A Healthy New Year
By Sherril Steele-Carlin
It's that time of year when the holidays have packed on the pounds, and clothes are feeling a little tight. Starting off the New Year on the right, healthy foot is a great way to feel and look better, and there's no time like the present to start!
How to Do It
Start by assessing your eating habits. They almost always change during the holidays -- with so many parties and special occasions to celebrate. Now, take a look at how you eat. Are you an all day snacker? Do you eat your main meal in the evening, and then go to bed on a full stomach? You may have to alter your eating habits to lose weight, but for most people, it's really just a simple recipe of cutting calories and increasing activity. Most people don't get enough exercise, so moderately modifying your eating habits and adding some exercise could be enough to get your weight loss goal in gear.
Excercise
Exercise doesn't need to be extreme to work. Only 30 minutes of moderate exercise, like walking, 3 to 4 days a week, can make a huge difference in how you look and feel. Many people go out and buy expensive exercise equipment or gym memberships to help them lose weight, but any kind of moderate activity can help in the weight loss process. If you hate to exercise, but love to dance, then dance to your favorite tunes for 30 minutes. If you love to garden, work out outside for at least 30 minutes. Just about anything you do to raise a sweat can help you lose weight if you continue it long enough.
A Healthy Lifestyle
The most important thing for most people to realize is that most diets don't work. That's why people go off them and gain weight again. Diets are difficult to maintain because they make the dieter feel deprived in some way. The best way to develop a healthy lifestyle is to eat with common sense. Eat lower fat and lower calorie alternatives. Cut out or cut down on sweets and starches. You don't have to cut out everything you love, but you do have to eat it in moderation, rather than mass quantites. Learn to enjoy healthier alternatives, like chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, and low-fat desserts and snacks. They will satisfy your craving for "forbidden" foods, while creating a healthier lifestyle in the process.
Most weight loss is just common sense combined with will power and desire. A healthier lifestyle in 2005 will make you look and feel better, and could help you live a longer, happier life!
