Top 3 New Year’s Resolutions & How to Keep Them

Published on Fri Jan 5, 2018 - 2 min read

Published by: Bryan Bradford

Top 3 New Year’s Resolutions & How to Keep Them

With a new year comes a new chance to strengthen our resolve to become healthier and reconnect with our health goals. Here are the top 3 resolutions we see at the Shoppe and recommendations on how to make them a reality.

1. Lose weight 

How to make it a reality – get more sleep.

Recent research found that one night of poor sleep increased food intake by as much as 900 calories the following day! Predictably, these calories come from foods high in fat and sugar3. Poor sleep doesn’t just stop at food cravings. In another study, researchers stated that poor sleep had a “remarkable” impact on our endocrine system, increasing our stress hormone cortisol and causing us to become insulin resistant, a precursor to diabetes4. Everyone knows sleep is important but what you may not know is that good sleep starts during the day. Ideally, bright daytime light creates serotonin which motivates us and keeps us feeling good. At night, this serotonin is converted to melatonin, but only in the presence of complete darkness. So wake up early, get sunshine, turn off any cellphones or televisions at night at least one hour before bed, as even a few minutes of looking at them will drastically lower your melatonin levels. Quick tip – if you have a strong intention and commitment to managing your weight, check out the Keto Diet available at the Shoppe.

2) Eat healthier.

How to make it a reality – adding is better than subtracting.

It is common resolution to just say “I’m going to eat healthier!” A smarter resolution is to add healthy things to the diet, not necessarily take things away. Healthy meal replacement shakes are a good option. Low in sugar, high in fruits, vegetables and fiber, they really are the perfect meal. If you just replace one meal a day, your diet is automatically 33% percent better. Now add a small salad or fruit before your lunch or dinner. Now your diet is 50% better. And because of the fiber in your salad, cravings for more portions and reduction of sugar cravings will result5.  

3) Exercise more.

How to make it a reality – less is more.

Resolving to exercise more is one of the most common goals for the New Year, however, it sometimes we fall short of hitting our exercise goal. New research has found exercising just 7 minutes per day gave the same health benefits of exercising 45 minutes per day in a 6-week trial6. What’s even better is these were body weight exercises that anyone can do at home with no equipment. A quick search for “The Scientific 7-Minute Workout” will bring up many easy 7-minute routines7. Why not combine two goals in one and try your 7-minute routine near a window or outside for that extra boost in serotonin? One thing to always remember on your journey is to keep trying. Small, incremental changes add up to make a big difference.

[References]

1. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797615605818
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763921/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16459757
5. https://muep.mau.se/handle/2043/22623
6. http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx
7. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/