Did you know that Jan. 19-25 is officially
Healthy
Weight Week? This week is set
aside for celebrating healthy lifestyles for life. I have to be honest, right now I am not at my
healthiest weight, so it seems like this is a good week to make an active
choice to make some lifestyle changes so that by this time next year I will be
at a healthy weight. Unlike making a New
Years resolution, that most people have given up on by now, this is a conscious
choice to make small and reasonable changes in my behavior that will improve my
health and hopefully help me to get rid of some of my excess weight. What this is NOT is a diet of any kind,
because diets simply don’t work.
What kinds of changes am I talking
about:
1. Drinking more Water. I have never been very good about
drinking water, I grew up in the Kool-Aid generation and I have to sometimes
force myself to actually drink water, but I have decided to allow myself the
option of using flavored water (I prefer Propel). I realize that nutritionist prefer good old
water, but I know that is not realistic for me, so I will improve my odds of
successfully drinking more water if I allow myself the flexibility to choose
whatever kind of water will help me get the job done.
2. I will try to reduce
my portion size when eating. I know
that it is NOT what I eat, but how much, that contributes to weight gain. Initially that might mean using tricks like
smaller plates, etc. There is a big difference in dieting and simply choosing
to eat smaller portions. Dieting, with
calorie counting and restricted choices is not a sustainable lifestyle, but I
can make an effort to eat smaller portions, without feeling deprived or
frustrated. Drinking more water will
also help me to consume smaller portions.
3. I will increase my
physical activity level. Starting
with a commitment to be active for 15-30 minutes each day, even if that means a
simple walk around the block with my dog.
This is really an important goal because as I get older, the need to
remain physically active is ever more important. For Christmas my daughter got me a fitbit,
which will help me, to keep track of my daily exercise. I don’t have to become a professional gym rat
to be healthy. Just getting up off the
couch and moving more will be a positive step towards a healthier future.
We all know what to do to be healthier;
it really comes down to making a choice. Excuses are easy. I can complain that midlife makes it harder
to loose weight. I can choose to let
things like my plantar fasciitis get in the way of exercise. Or I can make a choice, and use Healthy
Weight Week as a kick-off to a healthier year.
What choices can you make to get
closer to your healthy weight?
I love this! It is so frustrating seeing all the messages out there that tell women and girls they need to be thin. What we should be saying is they need to be healthy! A secondary gain with the message to be healthy, would be they hear that they are perfect no matter what their body shape. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Karen, the weight loss industry does everything it can to create our 'need' to lose weight so we will buy all their books, pills and other weight loss products, but the truth is we don't need any of that. Being healthy is always the best goal - and good health is much more than weight. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
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