Starting a New Year with Good Health

It’s the official start of the month as the work week goes into full swing and the world will start ticking along as usual.  Some people may have made their new resolutions to include getting fit, losing weight, doing more exercise.  Sadly the statistics say that over 80% stop doing whatever they planned in less than a month; however for those of us who have endurance let’s get cracking!

Richard Simmons’ link is back on “active” on my side panel and I encourage those who want to stay motivated to take a look at his daily message from time to time.  He is always so enthusiastic, has great advice on both exercise and eating habits that will help keep you on track.  Weight Watchers number one tip, in my opinion, is to track what you put in your mouth.  Those who write down what they eat have a higher rate of losing weight and keeping it off.  I know it is a pain to do but facts are facts.

With respect to exercise, I think the simplest, cheapest form of exercise is walking.  Whether you own your own treadmill or simply walk outdoors, just put on good shoes (or boots) and get moving.  Walking outdoors has the extra benefit of getting Vitamin D from the sun’s rays and lots of fresh, bracing air.  If all you can do is walk to the end of your driveway the first few days, well that’s something.  Walking around the block, down the street and back, or to the corner store, that is bonus points.  I have found that walking a set distance most days of the week is an excellent routine, even before I retired.  Now that I have retired I have made walking, and exercise, my first priority.  Five days a week I get on my treadmill and walk between 40 and 55 minutes first thing in the morning.  The goal is to do 60 minutes but at the moment I have wrecked my knee (again) so I’ve had to slow down a little bit.   But the point here is that I am on the treadmill daily, 5 days a week.

As someone who has worked all her life I know the challenges of fitting in exercise regularly but even when I was working I made time to walk 2 to 3 times a week over my lunch hour.  For those who like to get out into the mall, or to a food kiosk, just think of the money and calories you would save if you changed those missions into walking.

I am also a great fan of yoga but any sort of stretching exercise is excellent, and again, costs nothing but your time and attention.  Once upon a time I had a fitness instructor and he said crunches should be done daily (crunches also known as sit ups), once again, no equipment required.

So here’s a round of applause to everyone who has made a resolve to get healthy.  Good for you!