10 “New Ways” To Think of Fitness, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Strength In 2014
By admin
Happy New Years Eve!
Cheers to ending the year in style… and in my life that means a movie on the couch in pj’s with a glass of champagne (with a frozen raspberry of course) in my right hand. We go crazy on New Years!
Not really and that’s the way we love it. Dinner, a movie and relaxing evening in.
Instead of partying it up, we choose to reflect on the past year and think about the one to come.
What can we do differently? What do we want to accomplish? And what can we think differently about, with a new perspective?
That final bullet is what I want to hit on today. Dan and I sat down yesterday to share with you the…
10 “New Ways” To Think About Fitness, Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Strength For 2014
With resolutions being thrown around left and right, we thought it was important to hit up a little bit of everything.
Hopefully this episode of What The Fitness will help you to solidify your 2014 goals and perhaps give you motivation to try something really new and exciting.
Show Notes… The Meat Of The Convo!
1. Don’t look to calories for nutritional choices.
Have you ever picked up a 100 calorie snack pack or grabbed something out of the snack machine because of the calorie information? Low calories, means good for you, right?
Not so fast.
Many foods labeled as “low calorie” have secret triggers. They are high in artificial ingredients and sweeteners, leading to more sweet cravings and possibly more trips to that same snack machine.
In 2013, a big trend began popping up… restaurants began posting their nutritional information (though proven to be off quite significantly)! The good news: it appears that when calorie information is posted people go for lower calorie foods… the bad news: trips to fast food restaurants increased. So while people are eating less of the Big Macs they’re eating more McD’s in general.
Instead here’s what we propose… stop thinking about food just as calories and more as nutrition for your body. Reach for whole foods with real ingredients. If you don’t know what is in something, the chances are you don’t want to know.
Make 2014 the year of wholesome food goodness! But keep in mind to lose weight you still have to burn more calories than you are taking in. Deal?
2. Don’t let the length of your workout title it as good or bad.
Did you friend go to a 4 hour spin class? A co-worker wake up on Saturday morning to run 20 miles?
This idea that ultra is better is simply not true. You don’t have to workout for hours at a time to get the benefits of fitness… in fact, the good news is that faster workouts are becoming really popular and it’s all because of intensity.
You can pump out a crazy awesome workout in less than half an hour (hello Fit Womens Weekly) if you give that thirty minutes everything you have.
You break out of your comfort zone, break a sweat, and fight the urge to give up.
That half hour can actually be more beneficial than most our long workouts!
But on the flip side…
3. Don’t let the intensity of a workout title it as good or bad.
I know what you’re thinking: “what the heck are you talking about?! You just said…”
Yes, I did… but on that same token it’s crucial to remind you that you don’t have to kill yourself every single workout either. If you’re sore more days a week than you feel good, then you might be pushing too hard, too often. The body needs time to rest and recovery. Soreness is a sign that you need to recover, not the sign that you’re going to have a 6-pack stomach by Valentine’s Day.
4. Go beyond what you THINK you’re capable of.
Fear… it’s a terrible little beast. How many times have you let fear or intimidation stop you from trying something? Or from progressing? So many of us let fear stop us dead in our tracks (make sure you come read tomorrow’s post if this is you!).
Your goal for 2014 is this… don’t hold back because you don’t think you can do something. Even if you fail, at least you tried, right? And if you try and fail then freaking try again.
Dan found a great study about knee injuries. Half of knee injury victims were treated with surgery the other half thought they were. Both groups recovered the same, able to do things that prior to surgery had only been a dream.
You’re capable of more than you think! I am too.
5. Don’t stop after you’ve hit one goal.
What’s a resolution that you’ll be working on tomorrow? When you accomplish it, what will happen? Will you give up and just go on with life? Don’t do it!
Make 2014 the year of evolution… when you accomplish one goal, make another one. Strive to be a better person, and to do that it takes continuous goals and accomplishments.
6. Forget about losing weight.
Last week when I talked to Dr. Margaret, she made a great point… wanting to lose weight isn’t enough to make people motivated enough to stick with it. That requires an emotional desire for something deeper.
I know, I know… wanting to lose weight is something so many want but what will the number on the scale really prove? The scale can be a mean little booger… one night out with the girls and it’s up 5 pounds! Which will then of course lead to pity ice cream which then leads to the “well, I might as well go ahead and eat this too…” idea.
Don’t let a silly number dictate your success. Focus on the overall goal: your health and fitness.
Do that, and all the other pieces will fall into place, including a reflection you love!
7. Grab your spouse to workout.
I love working out with Dan, at least most of the time. Working out with your spouse has so many benefits but when getting started I think the number 1 is positive affirmations. Workout with your husband and you’ll likely receive some “good job” or “wow, that was tough, I am glad we did it together” comments.
Those positive comments help keep you motivated and accountable.
Plus, let’s face it… if one spouse needs to workout more or eat healthier then it’s likely the other does too. So do it together! At least once a week.
8. Focus less on fitness and nutrition.
Oh yes, I did just say that.
2014… make it the year of tossing out labels and doing what you love to do. 2013 was all about urging people to be one thing or another: a crossfitter, a yogi, a runner, a barre(er)?… you get the point.
Instead, spend less time obsessing over one form of fitness and focus more on using your body to get out of the gym and into living a fit life… hike, climb, or do a mix of everything.
The more forms of exercise you do, the better all around you’ll be! Play with fitness!
The same with nutrition… that’s what I’ve learned from being a vegan and just recently not.
Labels of any kind create pressure and stress. Being healthy and fit shouldn’t be stressful! It’s suppose to decrease it… instead focus on creating a diet that works for you. Void of labels.
9. Scare yourself.
Make goals, big goals, that you never in a million years thought you would make. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to run a 5K but were too scared. Perhaps you have heard of people doing a 100 push-up challenge but thought your upper body wouldn’t be able to get past 5…
You can surprise yourself and you will if you just go for it! Throw fear away, take a deep breath and go for it.
Need help, join in to this months Core & More challenge starting tomorrow!
Be happy.
And finally, be happy. Find what makes you tick, what makes you excited. That could be something you don’t even know yet!
Experiment with new classes, new forms of exercise to see what gets you excited each morning to wiggle into a sports bra for.
The same goes with your nutrition, play around with foods and different diet plans to see what makes you feel the best. For me, I’ve just recently added eggs, venison, and seafood into my diet and I feel 1 million times better and stronger!
It’s amazing how small tweaks can make huge differences!
Okay excuse me, I am off to teach some awesome ladies before the festivities of the evening begin!
What are you doing for New Years?