Top Ten Wellness Resolutions for 2010

What are your wellness goals for this New Year? Most of us know what we want in general terms, such as lose weight or exercise more. But translating those non-specific goals into actions is, well, it’s complicated.

Losing weight is always complicated. There are so many factors to consider: to diet or not to diet, real food or diet food, weighing or not weighing, sugar or fake sugar. Add to that how easy it is to get sidetracked by friends, parties, moods, attitudes, and the very real challenge of living with constant gustatory deprivation.

Exercise is complicated, too. The factors to consider are: what exercise, when, with whom, for how long, how often, how much, and where. Plus, few people consider exercise fulfilling and satisfying on its own. You can find plenty of exercise recommendations from experts, but the bottom line is that the only person who can do your exercise for you is you. Ditto lose weight.

To jump-start my personal wellness program this year, I’ve written my top ten wellness resolutions and I’m sharing them with you. That means I’m on-the-line to do them.

Lucy’s Ten New Year’s Heath and Wellness Resolutions
1. Go to sleep before 11 pm at least 5 nights a week, preferably 7. Sounds boring, but I have so much more energy if I get an abundance of zzzz’s. (Most people require 7-8 hours. How many do you need to feel great and fend off weight gain and lower immune functioning?)
2. Do the Tibetan exercises every day. I always have more energy if I start the day with these 5 simple exercises. But I get lazy and skip days. View instructions on my website at www.lucybeale.com. (The Tibetans are often called the fountain of youth.)
3. Use the Neti pot on all RED alert pollution days in the Salt Lake Valley. One simple and virtually free way to wash away some of the particulates I breathe is to use the Neti pot. It also helps get rid of those “poor air quality” headaches and fatigue. Google “neti pot” if you’re not familiar with how it functions. Great if you have a cold, flu, or headaches.
4. Hike or snowshoe in the mountains as recreational exercise 3-4 times a month.
5. Cook dinner more frequently at home; eat out or take out less frequently.
6. Eat more fresh vegetables and fewer starches. This is the easy way to eat low-glycemic.
7. Exercise daily to elevate my heart rate for 20 minutes, preferably more. Stretch and do 2-3 Pilates sessions weekly. (I’ve used this program for years and it works for me. Create one that works for you. My preferred workout locations are mountain trails, the local county rec center, and my home exercise equipment.)
8. Sit up straight when using my computer and when eating. I love to slouch. Enough said.
9. Limit screen time to 4 hours a day unless I’m writing a new book. (Trying to wiggle out of the technology trap is so hard. No wonder they call it a web.)
10. Never, never, never overeat. (Besides making my tummy feel too full, overeating directly causes weight gain. Eating just the right amount of food at every meal keeps me at my ideal size. Same for virtually everyone. For me this mostly means small nibbles of dessert rather than a BIG serving. Please don’t recommend I cut out desserts. That’s too much deprivation for me!)

What are your Ten Wellness Resolutions for 2010? I suggest you write them down and review your list every couple months throughout the year. That way you can check on your progress and make adjustments when needed. If you want support, send them on to me and/or your friends.

Make sure your Resolutions don’t create too much deprivation and also that they don’t rely on the good will and intentions of others. Since only you can do your exercise for you, or lose weight, make sure that only you are responsible for meeting your Resolutions. I say this from experience. It’s so easy for me to miss Monday evening Pilates class if my husband can’t join me.

I’ve been reading lots of cookbooks and recipes preparing to write my next book and I’m finding that I’m also cooking more. I love creating recipes, and you’ll find an entirely updated recipe section in my new book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss Version 2. It became available in bookstores on January 5 – just last week. I also added instructions for the Tibetan exercises because they rev up your metabolism and help rid the body of toxin overload, which can affect weight gain.

I wish you a prosperous and healthy New Year.

Lucy Beale