2021 is finally here!
I truly hope for continued optimism to much better years ahead.
Many of us are looking at resolutions or goal setting to re-boot or re-start our new year. During the course of the pandemic, all of our lives have changed. Our habits, schedules, resources and relationships took on such dramatic shifts in how we tackled and accomplished our work commitments and daily tasks.
We stopped getting dressed. We went from our bed to a chair in front of a computer, then to our refrigerators, watched an enormous amount of television, than began the same thing the very next day!.
Many of our “resolutions” or goals for the new year will be centered around weight loss. The very long quarantine along with a long holiday has changed our habits and our waistline. With all of the hours we continue to spend watching our new friend “the streaming screen” comes the never-ending diet advertisements that make some of the boldest and craziest promises to date. Can you imagine taking just “this 1 little tablet a day and 20 pounds of body fat will melt away”. Imagine that…Who knew!
We eat unconsciously and we have debates with ourselves and our emotional state. We like to eat our emotions. However, our choices are rooted in emotions.
Almost every diet/deprivation fails. The diet industry blames YOU for failing. What a self defeating cycle.
In reality, many diets may help you shed some pounds, in the short term, but the real difference is not only keeping the unwanted pounds off, but shifting or adjusting our lifestyle, from the behaviors that led to the weight gain in the first place. This relies on having a doable plan that you can stick with for life.
For many of us, weight gain is the side-effect or by-product of your lifestyle.
There is a considerable debate about how much of our health is within our control, with evidence suggesting that anywhere between 30% and 70% of health maladies can be the result of lifestyle decisions.
A study from the Boston Foundation and the New England Healthcare Institute break down the levels of health by:
Access to care:
- 10% Genetics:
- 20%Environment:
- 20%Healthy behaviors:
- 50%Lifestyle:
Just a 5 percent reduction in body weight sustained over time is significant in improving health. It’s the little things adding up over time that make the biggest difference.
As a science based Certified Health & Wellness Coach allow me to make a suggestion for this “New Year’s Resolution or New Year Re-boot”. Create a vision that aligns with your values and write it down. Bring it to life. Make it clear.
Add something to your life. It will be easier to stick to and far more beneficial!
As a coach, I play an important role to empower people, cultivate and guide the intrinsic motivation to meet the goal, the confidence and sustained habits needed to lose weight, keep it off and thrive.
