Tip of the Week: New Year's Resolutions
Starting in 2019, I will be posting weekly tips that will also show up in some parish bulletins. If you’d like to use any of these tips in your bulletin, you can simply right click, copy and paste (or download) the image to the right.
Keeping it simple, I hope to offer some faith and fitness, physical and spiritual health tips that are easily digestible and practical enough to put to practice immediately.
To kick off this week, you can find plenty of strategies and opinions for creating new year’s resolutions and goals, so I will keep these tips to the point, though they are all foundational ideas you can embrace for big time benefits.
"Faith without works is dead" - James 2:14-16
(Fitness without movement is the same.)
We’ve all had “healthy lifestyle” goals, right? And while I will define what health is in another post, for now, how about we aim for a “movement lifestyle.” Fitness without movement is dead … it just is not possible. You can’t think, study, pray, meditate or plan your way to improved health and fitness. You can go out and pick up a new pair of kicks, but moving a little more each day will lead you to better fitness. We must move. If in doubt, move. And be a mindful mover, appreciating every move you make, from blinking your eyes, waving your arms, shivering, to walking and standing up from a chair. So maybe focus this year, or just today, on moving more – never sit for more than 30 minutes. Get up, stand tall, do 20 shoulder circles, look left and right, and then sit down again, if you must, to continue your task. How will you remind yourself to move more during the day?
We often get caught up in designing the perfect outcome goal – run a 5K, lose 30 pounds, drop a dress size. These are all great goals, and goal setting is effective … but it is in the day to day, mundane routines and minute to minute decisions we make that ultimately decide our (success), in reaching any given goal. Focus on your habits – go to bed at the same time every night, wind down with a book instead of a screen, add 2 cups of water to your morning routine. Your daily habits will determine whether you reach your goal, so focus there first, and be specific. Are you going to walk every day, what time exactly? Are you going to drink more water? When exactly? What new habits will you begin today?
Finally, the path to better health always involves nutrition. I have witnessed clients succeed with managing their weight when embracing just one or two of the following habits:
- drink more water, add two cups to your morning routine,
- drink less non-water (especially juices and soda),
- eat more God-made food (whole, natural, non-packaged foods you find in the borders of the grocery store),
- eat similar foods each day (pick one meal at least and eat the same thing for the meal for weeks at a time),
- stop eating after a set time each evening (6 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm? We rarely eat healthy, energy providing foods at 8 pm),
- eat the same breakfast each day (to follow up with the other tip, and note how you feel an hour after breakfast. Does a high carb breakfast give you energy or slow you down? What about a low carb breakfast? Listen to you body and adjust appropriately),
- do not snack between meals,
- or limit alcohol to the weekends (if not all of the time).
These are all simple but crazy effective routines and habit-goals for building health. The saying goes, “we get fit in the gym, we lose weight in the kitchen.” What small change can you make with your nutrition?
Please email me with questions or feedback … these tips will be short and sweet, but packed with practical tips, with a faith and fitness twist to many. God built our bodies to move – let’s honor Him and thank Him for the gifts of our strength and health today by getting fit to serve others. I also post these on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catholicfit.
God bless you!
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