Wondering how to make your New Year’s Resolutions stick?

When it comes to setting new goals and changing a behavior it can be hard to create and maintain momentum.  Zig Ziglar says, “motivation comes from doing”….which to me seems opposite of what I have always believed…but OK, I’m willing to try that.

Whether you are setting new goals this Jan or not, here are some tips to help you along the way.

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[via About.com]

If you want to make lasting changes, there are three things you can do to make your resolutions work all year long: Adjust your attitude, change your lifestyle and come up with a plan for success.

Adjust Your Attitude

If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:

• Punishment for bad eating
• An obligation
• Painful
• Time consuming
• Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
• Boring

If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you’ll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you’ve been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:

• A break from a stressful workday
• A way to boost energy and mood
• The only time you’ll have to yourself all day
• A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
• A chance to reward your body for working so hard
• A way to improve your quality of life immediately

And here are some more key points about exercise that you must understand:

1. Willpower won’t work. Willpower is for short-term success. Long-term success requires planning, discipline and finding ways to motivate yourself every day.
2. Motivation will not magically happen. What motivates you will change from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, tweak them to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your life.
3. You will not always want to exercise and eat healthy. Even the most committed exerciser doesn’t always want to do it. Know that you will have to work on it every day.

Your next step is to adjust your lifestyle so you have the best chance of success.

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[via About.com]

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Thanks Nikki for sending in your latest news!

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From http://www.nikkifitness.com/
Nikki Fitness Newsletter | September 17, 2008
Need an edge to land that big promotion at work? Are you nervous about an upcoming presentation? There is a secret that most successful CEOs share. They work out — almost every day.

Staying in shape and eating right makes you work more efficiently and productively. What’s more, working out on a regular basis leads you to make better eating choices. For example, you’re more likely to have a healthy salad then eat yourself into a carb coma at lunch when you have a regular fitness routine.

You’re stress level will also be reduced if you hop on the Stairmaster. Fitness improves oxygen delivery to organs, heightens circulation, and cuts back on doctor visits and sick days.

Regular exercise and proper diet can improve your performance at work in many ways. Here’s how:

• 7 a.m.: Do you find yourself constantly running late? Do you rush to catch the subway or rush to get into work on time? If you exercise regularly you won’t be sweaty, stressed, and or too winded to say hello to the people you do business with.

• 9 a.m.: Early morning presentation? If you’re used to that 6 a.m. spin class, this speech will be a breeze to get through, with less hills to climb.

• Noon: People who walk around town or the park during lunch feel less ragged and overworked. Some of the best work ideas have come to me while running around the reservoir track in Central Park.

• 3 p.m.: Big meeting at the end of the day but feeling the 3 p.m. slump? If you’re not fit, coffee may be the only thing that gets you through the day, still half in a fog. But instead of dehydrating on caffeine, a lunch-time walk has you more focused and gives you time to think quietly and plan your talking points. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or day, you won’t feel sluggish and wish for a 3 p.m. nap lust if you’re used to pumping iron at 5 p.m.

• 6 p.m.: At the end of the day your back muscles may be tight and you may have a headache. If you can’t work out in the morning try taking a class at the gym or exercising after work. It may help those muscles loosen up.

• 11 p.m.: Are the stressors of the day keeping you up at night? If you jogged during the day, you’ll be sleepy with a clear mind, and better rested when you awake to tackle your tasks. More exercise = better sleep = better work day.

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I was recently asked by someone what they should eat after working out. Fitness instructors are highly encouraged not to give dietary advice since we are certified in fitness and not nutrition. I will however offer some general advice on eating before and after exercise. Please remember, however, that it is best for you to get specific advice from a dietician.

The Glycemic Index (GI) is good to use as a guideline for eating prior to and after working out. The GI is a ranking that measures how much a certain carbohydrate elevates blood sugar above normal. Foods low on the GI are known as slow digesting carbohydrates. They provide a prolonged, sustained entry of glucose into the bloodstream. This means that they supply long lasting fuel to power you through your workout. These foods make good pre-exercise snacks. Some examples of foods low on the GI are:
-apples, oranges, or another medium piece of fruit
-raw carrots
-cup of cooked oatmeal
-small sweet potato
-2 slices of whole wheat bread

Foods high on the GI are released more quickly into the blood and also referred to as fast digesting carbohydrates. They are better for recovery and refueling after exercise. It is recommended that you eat at least 50 grams (200 calories) of a high or moderate glycemic carb as soon as possible after exercise. Two hours later you should eat another 50 grams of a high glycemic carbohydrate. Some example of these foods are:
-bagel
-pasta
-raisins
-plain baked potato
-20 ounce Gatorade
-slice of plain angel food cake
-cup of sorbet
-2-3 slices of white bread

Foods high in electrolytes (minerals like potassium, calcium, and sodium) are important for recovery after prolonged exercise that lasts 2 or more hours. Good choices for these kinds of foods are:
-potatoes
-low fat yogurt
-bananas
-orange juice

I hope this will help you next time you exercise and are trying to figure out what to eat!

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NikkiNewsletter 8/2/08 – Posted with the authors permission

Top 15 NikkiFitness.com Tips
Follow these and you’ll be fit before you know it.

Set goals that are realistic and specific, and having a set time period as your goal will help you stick to a new fitness regime. Write down your plan of action for every day, week, etc. Make sure it is something you can measure and not just the end goal, but the milestones along the way. Start with a plan that you think you can accomplish or exceed. (Walking for 30 minutes at a time. Then running for 20 minutes and see how many times you have to stop and walk each time. Eventually work up to running for 30 minutes and so on.

Figure out what your barriers to exercise and eating well are, and make a plan to conquer and avoid those specific barriers. Take each barrier or excuse and write down ways you can solve the problem.

Put one sneaker in front of the other. Many of us waste too much time saying we need to work out but dread the process. Trick yourself by just getting dressed for it and not really thinking about the next step. If you take it one step at a time, before you know it you will finish the cool-down and feel amazing.

Make yourself an upbeat iPod play-list or CD and dance around as you straighten up at home; find a hip-hop or African dance class at the gym; learn to bellydance at an adult education class or at the Y; plan a girls’ night out dancing.

Make active dates to see friends and family and do something that doesn’t involve eating and drinking. Walk through the park, go biking in summer, ice skate or cross country ski in winter, walk the mall, take a yoga or cardio class, or run on a treadmill right next to my friend.

Think of food as a fuel, not as a gift, which means passing on food that is high in fat and sugar, and taking HALF the portion everyone else heaps onto their plate at a party and packing up half your food in a restaurant in a doggy bag.

If you have to be at a restaurant, will identify the 3 healthiest things on the menu and pick between those.

Follow the food pyramid daily, by focusing on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and calcium, not sweets and fats. Also, take a daily multi-vitamin

Don’t eat any bad food that is lying around the office. Bring healthy snacks to your desk that are sweet and/or salty, like whole wheat crackers, almonds, grapes, or chocolate soy milk. Buy a slow cooker so that you can prepare a healthy meal in the mornings, and its ready for you when you get home (its like having a personal chef at home all day, and gives you that extra hour for exercise!)

Drink no more than 2 alcoholic beverages at parties and events (if necessary, cut extra drinks with spritzers) and have a snack before these events so you don’t attack the buffet line.

Drive less and walk more. I will take the stairs when possible and never go a day without some exercise

Invest in a gym membership, if I don’t have one already, and I will use it. If I don’t have the money right now, I will buy an inexpensive workout DVD.

Weigh yourself everyday to remember your goals and feel good about the choices you made yesterday.

Keep reading health and fitness columns online, subscribe to weekly e-mailed fitness tips like mine for regular inspiration, and subscribe to fitness magazines. Whether it’s a new and healthy dish you can make, news about a recent medical study, interesting moves to try at home, or another person’s story about how they reached their goals, any inspiration will help.

Pass this advice along. I saw a quote once that said “You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most.” So get your friend on the NikkiFitness Newsletter so you can have a partner to do the DVDs, eat healthy with you at a restaurant, cook good-for-you meals at parties, and do active social outings.

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NikkiFitness
Military Wife Workout DVD, NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer
Home Page: www.nikkifitness.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaET4Xl0WZo
Order the DVDs on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/NikkiFitness-Military-Wife-Workout/dp/B0014TC2U2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1204513669&sr=8-1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1112090714

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Last week the topic on Navy Wife Radio was Fitness Fun.  I think the title is great because we need to get back to focusing on enjoying exercise.  Even though I’m a certified fitness instructor I still have my down days when it comes to exercise.  As a mom to a baby girl and wife of a deployed soldier, I’m doing good when I can just shower and eat sometimes.  There are times when many of us are guilty of the all or nothing way of thinking when it comes to exercise.  If we know we won’t be able to get in a good hour or more at the gym, we don’t exercise at all.  Just try to remember that something is better than nothing!  I was recently discussing this with another Army wife.  She is a mother of twin babies and expressed her frustration with not being able to exercise regularly.  The following is just a tiny bit of the message I sent to her.  I hope it will help encourage other ladies who feel guilty and frustrated when they aren’t able to do it all.

I think our biggest thing is learning not to be hard on ourselves if we can’t always live up to our fitness/weight expectations. We have to change our mindset. Before we were moms, if we didn’t workout or eat right, we felt guilty because we had no excuse not to do better. Now we have to put our babies before ourselves and sometimes we may not be able to accomplish EVERYTHING that we want to. If all you can work in during a day is running up and down the stairs and a few situps and pushups – that’s still something to be proud of!

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaET4Xl0WZo]

Tonight on the webcast we welcome Nikki from Nikki Fitness who has developed a fitness video just for the military wife. I’ve had a chance to review this video and can I just say….it is amazing. Tonight we are talking about the video, how to stay motivated to workout and even how to get a fresh start to your workout goals.

Please join us tonight at 9pmET for some fun conversation and to learn more about how to better take care of ourselves!

Here is the link into to the show and how to order the video!

Show link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/navywiferadio/2008/07/23/Navy-Wife-Radio

Show Details:

July22nd – Tuesday
9pm ET
Yahoo IM: Navy Wife Radio

Order the Military Wife Workout from Amazon.com

Click here or on the photo

I’m so excited to share this new favorite thing of mine! This low impact, jam packed 30 min. workout is perfect for the busy military spouse!

More info

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Marie and I are so excited about 2008 and our Fitness Challenge / Journey. We want you to be apart of it! No matter when you find this entry, if you are serious and ready to FLY (from the Fly Lady Marla) – Finally Love Yourself we want you to join us as we make a “lifestyle” change and get healthy in 2008!

We’ve both made some entries in our fitness blog and invite you head on over and read them and join us. http://marathonmoms.wordpress.com

We are setting a goal to reward our progress with a girls trip. Location yet to be determined, but it will be amazing that is for sure. We love to travel and experience new things, so it is going to be exciting getting to our goal!

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Ok ladies, if you were in Jacksonville we introduced you to Fitness expert Kim. Kim along with our relationship will Billy Blanks and Team TaeBo, will be our key sources for developing our Health Corner. We created a website months ago that tracks our progress (or presently lack there of) over at Marathon Moms. We want you to join us. We are training to get in shape. Maybe you have 10lbs to loose, maybe you have over a 100, wherever you fit into that mix we want you to join us. You can follow our stories via the blog and even track your progress along with ours. I’d like to add at least 3 other women to our group. If you are serious about losing weight, getting in shape, training for a road race or similiar join us! Email me at wendy(AT)navywiferadio.com if you’d like more info on joining us on the fitness blog. If you already have a fitness blog, email me and we’ll add you to our blogroll.

One of the keys to success is accountability. So, lets all band together to live a healthier, more energetic, and active life!

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I have come to a turning point in my life.  It has nothing to do with school, or work, or my kids being out of the house (daycare and PreK J ); Its about my body and something that I’ve dealt with for years…  (Men if your reading, cover your eyes) I’m talking about a breast reduction.  oh no… did the world stop spinning for a second, I know my husband’s world does every time I even think about it.

But to be honest, I’ve been dealing with this problem since I was in middle school.  And I think that I have come to the conclusion that I just don’t want to deal with it anymore. 

Everyone has heard of the sore lower back and such, but it really goes way past that for me.  When I am standing or sitting my shoulders naturally roll forward, I try to keep my back straight and shoulders back but after 5 minutes I am in a lot of pain.  The muscles between each scapula on my back are just about rock solid and the same goes for my shoulders.  In the area where my bra clasps I have the feeling of pulling and straining; and day after day my pectoral muscles just below my collar bone ache. Last but not least, If I lay on my stomach my arms and the front of my shoulders go numb.

I go back and forth between bras that dig into my shoulders to bras that dig into my rib cage, just to get a break. And I’ve seriously considered banning bras from my home because of my distaste for them. LoL OK, so that won’t really happen, but don’t think I go a day with out thinking about it.

So I’ve taken my first step, I’ve made an appointment to see my PCM on base in a week or two about my back pain. I am going to ask what needs to be done to go about getting seen and evaluated for this procedure.  I’m very excited and scared all at once.  And I’m really hoping I won’t have to fight to be approved for the procedure. 

  Wish me luck and I’ll keep you guys up to date on how it goes. If anyone has any similar experiences or advice please share!

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