Having a goal is one of the most important keys to living a fulfilled life. Paul knew it when he wrote the scripture above. This is also the case when looking to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s not enough to just say you want to be healthy, it takes a plan and action. The new year is here and with that comes many new years resolutions; many that will be made and many more that will be broken. I want you to be one of the few people who actually follow through with their goal. Below I have put together a step by step plan that will help give the edge you need to reach your goal this year.

1) Set a goal and write it down- It is not enough to just say you have a goal, you must write it down and keep it where you can find it. Have a friend or family member sign it with you.

2) Attach emotion to your goal- Your goal has to mean something to you, otherwise it is just another wish. Be passionate about your goal.

3) Find support- Tell someone you trust about your goal. Someone you know who will support, encourage, and help keep you accountable.

4) Make it a priority- If your goal is to exercise daily put it on your calender and don’t take it off.

5) Set a time limit- Give yourself a time limit to reach your goal, otherwise you will still have the same goal next year that you have now. 3 months is a good time limit for most goals. If you can’t reach your goal in three months rethink your goal.

6) Take action- Now that you have a plan in place start moving toward your goal and don’t stop till you get there!!!!

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It is important to make exercise enjoyable otherwise no one will want to do it. This is a great way to spend time together, boost self esteem, and get your teen to talk! Most gyms allow kids to exercise in the facility around age 13. However, if your unable to make it to the gym with your kids, I have put together a very effective and fun 20 minute in home workout that can be done by everyone in the family.

Below are just a few exercises you can do in your home (for more ideas go to my website). To add an element of fun to the family workout, use a deck of cards to determine the number of repetitions every person will perform for each exercise listed below.  Aces count as 11 and face cards count as 10. Every family member should take three turns at all five exercises. Preform these exercises 3-4 times a week.

1) Push ups

2) Squats

3) Tricep dips on a chair

4) In place lunges

5) Crunches

Finally, have each person rate their exercise time for the week which will encourage everyone to stay active. Each week, measure your fitness levels to determine your family’s overall fitness average. Add each person’s own calculation of their level of fitness for the week; zero meaning they did nothing, and 7 meaning they exercised daily. Divide the total by the number of family members. Set a goal to average at least a 5 or 6 each week, rewarding the entire family if it’s met (reward should be agreed on by every participating member).

1) Eggs- High in protein, good for eyes, good for your cardiovascular system, contains vitamin D

2) Chicken- High in protein and helps rebuild calorie burning muscle, protects against osteoporosis, good source of niacin which can protect you from cancer, protects against Alzheimer’s and age related cognitive decline, B vitamins for energy, and vitamin B-6 for cardiovascular health.

3) Fish- American heart association recommends at least 2 servings per week to help prevent heart disease lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. High in EFA are good for brain function, helps prevent arthritis, and helps prevent abnormal heart rhythms.

4) Green Vegetable- one of the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food rich source of minerals including iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins including vitamins K, C, E, and many B vitamins, contains small amounts of Omega 3 Fats that are essential to body function. Did you know 1 cup of cooked greens provides 9 times the minimum intake of vitamin K?  Vitamin K regulates blood clotting, helps prevent osteoporosis, may be a key regulator of inflammation and help protect from inflammatory diseases including arthritis and help prevent diabetes.

5) Oatmeal- good source of both insoluble and soluble fiber that can help reduce your LDL without lowering your HDL, slows down the digestion of starch, less likely to develop heart disease if eaten regularly, good source of vitamin E, zink, copper, iron, magnesium just to name a few.

Top 5 Supplements

1) Protein- Good for rebuilding lean muscle. Powders or bars when you are on the go or when you are in need of extra amount of protein, such as after you workout or when you are on the go and need a quick snack. 20-30 grams per serving is efficient for adults depending on LBM.

2) Multi-Vitamins- supplement a diet with vitamins and dietary minerals. When do you use a multivitamin? When you are on a food restrictive diet.

3) EFA- good for brain function, helps prevent arthritis, and helps prevent abnormal heart rhythms, 300-400 mg on a daily basis.

4) Glucosamine- Helps prevent cartilage degeneration and treat arthritis, adults 18 years and older generally take 500 mg 3 times daily for 30-90 days.

5) Glutamine- is the body’s most abundant amino acid highly concentrated in the muscle. The best time to take this is after your workout. Adults should take  between 2-15 grams daily. Good for increased muscle mass, decreases the muscle breakdown and recovery time needed after a workout, and enhances immune functions.

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Weight Loss: Anyone can loss weight (in the beginning), by simply not eating. Now here is  what happens when you do this. You lose some fat, water, and the most important tissue to your body, Muscle. As most of you know who have tried this approach you can’t go long before you have to start eating again and when you do, you gain back the fat and the water but not the muscle, therefore lowering your metabolism. (Your metabolism is your bodies ability to burn calories). Then this becomes a cycle, don’t eat, lose weight, eat, gain weight. This will work for a while until your body catches on and you have burn up most of your muscle tissue. Then it just will not work any more. So you get bigger and bigger and that becomes the cycle.

Fat Loss: This is the most optimal and effective way to lose weight and keep it off. Why? Because you maintain your metabolism by maintaining your muscle. Think of muscle as your engine. The more muscle you have the faster your engine runs, burning calories like crazy.

So how do you lose fat and maintain your muscle? Its pretty simple, eat enough calories to keep your body from going into starvation mode but fewer calories than you burn. We each have a certain number of calories in order for our body to work correctly, this is called your BMR (base metabolic rate). When you eat fewer calories than your BMR you start lowering your metabolism and prevent your body from burning fat. So stay above that number. (If you need that number click here). Once you know BMR simple eat that many calories and you will be sure to lose the right kind of weight!

Example:

Jill’s BMR is 1200 calories. Here total metabolism is some where around 1800 calories with daily activity and exercise. If she eats 1200 calories for that day she will be in a calorie deficit of 600 calories. This will allow her to lose approximately 1-2 pounds a week and be sure to keep that weight off! If you have questions about this please send the to me by clicking here.