a daily basis: we nurture, we care, we work, we play, we serve, and much more. We are so strong in other areas of our life that we assume we can tackle anything—especially little, “anybody-can-do-that” things like drinking more water; eating 5 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of fruit, and 30 grams of fiber per day; cutting out all sugar, all fat, and all those extra snacks; getting 60 minutes of exercise, 8 hours of sleep, an hour of relaxation, and well, this list goes on and on.
The pursuit of good health doesn’t have to be this way, especially now, at the turn of 2010, when we have so many tools and sensible health philosophies to utilize… literally at our fingertips.
Step one to success is easy: set realistic, specific goals. Think small. It’s okay. You can choose to work on one small, specific thing per day—like eating breakfast— or keep it as simple as, “today, I will do at least one thing for my health.”
Step two can be a bit difficult: identify your resources—and use them to make it happen! Since finding the right resources requires time and decision-making, I’ve taken it upon myself to do half the work for you. I’ll point you to the tools—you just make it happen. This is your year.
Be Your Personal Best in 2010
Embrace Technology
At one time in my life, I blamed technology for making us move less, and therefore, for our lackluster health. But the convergence of fitness and technology has brought amazingly effective workout tools to the table. Now more than ever before, we have easy access to online personal training, workout music, online videos, audio workouts, support groups, and a deep sea of credible information. We have more than enough support to finally achieve our health and fitness goals. Technological advances are so effective that now I think technology is the one thing that might actually save our health.
Here are a couple tools to embrace in the technology world to help you achieve your fitness goals in 2010:
With an infinite ability to create customized personal workouts for anything from walking to biking to strength training to pilates, yoga and more, Nextfit is the epitome of fitness technology sophistication. Name the equipment you want to use (treadmill, gym, water bottles, a suitcase… they’ve got it!), input your fitness level and workout preferences, and voila! You’ve got a customized audio workout at your fingertips—and it’s blended with specifically engineered workout music and the voice, direction and guidance of an all-star personal trainer.
No need to get crazy and log every little thing you eat, but check out Calorie King and use this handy website to occasionally check-in on your eating habits. Calorie King is super simple and very quick to use—you’ll have information in seconds. You can check one thing at a time—here and there, and slowly add valuable nutrition information to your mental database that helps you learn how to balance your food choices.
Don’t Stop the Music
Many people don’t realize that you can buy music specifically engineered for exercise. Not only is it accessible, but in 2010, it’s exceptionally made—the right music (meaning music that fits your style and has a steady beat for working out) is truly a superb manifestation of musical caffeine…. a nice kick most of our workouts need these days. If you haven’t tried a workout with “workout” music, 2010 is the year to take the plunge. For great workout music, check out:
This is where the best workout music in the world is made. Yes! Fitness Music has some really great workout mixes, from their hugely popular “Mashup Mania” to “cutups” to Michael Jackson to Retro Oldies… they’ve got a little something for everyone. The music is downloadable or available on CDs.
Make it Social
Every year we become more social—via facebook, twitter, youtube, and whatever “new” social platform pops up in 2010. This is the year to utilize your social outlets to talk fitness, engage others in your health endeavors (because it helps others as much as it helps you), and share all the ups and downs with your friends and family. It’s surprising what “saying it out loud” can do for your health—and how much the input from others can add to your personal learning process. Different things work for different people, so stay open to new ideas and be ready to share your own in 2010.
Keep it simple
There’s a new mindset circulating in industry, and it’s actually pretty good. It’s simple too. It goes something like this: “anything is better than nothing”, “every burned calorie counts”, “small things add up to make a big difference”, or even, “do something!” – point is, we, as a society are starting to realize that saving our health doesn’t require a fancy program, an expensive club membership, or a hardcore personal trainer. Our health just needs a walk around the block (or two); it needs one less dessert than we had yesterday, and it needs a few seconds of thought before we start shoveling the food into our mouths.
Keep health simple and sensible. If a cool new resource, like NextFit, is what motivates you in 2010, then use it! But if you don’t want to spend time, money or mental thought on a workout program, then don’t! Walking is free, mentally effortless, and provides a life-enhancing return for your time. There are options for every scenario. That’s the thing, the possibilities are endless… and this year, you are in control.
Comments
Shaun said on Tuesday, February 09, 2010:
Some good basic tips to make 2010 different from the last. But in reality, no one year is the same any how.
The real dilemma most people will face is to make the 2010 changes stick!
Which for most, have probably faded by now and have reverted back to their old habits.
The real goal is to make 2010 different and how to keep it that way.
Change, change. Stick, stick