Fitness Tip for the New Year

by Hilton Head Health Fitness Coach John Lippett

We're 8 days into the New Year! How are your fitness & health goals coming along? Hopefully you are still going strong with daily or weekly workouts. If you're having trouble here's one of my favorite tips to help you get and stay on track; this is a tip I frequently give to Hilton Head Health guests:

Find a workout partner.

 

Having a workout partner is a great way to stay consistent with your workouts. Let's face it we all have days we don't feel like going to the gym, knowing that you have a partner to hold you accountable is a great way to get to improve your consistency.

Tell us what your fitness goal is for the New Year.

Fitness Tip for New Year's Success

My number one tip for you this year is to immerse yourself in a community with similar goals.

I don’t care how motivated you are. I don’t care how driven you are. I don’t even care how profound your goal is. Often times these things provide you with false hope for the future. All of those qualities require a certain level of willpower.

As I’m sure you already know, willpower dies fast.

Think about those New Year's resolutions you have had in the past. How successful were you? If your answer is “very successful”, then congratulations, keep up what you’re doing because it’s working. For the vast majority of us, however, the answer is probably that you didn’t last more than two weeks.

If you’ve been battling behavioral change for what feels like a lifetime, willpower simply isn’t enough. If you’re serious about your goals, a change of environment is what you need. What better environment to be in than with people on a similar journey as you? Below are a few examples of communities you could join:

• Group fitness classes


• Small group personal training


• Crossfit or crossfit-like gyms


• Running groups


• Biking groups


• Swimming groups

Have a Healthy & Happy 2016!

New Year, New You – The First Steps

Day 1: Make your list of New Year’s Resolutions based on S.M.A.R.T. Goals.

Day 2: Now what?

You may know that you want to start getting more active, eating better or lose a few pounds over the course of the year but sometimes it can be intimidating to start what can seem like such a daunting task. There’s always that fear that once you start, you could fail and what will that make you? Not a failure, but a student! You don’t know how to do something right until you do it wrong… and hey, you may get it wrong several times but that doesn’t make you a failure if you get right back up, learn from your mistakes and keep pushing.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Conquering the Gym Fear

Gaining Some Perspective

Habits of Successful Weight Managers

Why Diets Fail and How Coaching Can Help

Planning Healthy Meals

Get Motivated!

Get Started TODAY! 10 Minute Workout!

Just for Today

You’ve been struggling with your weight for as long as you can remember and it’s a new year. This is usually when you head to Target for cute work-out clothes, then to the closest gym to enthusiastically join (of course the initiation fee will be waived). Lastly, you very deliberately find yourself in the grocery store stocking up on all the healthy foods needed for your new diet. All the while, you are filled with a combination of personal resolve and familiar doubt.

Yes, it has to happen. There is no way you can start another year overweight and out of shape. You tell yourself this time, this year, will be different. I’m ready! Or are you? Enter…the familiar doubt. Memories of all your past good intentions slither through your mind as you look down at your body with much dissatisfaction and negative judgment. Why would this time be any different? What if I can’t?

But you can. If I can, you can. I promise! I rang in the New Year with a sense of satisfaction knowing that January 1, 2012 was just another day. True, it might be the beginning of a New Year, but it’s still just another day. And for me, I know I can do almost anything for one day.

That is the way I approach my weight management. I don’t summon up future visions of me running a half marathon or sitting on the beaches of the French Riviera in a string bikini. I decide that just for today I will eat three clean meals and that I will give up desserts. Just for today I will not eat off of other people’s plates or in my car. Just for today I will eat at the kitchen table and not in front of the television. Just for today I won’t help myself to seconds and I will serve myself on an appetizer-sized plate. Just for today I will get on the treadmill for forty minutes.  Just for today I will elevate the status of my food, eating it mindfully and with sincere gratitude.

I don’t worry about tomorrow or next month. All I need to do is right in front of me and when I do it for just one day, it leads me to tomorrow. If I concentrate on how much weight I have to lose or how truly out of shape I am, I feel overwhelmed. Even worse, I feel deprived and deprivation drives me back into the food.

One day at a time I take my health back. One day at a time, I live the healthy lifestyle that becomes a way of life. It’s not about forever because I am only guaranteed of today, and today I choose to respect the gift of this body.

Coaching Corner - Resolution to Reality

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, over half of all Americans resolved to lose weight. While a few will succeed, statistics show that as many as 95 percent will be wearing the same pounds plus a few more this time next year. Why? Because they embark on a plan—usually a combination of diet and exercise—that is neither complete nor sustainable.

While good nutrition and regular exercise are obvious components, successful weight management is never just about the dinner table and the gym. It’s about the way we live—our actions and daily habits as they relate to work, play, stress, sleep, responsibilities, relationships and more.

Why diets fail and what to do instead
Many people are attracted to the promise of quick, easy weight loss through fad diets that restrict certain kinds of foods or prescribe specific food combinations. While you may lose weight initially on these diets, they’re not designed to be followed for a lifetime, nor are they healthy over the long term.

Most of us know what to eat. We’re not overweight because we lack information about healthy vs. unhealthy food. For a great majority of us, the problem lies in how much we eat and, more importantly, why. Everyone deals with food differently, and we overeat for different reasons. The first step toward change is to identify who or what leads you down that path.

Many people who struggle with their weight discover that overeating is a response to an emotion or feeling such as boredom, loneliness, sadness, frustration, exhaustion…or even joy and celebration. The good news is if you are using food to feed your feelings, that is simply behavior, and behavior can be changed.

How coaching can help
Achieving your weight-loss goal is a process that involves clarifying what you really want and why and then taking consistent actions to get there. Coaching provides the focus and structure to keep you on track. By exploring your motivators, strengths and available resources, your coach will help you find what works for you so that you can achieve your goals and live your healthiest and happiest life.

If you are one of those Americans who resolved to lose weight this year, why not make your resolution a reality? - Ditch the diet and discover a way of life!

Mindful Meal Planning

Here comes the New Year! Every year millions of New Year Resolutions are made, this year I challenge you to make your resolution one that sticks! Resolve to plan meals a week at a time forever and always! Meal planning will help you eat nutritiously, save money at the grocery store, and keep you from panicking and attempting to throw a dinner together when dinner hour rolls around.

1. PLAN AWAY! Take about 30 minutes of your day once a week, sit down, and decide what you would like to eat this week. Keep your goals in mind, whether you are choosing to eat more vegetables, cut calories, or incorporate more fiber. I recommend starting by planning about 3 lunches or dinners a week. Start small, once you become used to your system plan every meal. Hopefully, you will have leftovers from a few meals that you can eat another day too. Some meals like breakfast can be the same or repeating.  

2. WRITE A GROCERY LIST! Write your grocery list according to your meal plan. Include the obvious items too such as skim milk, eggs, and berries. Don't leave anything out. This will help you limit your grocery visits to just once a week saving you time, calories, and money.  Stick with your list even if something other then fruit and vegetables look tasty.

3. PREPARE EVERYTHING! On Sunday or any day you have time, reserve some time to prepare all of your meals for the week. Prepare everything, including your vegetables for omelets, peeling oranges, making sauces for each meal, etc…  Also, I strongly recommend preparing a larger recipe, and freezing it. That way in a few weeks when you are ready for that meal again it is already prepared. Use a lot of tiny Rubbermaid containers to ease portion controlling.

4. EXECUTE IT! All you have to do is come home and pop your dinner in the oven or heat a few things up. Having your dinner already prepared will help you avoid ordering pizza for dinner or just making quick unhealthy dinners.

Meal planning takes some time in the beginning of your week, but will save you time, money, calories, and stress. A few recipes that I love to include on my weekly meal plan are:

¨     Chicken Cordon Bleu (Prepare the chicken ahead, make a few extra, freeze them, and reheat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the center reaches 165 degrees, when frozen. Make the Dijonaise sauce ahead and prepare your vegetables too.)

¨     Pita Pizza (Make your marinara, freeze it in small containers. Prepare your entire pizza, wrap it, and freeze the entire pizza. Reheat when frozen at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the cheese has turned a light brown color.

¨     Beef and Vegetable Lasagna (Use your H3 Marinara you already prepared and make the Beef and Vegetable Lasagna then freeze it. Reheat when frozen at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the center has reached 165 degrees.)

Planning ahead will make your life a little easier, the more you plan the easier it will get.

Happy New Year's Resolutions!

Stop that train!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been runnin’ and gunnin’ for the past 2 months (or 20!)  So much to do, and so little time and people are now asking what your New Year’s Resolution is…. Really?  Like I’ve had any time to even think about it! 

In business, we analyze our past year; look at what we tried, decide on what worked and what didn’t, and then create our plan for the coming year.  It makes all the sense in our business world to do these things, so why don’t we do them in our personal life?  It’s time to put you first.  You deserve the time to look at your past year and make your plans for this new and exciting year.  But where do we even start?  Here’s some ideas to get you going – don’t forget to write down your thoughts!

• What is most important in my life right now?  (Family, friends, career, financial stability, spirituality, health, etc.)


• Paint an ideal picture of what each of these priorities would look like at the end of the year.


• Select a starting point for each of these values, and write down your first set of 3 month goals.


• Mark your day-planner or blackberry for the date in which you should readdress these goals and layout your goals for the next 3 months.


• Decide what you can accomplish in the next week to move toward your first set of goals. And remember, no goal is too small if even an ounce of accomplishment is felt from it.

Great job!  Now that you’ve established your 2011 goals, what steps can you take to help with sticking to your plan?  Here are some suggestions:

• You’ve already completed one – marking your calendar for your goals review!


• Share your goals with someone – it makes them feel more real, and you may also learn of some ways others can support you in achieving your goals.


• Place your written goals in a primary location where you will see them often.


• Take a moment each week to review what more you can do to work toward the ideal values you’ve created.


• Acknowledge that no one is perfect.  You may need to readjust to stay on track when things don’t go quite as planned.  


• Celebrate your accomplishments!  Don’t wait till the end of the year – establish rewards along the way to motivate you to the end!

Good Luck!  Happy New Year’s!  And here’s to a bright and successful 2011!!

What's Your New Year’s Resolution?

For the past several years I’ve made the same New Year’s resolution:  to try something new every week.  I usually succeed for the first few weeks, trying a new food or activity, or taking a different walking route with my dogs.  Then, unfortunately, I become part of a discouraging statistic:  97% of New Year’s resolutions are not fulfilled.  In fact, 25% of NYE resolutions fail by the first week in January. 

To increase your chances of fulfilling your resolutions, go back to goal-setting basics:  Set SMART goals:

Specific:  If your goal is too vague, how will you know whether you reached it?  Specify precisely what behavior you will change.  My resolution would be more specific if it were “try a new healthy food” or “take a different walking route” instead of “try something new.”  To make your goals more specific, answer the questions: Who (is involved)?  What (are you going to do)?  Where (will you do it)? And When (will you do it)?

Measurable:  You need to be able to quantify your goal.  How much/many?    How many minutes? How often?  How many times per week or month? 

Agreed to:  You have to have buy-in for your goal.  You have to really want to meet your goal, and you may also need your family’s, friends’, and/or colleagues’ buy-in to help you reach it.  Talking with people about what your goal is, how you will reach it, and how they can support you may be important. 

Realistic:  Do you have the ability and commitment to reach your goal?  If my goal were to become a finalist on American Idol, I would be sorely disappointed, since I cannot carry a tune in a bucket.  Shoot for a goal that you are 90% confident you can achieve.  Exceeding your realistic goal is far better than failing to meet an overly ambitious goal. 

Timely:  Your goal needs to have a deadline.  Having an end date creates a sense of urgency and helps to avoid procrastination.  To increase your chances of meeting your goal, set a small goal to accomplish within the next month or two.  After you’ve met that goal, set another goal for the next few months.  Be sure to reward yourself for meeting your goal. 

Good luck making and meeting your SMART 2011 resolutions. 
Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010

Happy New Year!

 

As you look for ways to improved your program in 2010, don’t underestimate the impact of making small changes. Dip and spearing salad dressing and sauces, using smaller plates and glasses (check out www.smallplatemovement.org ), taking a leisurely walk after a meal, doing a few squats, lunges or pushups during a commercial, or 5 minutes of deep breathing or meditation to break up a hectic day.

 

Changes like these might seem small and insignificant, but when integrated over time, can make a big difference.  100 calories saved here, 50 more burned there, add up. If you made some small changes that have helped you, leave a comment and share what is working for you.

 

Check out the website www.smallchange.gov for a other ideas.

Goal Setting for the New Year

Stop thinking about the past and start thinking in the present!  You’ve set goals before only to watch them fall by the wayside and your passion for change dissipate in a fury of disappointment. 

It’s time we envision a “Manifesto for Change”!  A document so powerful it will influence the decisions you make in everyday life.  A document that manifests  itself in the context of your life.  Finally, a  document so powerful that you derive daily and weekly motivation from visual objects that are constantly reminding you of that relentless passion within.  It is time that the New Year finally produces a “New You.”

First, make sure that you adhere to the S.M.A.R.T principle.  Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. 

 

Specific/Measurable – 

Rather than setting the typical weight goal let’s try to focus on something that is behaviorally oriented.  For example, things like your endurance (the time it takes you to walk a mile), flexibility (can you reach and get those fingers past those toes?), exercise consistency, portion control, adherence to multiple small meals per day or number of new culinary additions.  We all thoroughly understand that if we cumulatively change those habits weight loss will inevitably follow.  Secondly, your goal must generate a moment of intense enthusiasm.  The split-second that you are willing to brag about for years.  It might mean completing your first 5k or graduating from that ballroom dancing class.

 

Attainable/Realistic – In a crippling world of Black and White we must create a personal Gray area.  As Malcolm Gladwell clearly illustrates in the book The Tipping Point, “small changes lead to something larger.”  Ancient philosophers may have described it as a sum of the parts.  It doesn’t take a genius to know that an unrealistic goal will be destined for failure.   Would you be happy losing 25-50 lbs in the next six months?  If your answer is yes, then you must be satisfied by a rate seemingly subdued 1-2 lbs per week average rate of weight loss.  Small changes do add up!

 

Timely – As humans we recognize that:  more > less and sooner is better than later.  Those simple equations give rise to the phenomenon we term instant gratification.  Therefore, I encourage you to set 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 1 year goals.  However, the key is reassessing their progress as they are completed and more importantly understanding that failure is an option.  WHAT?  That’s right, FAILURE IS AN OPTION!  The success we view commonly in society is a product of failure and the innate ability to learn from it.  As your mother may have once told you, “learn from your mistakes.”

 

By now your brain is completely resisting the notion of picking up the pen and writing down what goals will ignite this change.  But, as Parkinson’s Law describes, we are much more efficient when given a shorter period of time.  Consequently, I challenge you to take the next hour to write down your goals. 

Once you have created an empowering document I want you to post it in places you see multiple times per day; the background/screensaver on your computer, the nightstand, refrigerator, and bathroom mirror.  Let’s create an environment that becomes life-altering.  An atmosphere that influences every second of every day.  Your goals sheet may then begin manifesting itself in the form of clothing you dream to fit into, quotes that are plastered on the bulletin board or pictures of yourself from the years you spent neglecting life. 

The “New You” is ready for a journey into self-discovery.  Get to work!