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10 Holiday Fitness Tips to a Comfortable and Happy New Year
This holiday season there will be many gifts both bigand small. Kids will yearn for toys or games while adults will wish for jewelry and electronics. However, few wish-lists will include weight loss or a healthier lifestyle. Often thoughts of fitness are pushed back until New Years and then soon forgotten. How about this holiday season you give and ask for the gift that actually keeps on giving: health and wellness. You may ask “how in the world can I tangibly give or receive health and wellness this year?” It isn’t about a big package or a pretty wrap job, it’s about real changes to your life. They will certainly worth it! Here are ten tips to give you and your family the best chance to get into amazing shape.
1. Support Each Other and Provide a Positive Environment: Have you tried to lose weight without anybody’s support before? It’s extremely difficult. In today’s world of excess and dangerous processed food and beverages it can be almost impossible to eat and workout properly without a support system. Speak to your spouse or your parents and get them on board so that they can help you remain positive throughout your health journey. If you are trying to help your children get healthier be a great example for them to see everyday
2. Set Real and Tangible Goals: How many times have you set a goal that had no discernable plan or ending? You need to set both short and long term goals but they need to be goals that you can know with exact certainty that you have accomplished. Rather than saying “I’m going to get in shape this year,” you should change your cue and say “By June I’m going to lose 20 pounds and 10% body fat.” Tangible goals will help you stay on track and motivate you during those difficult time periods
3. Understand that Being Healthy is a Lifestyle, Not a Wish: If you want to make real changes you need to take it seriously. It takes a combination of physical activity, nutrition, proper sleep, and stress management. Luckily those things don’t have to consume your life for you to be healthy, but you need to make positive changes in multiple areas of your life in order to see positive changes in your body and mind
4. Focus on the Types of Food that you Eat rather than Calories: While cutting calories can result in a short term weight loss, eating healthy foods can result in sustained weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Instead of eating a meal of holiday candy and then starving yourself, have one piece of candy and then supplement with some fresh fruit or nuts. The more nutrient rich foods that you can incorporate into your diet the more you will shed unwanted pounds and keep your body from developing debilitating disease
5. Be Aware of how Your Body Feels: Too many people go through life unaware of how they actually feel. To understand wellness is to understand how your body and mind feel. Do you feel energetic? Do you feel happy? Do you feel motivated? If you do not know the answers to those questions then you need to take a little time to yourself and understand what is feeling great and what isn’t. When you begin to learn how you feel you will learn when you need to make changes in your diet and workout routines in order feel even better
6. Mix up Your Workouts: How many times have you thought “I’m so bored with my workouts?” You need to make sure that you are staying excited about your journey toward a healthier lifestyle. One of the most effective ways to keep motivated during your workouts is to try new things. Instead of jumping on the elliptical machine everyday for 4 months why not try rowing one day, biking the next, and hiking the next. Changing the exercises you do not only keeps your body guessing, which is great for getting more fit, but it also keeps your mind excited, which helps you get to the gym on those tough days
7. Challenge Yourself and Your Results will Emerge more Quickly: Your body responds positively when you introduce new things to your repertoire. That idea holds true with intensity as well. If you workout hard you can build strength faster. That strength helps to speed up your metabolism, which helps cut body fat. As you lose body fat you will feel more energetic during the day as well as in your workouts. This process is how you get the physical results that you want, while adding additional mental toughness that will help you during work, school or your daily routine
8. Smile, it makes it that much more Worth it: It is a simple equation. When you enjoy what you are doing you will want to do it more. There is no set equation to get in shape or be healthier, so hunt for a strategy that makes you happy. Maybe you like being outdoors and eating organic, healthful foods. If so, go for it. Maybe you like lifting heavy weights and eating a great deal of protein. If so, go for it. You don’t need to run 10 miles a day or eat 1 exact way to earn your health, when you find a strategy that you like go ahead and implement it, then enjoy the ride
9. Know that it is All a Decision: Your health boils down to one thing, YOU. Are you willing to work for it? There is a reason why fad diets don’t stick around very long. They don’t work. Either your weight loss isn’t sustainable or dangerous side effects develop. You need to eat a bit better and take care of your body a bit better to get healthy. Once you have made the decision, and made it for real, you will gain the energy and the will power to achieve your goals
10. Remember why you want to be healthy: There are difficult times during any journey and this journey to better your health is no different. When you feel like you may lose your way or when you don’t have the motivation you usually have take a second and remember what you are working toward. When you get healthy and learn how amazingly your mind and your body can feel you will want that feeling all of the time. It is worth it, your motivation loss is only a temporary phenomena, so wait it out and come out even better on the other side
The holidays are about family and happiness. There is no better time to begin to make these positive changes to your mind and your body. You should begin to feel more energetic, sleep better, look better, and work better. Whether you give the gift to somebody else or give it to yourself remind yourself that it’s worth it and so are you. Cheers!
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