The beginning of a new year is a great opportunity to start afresh. We are already heading towards the second month of this year. Some have managed to start working towards their new set goals whilst some others have already started feeling that 2015 might not bring the change they were hoping for.
New Year’s Resolution: get a kickass body!
Whilst setting goals can be really helpful I am not a true believer in New Year’s Resolutions. I feel the same way about commitments starting on Monday: I will start dieting, working out, being better at my job, change the whole world and similar smaller or bigger decisions. Not yet thought. On Monday.Really?
Picture: Vasilopita, the New Year’s Day cake we eat in Greece. There is a hidden coin for the lucky one!
Join the gym!
January seems to be the time when everyone “needs” to join the gym; like herd instinct, where one goes, the rest must follow. Ok, not everyone likes exercising and many don’t see movement as part of their everyday life. But it seems that there is something different about January; a social need to be seen to make good decisions, and commit to change. New Year, new promises, new goals, new start.
Along these lines, the other day I overheard a conversation at the office which made me smile. It describes the exact opposite of the people who join and keep coming to my Yoga and Pilates classes. Not worse. Not better. Just different.
Office small talk
And so my story begins, on a Monday morning, in mid-January. Most people have started working on the New Year resolution plan. Fifteen days of total commitment…yeah! We will quit cigarettes, quit alcohol, and shun chocolate and fries. We will only drink organic green tea and pound the treadmill until we get that kick-ass body we always dreamed of. It’s all about salads and joining the gym baby. Ok, some gummy bears every now and then but mainly salads. Hard core, all the way.
The conversation starts with the girl from the corner office stating she is going to the gym after work. That’s all it took to get half of the office involved.
-Gym girl: “I am going to the gym at leeeeast twice a week now….sometimes even three.”
-Other girl: “Oh my gooood….you are so committed.”
-“If I keep going like that I might actually get a six pack!”
-“Really?”
-“Maybe. Like I’m ever going to get one, pfff. But if I start getting one I’ll have to stop.”
-“I know right?”
-“Yeah…it’s sooooo not sexy. I’ll look like a body builder”
-“You are right. Be careful….don’t overdo it!”
-“Should we eat a donut?”
-“I can’t! I am on a diet, you know, the new one where you eat cabbage soup twice a day and drink radish and grapefruit smoothies every eight hours.”
-“I am on that diet too. I am soooooo hungry!”
“Me too!”
-“It must be working! We are soooooo going to shrink. High five!”
If that’s you, stop reading now; you are on the wrong page. Google “lose weight now!!!” and you’ll find your way.
But if the above conversation sounds like the wrong approach, then let me reassure you that there is a better way!
Picture: smile, exercise, go outdoors and forget about counting calories.
Let me sum up:
• Going to the gym twice a week for a month out of the whole year is not the magic wand that it seems to be.
• Starving yourself, or eating really restricted diets is not the way either. Forget detox – your body needs feeding, especially if you are training hard.
• Getting a six pack is not as easy; quite the opposite may I say. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you get definition on your abs.
• Following a weird “total this, special that” diet for 15 days will not make you shrink. Even if you do shed a pound or two in those (torturous, hungry) weeks, that weight will soon reappear when you start eating like a normal person again.
• Being hungry is not sexy. Hunger, like tight shoes, shows on your face!
What you can do:
Exercise more, eat healthy real food, and forget about the quick fix New Year’s resolution promises if you are interested in real change. Go for health, strength and fun, stay committed and you’ve got it!
With all my love and wishes for a wonderful year full of movement,
Olga
