New Year, New Me – A Balanced Lifestyle

“New Year, New Me.” The old adage is echoed more than a couple times starting around December 20th and continuing into the first few weeks of the New Year. For some, that might mean a fresh perspective on life, others a new hair style, but for most, the “new me” is in relation to fitness. This is the time of year that swarms of people flock to the gym, hop on new diets and swear this is the year they’ll run that marathon. 

But in 2019, let’s take a different approach. 

Ignore the Trend Diets

Let’s start with diet. Instead of burying yourself in articles on how best to achieve Ketosis, living on juiced vegetables for a month, or drinking questionable detox “flat tummy” teas, resolve to cut one processed food out of your daily diet. Maybe that means you walk past your beloved jalapeno kettle chips in the store. (This is incredibly hard for me to do. Pro tip: don’t grocery shop while hungry!) Try making your own breakfast sandwich instead of stopping at McDonald’s. Start by making one small change, then add another, and another, until you notice your shirts fit a little looser and you have more energy. Let’s avoid taking diet to the extreme. No one should be afraid of carbs, or limiting themselves to 150 calorie meals. In 2019, find balance between the function of food (to sustain us) and the enjoyment of it.

It should be noted that as a woman, our weight can fluctuate by 5 pounds or so depending on that time of the month…If the scale frustrates you, try taking measurements. Write down your arms, legs, waist, and hips and check them once a month. Be consistent on the day of the month you track. The best way get the most accurate in terms of the YOUR monthly fluctuation, is to take measurements on the day you start your period. Don’t lose sight of the goal! Stick to the plan for at least a month before trying to make changes. And above all, be honest with yourself on your progress!

Make Fitness Fun

Now for the gym: If you’re new to fitness, whether that’s Zumba, bodybuilding, CrossFit, walking more, etc., find a friend. Do not be afraid to reach out to those around you, especially those who you see succeeding at what you’re trying to do. And if you have no one around to ask for help, ask me!

If you’re more experienced in the gym, let’s do what we talked about with diet and find balance. There’s another old saying of “life is what happens while you’re busy making plans” but let’s flip that to “life is what happens while you’re training for the six pack that no one cares about”. I’m very guilty of this. I don’t know how many events I’ve missed because I “had to hit the gym” but in reality I was missing out on what life’s all about: camaraderie.

The gym is fun, for sure, but when you’re on your death bed, you won’t be thinking back on the perfect quads you created, but instead the good times had with family and friends. All this applies to newbies as well! I’m all for diving head first into a new program, but ensure there’s balance within it or you will never stick to it. I’m going to reiterate what I know you’ve already heard…Changes take time and consistency.

To recap, let’s look at 2019 as the year of balance and hopefully we can sculpt you into a “new you” while we’re at it.