New Year, New You: Our Lives in 2013
Welcome to WABC TV’s Reset Your Life: A Healthier You blog! It follows the popular show "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" with host Chris Powell on ABC as well as other timely health issues as they come up in the headlines. As a bonus, you will also find meal plans, exercise routines and music playlists throughout the different posts to help get you motivated to reset your life! I wanted to start this blog, because like thousands of women in the tri-state, I too have struggles and triumphs with weight.
I have had major weight losses and gains in the last 11 years. The highs and lows on the scale correspond with the highs and lows I've experienced through school and college, work and the challenges of adult life. I am on my own new journey once again to get healthy.
It's been almost a year since I started this blog and I am well on my journey. How about you? How are you approaching the New Year? Are you one of those who eats everything in sight leading up to January 1st, just to go on a dramatic plan following the party in Times Square? Or, do you try to follow a steady plan throughout the year, but treat yourself every so often? Or, do you treat yourself often, just to try and frantically get in shape for a special occasion? I'd like to think I live in moderation, but I have been taking advantage of the treats around the newsroom in the last month. I've actually been taking advantage of the treats a little more than I'd like to admit. :/
As far as resolutions are concerned, of course, I'd like to find more success in my life in 2013. But, I'm over coming up with a list of my resolutions. It's all the same ever year anyway, right? Health, success, joy, love... I'm excited about the clean slate the New Year brings with it, but I don't find extra motivation just because the calendar changes. Instead, I get motivated by thinking of the journey ahead and the amazing results that come with hard work and discipline. I'm excited to complete my goals and share the end-result pictures with you! Still, I don't want to set myself up for failure by creating unattainable goals. For example, one of my friends said she wants to avoid chocolate in the New Year. But, if she eats a piece of chocolate on January 2nd, it doesn't mean she's messed up her plan for healthy eating for the entire year. But, she also can't eat a piece of chocolate everyday, just to say she'll start over again tomorrow. If we let ourselves eat just because it's a special occasion, someone baked for us or we've had a rough day, it's likely we'll find ourselves slipping often and feeling bad about it.
I recently met fitness guru, Jeff Halevy, well-known for his public health initiatives, most notably Our Power, a successful childhood obesity initiative that launched in Newark, NJ as part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign.
I talked to him about how he approaches the New Year. He shared this advice:
But here's a quick post on one of the most powerful questions known to man: "What's one thing I can change now?"
Seems obvious, right? Of course it does, when you think about it. But that's usually the problem: We don't when we need it most.
I think of this question as the crowbar of life's sticking points. The question works on a few different levels. First, by simply asking the question, it puts you in a state of resourcefulness. We're all great at describing the huge gaping hole that's sinking the ship, but that won't keep the ship afloat. We need to act, not throw our hands up in despair. And to act, we need to believe there's a way out. This question is a primer for action; instead of focusing on the problem, it instantly whips our focus to a solution. And notice I said solution, not solutions, which leads me to...
... the fact that I'm not asking you to come up with 20, or five, or even two solutions! Just one. Brainstorming is great. Coming up with lots of ideas to a given problem is a blast. I love it -- don't get me wrong. But when you're stuck, I've found the greatest ally is an army of one. One answer works because it's simple. It's actionable. One answer doesn't clutter your mind, nor (I should hope) have a million steps.
Want an example? Here's one all of you aspiring writers have heard before: If you want to be a writer, force yourself to fill a page every day. I know several successful published authors who all swear by this method. Notice the method is not "come up with five different book ideas a day," or "write one page of your book." Just fill a page. Period.
And as an aside, one important element I should point out, as the example above illustrates, is keep it simple. As above: "fill a page," "eat a vegetable today," "make one extra sales call," or "go to the gym." That's the level of complexity we're looking for here. Forget whether it's a broccoli or cucumber, the customer prospecting you also should be doing, and the perfect killer workout that will get you ripped in a month. Simple, actionable -- that's what we're going for. Not the grand scheme, aka "the grand spiderweb."
The question also asks what you can change, not what you'd like or wish. We all wish and would like for nice things to happen to us with relative ease. And sometimes they do. But if you're in a position where you need this power question, they're probably not... yet.
And last but not least, when do want it? Now! Yes, we're saying, "Brain, give me something fast that I can implement quickly." We're completely staying away from the elaborate plans we can set in motion next week, or next month, or come Jan. 1. We're rolling our sleeves up and looking for the not-so-sexy, sometimes seemingly-minuscule thing we can do immediately (or nearly immediately).
If there's something you want to change -- your career, your weight, your health, your finances -- ditch your New Year's delusions and ask yourself this question... now!
You can learn more about Jeff and read more of his articles on his website. The following is a message about Jeff's life leading up to his success as the CEO & Founder of NYC-based Halevy Life, a private and semi-private personal training gym.
Hope. Change. Health and Happiness.
As someone who almost died of a one-in-a-million tumor the size of a pear at the age of fourteen; was thrown out of high school just a few years later; struggled with severe depression and weight issues; and subsequently ended up in rehab for substance abuse, I’m lucky to be alive to say the least!
That I emerged from this history to graduate magna cum laude from a top university (as a Founder’s Day Scholar, to boot!), launch a successful career, first in entertainment marketing, and then, following my heart and passion, in health and fitness, feels nothing short of a miracle.
Not a biblical miracle, but more so the “every day” kind that often evades our perception. These “miracles,” to me at least, are nothing more than God/a Higher Power/the Universe giving us the opportunity to make use of naturally existing, readily available resources in and around us, that ultimately change our life’s course or the course of others’ lives.
Below is video from a segment Jeff recently did with us on WABC-TV: How to Stay Lean with Luggage.
For a little extra motivation and a smile, check out the story of the Texas cat, Tiny Tim, who is on his own weight loss journey.
Follow me on Twitter! @carminmarie
I'll see you here soon with more encouraging weight loss stories and health news.
**This program is not intended to provide medical advice. Please consult with your doctor for treatment of any medical condition and before beginning any diet or exercise regimen.**
Thanks for the post the new year will begin with new hope of life and new resolutions.
Posted by: James Leo | 01/02/2013 at 12:36 AM
New Year always brings to us new happiness, hopes, and blessings for the whole year.
Posted by: Easy Diet Plans | 01/02/2013 at 08:58 AM
Though I went through the blog at a later time I too wish a very Happy New Year to all the diet checkers. Diet programs are regularly needed by the body due to large intake of wrong foods.
Posted by: Lewis Sylvia | 01/25/2013 at 08:33 AM
Got to reading this post at a much later time. Though it's passed 2 months (closing to 3), I do take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Everyday is an opportunity. Everyday is a new start to a better life. Cheers
Posted by: Wei @ Workout Plans For Men | 02/26/2013 at 09:04 AM
Your articles don’t beat around the bushes exact t to the point.
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