How many people actually keep their resolutions? We’d venture to say that most resolutions are broken after the stroke of midnight when the first bargaining starts, “I’ll start in the morning!”
We don’t think that most people intend to break their resolutions, in fact most people are very well intentioned to beging a new chapter in the new year. However, as we all know, good intentions do not always translate into permanent changes.
So how do you make changes in 2012 if that is what you really want?
1. Don’t start January 1st, start with your next meal. Get the January 1st deadline out of your head and start your path to plant-strong health now. You will not miss anything at all, and you will not have the pressure of a resolution hanging over your head on January 1st, there is still time in 2011, make 2011 the year you went plant-strong!
2. Make plans. Planning is the key to becoming plant-strong. Right now, you should know what you are having for your next meal, and you should know what you are having for breakfast in the morning. Plan to be plant-strong by cooking ahead, measuring things out a few days ahead of time and preparing your kitchen to be plant-strong.
3. Get support. Ask your family to join in the fun with you, or maybe a few friends. We would suggest not doing things like a weekly weigh-in, that can cause some expectation issues. Simply a support system in which everyone else is going on the journey with you, encouraging one another, coming up with new plant-strong dishes together.
*Speaking of support! We have 28 day challenges starting throughout the country in January at different Whole Foods Stores ! We will be announcing the dates and stores in the next couple of days!
4. Make it simple. Too often we try to complicate goals and we end up failing soon after we set them. Try not to complicate your plant-strong life. The foods are simple: vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans. Stick to those foods, and try not to overly complicate things for yourself. The people who have stayed plant-strong for decades tend to be the ones who have a routine and make things fairly simple for themselves.
5. Your kitchen should be the first goal. It’s simple, if it is in your house, the more likely you will be to eat it. Your family doesn’t need the junk food, and if they put up a fight, they can find it outside the home. Go through week one of Engine 2 (prep week), and clean out your kitchen. If you have a healthy kitchen you are much more likely to have a healthy body.
6. Consider getting rid of the scale. Sometimes the scale can be a source of great pain and frustration. Instead of making weight goals, make lifestyle goals. You will know if you are headed in the right direction with your health without the scale. Your clothes will feel different, you will have more energy, you will start sleeping better, your blood pressure will come down, for those of you with T2 diabetes, your blood sugar will start to come down. The scale can hinder progress in some people, use other measures of success this year to determine if you are getting healthier!
7. Education! Make this the year you become educated about your health. Be sure to read books like: Engine 2, Prevent and Reverse, Forks Over Knives, Complete Idiots Guide to Plant Based Nutrition, Pleasure Trap, Program for Reversing Diabetes, China Study and watch DVD’s like: Forks Over Knives, Kitchen Rescue, any DVD by Jeff Novick. In fact, why don’t you make it a goal to focus on a plant-strong book a month for the entire year?
8. MOVE! You don’t have to become a triathlete this year, but do make it a goal to make moving part of your every day life. Even if it is simply to start by walking for 10 minutes every day, make it part of your life. This year find things that you enjoy doing. Maybe you are not a gym person, but you love dancing, so find a dance class! Or maybe you really love basketball, find a court. Do not limit yourself to saying “I have to go to the gym every day” just “I’m going to try moving in some activity that I love for 30 minutes a day.”
9. Realistic expectations. If you want to lose weight, one of the worst things you can do is have unrealistic expectations. Sure, you might lose 15 pounds your first month of going plant-strong, but more than likely you will lose on average of 1-2 pounds per week, which is a healthy amount of weight to lose. This is why we like people to focus on all of the other benefits of going plant-strong. Yes, you will more than likely lose weight, however you will also do things like create a healthy heart, prevent and or reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes and more.
10. Have fun. People dread changing their life-style, we want that to change for you in 2012. It’s time to enjoy the process of becoming healthy! Find ways to make it fun, and to get excited about your new improved health.
11. Remember success is never a straight path, it usually has a lot of ups, downs, twists and turns.
We wish you a happy and healthy 2012!
