Focused Resolutions

Every year most of us make an ambitious list of what we want to change in the coming year. The problem is that the list is usually more motivated than we are after the first couple of weeks. Why not use last year’s list and make it more realistic and less painful.

For example, if you made the resolution to “exercise more,” make it more focused. Try “exercise for 30 minutes per week,” especially if your idea of exercise is using the TV remote. Does 30 minutes sound like too much or too hard? That averages to less than 5 minutes per day or what you probably already spend walking from the car to home after work or errands. Does the half hour sound like too little? It depends on what you are doing now, not last year or last century. Before I had knee surgery, I was walking 3 miles daily on my days off for a total of about 4 hours per week. AFTER surgery, it took months for me to get up to 1 mile daily on my days off. My distance had decreased while the time to complete even that much increased. The point is to do more of whatever your choice of moving than you ARE doing today. As I have warned before, if you are starting to take walks, runs or cycling, however far you go from a central point (home or car) you will have to come back, which isn’t fun when you have tired yourself out on the first half.

How about the resolution “eat healthier?” How do you think you are NOT eating healthy now? Are you having a sugar laden coffee every morning? Eating out at a fast food place several times per week? Maybe the only time you eat vegetables is when they are sneaked onto your plate? Only YOU know how your diet could improve. Make a list of how it is falling short of healthy and choose ONE thing on that list to change. You have a better shot at changing one habit than changing a dozen habits. Food is personally important, like a Teddy bear to a two year old. Ever try to get that two year old to leave behind that favorite toy? Giving up that comforting habit is more difficult. Pick only ONE food habit. That will be hard enough and you want to succeed. If you choose to eat more vegetables, remember that potato or corn chips do NOT count as a serving of vegetable, but V-8 juice does.

Another annual favorite is “lose weight.” Try again to be more specific. For example, EITHER walk for 30 minutes weekly OR eat fried foods only once weekly. A change in either diet or exercise can cause weight loss.

Regardless of your resolution, start with something that you CAN do easily. Accomplishment is easier to build upon than failure. You started with successful baby steps before you could walk. Same with resolutions.