This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

264 More Hours of 2011 – Make The Most of It

Start the new year now, not in 11 days when you'll be eight pounds heavier that you are now.

We are in full swing holiday-mode. Let’s face it, we can’t get any more in the thick of it than we are now: Three days till Christmas Eve and 10 days until New Year's.

Our days are crammed with shopping, partying, travelling, wrapping, cooking, baking … it’s exhausting.

How many of you have made the promise-to-self? You know the one I’m talking about. As soon as the holidays are over, you’ll start your diet and exercise routine.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If you have, congratulations for at least thinking about it, and I hope you are successful with that. If you haven’t, then (a) you are too busy to think about your health, (b) you don’t care about your health, or (c) you are a member of the very elite club of those of us who follow the 365-days-a-year diet-and-exercise program.

If you fit into the (a) or (b) group, I invite you to think about this. Eleven days is a substantial amount of time when you are talking about self care. It’s 264 hours, 33 meals, 11 to 100-plus snacks and 132,000-plus TV shows.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It can also be translated into 660 minutes of cardiovascular, 968 ounces of water, 825mg of calcium, 330g of fiber, 55 servings of fruits and vegetables ... and a partridge in a pear tree.

Why put off until Jan. 1 or 2 what you can do today? Sure, if you have a party to go to, go and enjoy it. But a party tonight doesn’t have to mean that tomorrow morning is still party time. Instead, make healthy choices for tomorrow morning.

For example, get to the gym early or go for a walk or run, eat a healthy breakfast of egg whites, spinach and tomato or oatmeal and berries. In other words, balance the holiday celebrating with self-health celebrations. Start the new year now, not in 11 days when you’ll be eight pounds heavier than you are now.

Other things you can do for the next 11 days, and I promise it will then be easier to keep the good habits for the new year:

  • Cut down/avoid artificial sweeteners. They link to more than 90 side effects, and their chemical breakdown in the body can be toxic.
  • Cut down/avoid additives and preservatives. They can cause food allergies, weight gain, decreased absorption of minerals and vitamins, cancer and more.
  • Reduce junk food intake and increase whole fruits and vegetables.
  • Incorporate exercise or healthy movement into each day – even if it’s just for 20 or 30 minutes.

 So, let’s raise a glass of water and make a toast to the old year. Let’s end it with a healthy bang and continue on into 2012 and beyond.

Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more advice on starting good habits.



We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Plainfield