New Year’s resolutions

Volume One, Issue 18, February 2 - 8, 2007

Health & Fitness

By Greg Rothman, MS PT

You swore you’d get in shape this year, but what happened to those New Year’s resolutions that you were so passionate about on January 2? We all begin the year with great intentions, but by the end of January, our trail to self-improvement turns as cold as the weather. As a fitness professional and owner of a personal-training studio, I am always inundated with callers near the end of January, all telling me the same thing: Their methods are not working, and they need help getting “back in shape.” Here, I will share with you why resolutions fail, and get you back on track and moving toward fitness.

First, resolutions go sour when people fail to set goals and create a plan for reaching them. I always tell my clients to close their eyes and envision how they would like their body to look and feel in three months, six months, one year. These are your short- and long-term goals. For most people, the goal is a leaner, more “toned” body, with a favorable ratio of fat to muscle. To achieve that, an effective plan should focus on stoking the metabolism — the speed at which our bodies burn calories — by combining good eating and nutrition habits with moderate cardiovascular exercise and a sensible strength-training program.

Second, people abandon resolutions when they choose quick-fix solutions over small, positive lifestyle changes. The former include dieting, which is problematic because diets effectively shut down the metabolism, the body’s fat-burning engine; when people go “off” diets, they inevitably re-gain lost weight. Similarly, doing cardio workouts alone, without any strength-training, actually results in muscle breakdown and, consequently, a slower metabolism, since muscle tissue is the only place in our bodies where fat is burned. Instead, make positive incremental changes that you can stick with, such as cutting down on sugar this week, eating whole-grain products instead of white-flour and processed foods next week, and starting a strength-training program the week after that.

Third, resolutions fail when people lose motivation, which usually happens for two reasons. First, they try to self-motivate in ways that don’t work for them in the long-run. It’s important to be honest with yourself: If you don’t like the idea of health food or going to the gym, then you’ll likely end up eating junk food and lying on the couch; instead, find healthier choices that you like, and try other activities that you enjoy. Second, people get impatient when they don’t see snappy results, but achieving the body you’ve always envisioned for yourself will take time. Instead of focusing on an overnight transformation, take heart that the small changes you are feeling — better energy levels, greater strength, elevated mood — are the precursors to the faster metabolism and leaner body to come.

A successful fitness plan begins with a simple combination of methods that work together — synergistically — to give you the best results. Here are some things you can do now that will affect how you will look and feel tomorrow, and next year. Add one or two each week if you can’t incorporate them all immediately:

• Drink enough water (divide your weight in half and drink that many ounces daily).

• Take a daily multi-vitamin and multi-mineral formulated for your age and gender.

• Take a flax-seed-oil or fish-oil supplement every morning to ensure you get your “good” fats, while craving fewer of the “bad” (hydrogenated and saturated) fats.

• Minimize your intake of sugar, white flour and processed foods.

• Stimulate the metabolism by eating small, frequent meals every three to three-and-a-half-hours — five or six meals a day should be the rule. The metabolism is like a furnace that works only when you add fuel (food); the more often you add fuel, the faster the furnace works to burn the fuel — and stored body fat.

• To that end, eat small meals composed of visually equal portions of a lean protein, a fibrous carbohydrate (vegetable) and a starchy carbohydrate.

• To burn excess calories, do a moderate cardio-workout three times a week for 15 minutes to elevate your heart rate. If possible, add five minutes every week.

• Start a strength-training program by joining a gym or buying an exercise ball and some dumbbells that you can use at home. Enlisting the support of a fitness professional for even one lesson can be helpful if you don’t know where to begin.

By following these simple steps and creating a fitness plan, you’ll start to see and feel your body change for the better, and successfully overcome the obstacles that prevent people from sticking to their New Year’s resolutions. In my next column, I’ll help you move forward by offering tips to get the most out of every workout.

Greg Rothman, MS PT, is the owner of emPower Fitness Studios. He received his masters degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has 15 years’ experience in the rehabilitation and fitness fields, most recently as the personal training manager and top-level trainer for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City. He can be reached at empowerfitness@aol.com.