Good News – this is very easy to turn around. How? Biking is a great everyday activity, an aerobic exercise that works your lower body and cardiovascular system. And, regular cycling can reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. It can also boost your mood and keep your weight under control.

We should strive to be a more pedestrian friendly country, and live a more active lifestyle overall. Trade in your four wheels for two, and experience the many benefits for yourself and the environment. I challenge you to walk and/or bike to your destinations more than driving (especially if they are less than 2 miles away).

Below is an infographic showing how bikes can improve our lives. Enjoy

Read the illustration below to get a better idea of how our dietary habits and food consumption has lead to the rise of unprecedented obesity numbers in our society:

 How Can This Be Changed or Reversed?

1. Change the Way You Eat.

Cut out processed foods, fried foods and all fast food. Instead, strive for a whole foods, plant-based diet. Now, I’m not saying to turn into a hardcore vegetarian/vegan right away…but, definitely incorporate more fresh food into your diet, especially fruits, vegetables and legumes that are a variety of colors. These foods will help boost your energy, as well as help you lose weight safely. No fad diets please…just good old fashion clean eating.

* one tip – get ahold of a really good, healthy cookbook. I recommend: Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver. it will help you learn how to cook simple, delicious meals that are both healthy and affordable. The instruction is very good, step-by-step with photos included.

2. Get moving!

I know it sounds great to say you’ll get right into an everyday hardcore workout regimen, or go all out with P90x in home dvd routine…but, if you’re going to have any ‘staying power’, you’ll need to start out slowly, and safely. First, consult your physician and talk with a certified fitness professional, such as myself … to create a customized fitness plan so that you can get started with safe and effective exercises.

At the very least, start walking everyday…start slow and work up to a faster pace and longer distance. Remember, walking is one of the best forms of exercise you can do.

3. Have an Exorcism with Your Electronic Devices.

Cut the endless hours of cable tv, movies, video games and Facebook. I know they are a convenient form of entertainment…but, they are also toxic for you life if consumed too much. They promote inactivity and alienate you from face-to-face contact with family, friends or meeting new people.

Pick just a couple of your favorites and only allow yourself a few hours per week to enjoy them. By doing this, it will create more time in your day for fitness and outdoor activities that you may have previously thought you did not have time for. Also, I guarantee that by cutting electronic entertainment and starting some physical activity in fresh air…you will sleep better, have more energy and have unbelievable clarity

4. Prepare Yourself for Physical, Mental and Emotional Changes.

Physically – get some comfortable, breathable exercise clothes, and supportive shoes for walking. Ask a specialty shoe store associate to recommend the best type and brand of shoe for your specific needs. Find a good quality water bottle that you can carry with you throughout the day, and constantly refill with water to keep you hydrated.

Mentally – Continually think positive thoughts. The conversations you have with yourself, quietly in your mind, have a huge effect on what you will actually accomplish. Dismiss ANY negative thoughts or excuses, because there is no such thing as CAN’T…remember, you are a powerful person.

Emotionally – make sure to share with your family, friends, co-workers, etc that you are on a mission to become healthy and lose weight. It is essential to your success to have the support of those you care about in your corner, and they can help to keep you accountable while they’re eating or exercising with you.

Here are a few tips to help turn your new year’s resolutions into HABITS:

Goals

Set achievable and measurable goals. ‘I want to lose weight, become healthier and eat better’ are not specific. Here are some more specific type goals: ‘I want to lose 10 lbs of fat, run a 5.. 10.. or 15K race, half or full marathon, and have 80% (or more!) of my meals be healthy and nutritious’ (then define healthy and nutritious).  Being successful or unsuccessful is easily defined.

Confidence

You must have confidence that you WILL achieve your resolution goals.  If you are not sure or don’t think you can achieve a goal, then guess what… You have already failed.  If you approach a goal absolutely certain you will be successful, there is nothing that will stop you from doing so, it is only a matter of time before you do. Have confidence and believe in yourself!

Accountability

Find a friend, family member or loved one with a similar goal and make a commitment to each other that you will work towards that goal as a team.  This will create a degree of accountability between the two of you.  It’s easy to sleep in and skip your normal morning workout, but when know your partner will be left waiting for you, it’s a little more motivating to get out of bed and get going.

Motivation

What motivates you ? Do you want to become a better person? Do you want to become healthier for a loved one? Do you want to complete physical and athletic accomplishments you never thought possible? Whatever your goals, figure out what motivates you and surround yourself with constant reminders of why you are pursuing the goal. Post pictures around your room, on your mirror, or as your computer desktop wallpaper. Buy inspirational posters or post motivational quotes on a tackboard.  By immersing yourself in a positive, motivational atmosphere, you will be more likely to pull through times of adversity or roadblocks to your success.

Identify Obstacles

Take a hard look at what pitfalls may be lurking out there to derail your plans. Is it temptation? Perceived lack of time? Whatever it may be, identify them and develop a plan to work through and around them.

Develop A Plan

Use the information you gathered above and put together a plan for success (if you’re not quite sure how to get there, Fitness by Patty can help provide fitness and nutrition advice and help you develop a winning strategy).  Then expect to face adversity.  Be prepared to work though the adversity and be flexible enough to change your plan to handle ‘life’ as it happens all while still working toward your goals.

Commitment & Sacrifice

Working toward any goal takes a degree of commitment and sacrifice to be successful. Maybe it’s sacrificing an hour of sleep to get up early to get your daily workout in or maybe it’s forgoing a few happy hours with friends to save $$, several hundred unwanted calories, and spend more time with loved ones.

How committed are you? How much are you willing to sacrifice to be successful?

Get Started!

To help you organize and track your goals and resolutions, I recommend  using Lululemon’s Goal Tracking Worksheet, which you can download HERE

Taking the time to think through some of these things will help transform what started out as a new year’s resolution and help turn it into a new HABIT.

1. Be Flexible.

Don’t be afraid to park a little further and make the hike to your stores. You’ll burn extra calories on the way and build cardiovascular endurance…and beat the slow pokes who are waiting to find closer parking spaces.

2. Be Fast.

The quicker you move, the higher your metabolism could grow. Fast walking is just as effective as jogging, without the high-impact stress on your joints. Your speed may even score you the last available hot-ticket item before the next guy can get to it.

3. Be Strong.

If you start to acquire more bags or buy some larger items, condense them into one or two strong bags. You will build muscular strength in your arms, legs, and core…while carrying them back to your car, then going back for more.

Let’s think this one through:

The more you eat, the fuller you get.

The fuller you get, the less you want to move.

The less you move, the more you gain…in weight.

The more weight you gain, and the less you move, the harder it becomes to get motivated for exercise (especially right after a Thanksgiving dinner). So if you missed a local Turkey Trot, or long running event on Thanksgiving day, I hope you consider taking a long walk, bike ride, or playing a game of chase to get your blood flowing, and expend the extra calories – especially if you want to lose a few pounds. Don’t give into the tempting food coma nap after you eat. Get moving!

First:

Just one pound of weight loss can unload 4 pounds of joint stress in a person who is overweight and/or has osteoarthritis. Take care of the bones that hold your body up. This means the muscles surrounding those bones needs to also be in excellent condition. The more joint stress your body maintains, the more likely the aches, pains, chances for injury, and early onset arthritis conditions are bound to set in.

Second:

Stress leads to weight gain. If you possess emotional stress, you may tend to eat more than you should. In addition, if you are not exercising daily, the food you are eating (in hopes to ‘satisfy’ your emotional state) may add up to an excessive calorie overload. The more calories consumed and the less calories expended = instant weight gain.