Health Promotion

New Year's resolutions get a bad rap. It seems that people make resolutions expecting that they are going to fail. Why is this? If you think you're going to fail, why even make a resolution at all? It seems each year we declare that "this year will be different", but is it ever? Here are some simple ideas to get out of a resolution rut.

 Make long-term goals

Setting long-term goals can lead to accomplishing great things that might have seemed overwhelming at the beginning. Having an overall goal that you are continually working towards lends purpose and vision that can keep you on track. Make a goal you want to accomplish in a year, five years, even ten years!

Make short-term goals

Short-term goals are where the real work gets done. They can be used to reduce long-term goals into tasks and objectives that are easier to manage. You'll arrive at your long-term aspirations sooner and the journey will seem less daunting when divided up into short-term goals. Plus, your confidence will increase with frequent successes.

Measure your confidence

Having confidence that you will be able to accomplish your goal is vital. On a scale of 1-10 (10 meaning that you have no doubt you will reach the goal) what is your confidence level ? If it's below a 7 then you might re-work your goal to where you feel more confident of success.'

Make "SMART" goals

Specific: Know exactly what you want to accomplish.

Measureable: How will you know when you've accomplished your goal?

Attainable: Be honest with yourself and make sure that the goal is possible.

Realistic: Do you have the resources, knowledge, or capacity to pursue your goal?

Time-sensitive: Give your goal a completion date.

Change can be difficult, especially when it comes to changing our health habits. This year, millions of New Year's resolutions will consist of some type of health goal. The excuse most often used to set these good intentions aside is...a lack of time. Yet, don't we end up making time for the things we want the most? And, the great thing about a healthy lifestyle is that it actually adds time to our lives!

Want To Be More Active? Be Creative!

 Who says exercise needs to require special clothes and sweat pouring down your face? If you can get up and get moving, you can call it exercise. Get creative throughout your day and find ways to challenge your body more than you might normally. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Get up and be active during TV commercials - do things like dance, push ups, run up and down the stairs, jumping jacks, jump rope, lunges, sit ups, etc.
• Have a snowball fight with the kids or get out and play tag.
• Turn up some music and DANCE.
• Fast walk - instead of walking at a snail's pace, pick it up a notch!
• Keep tennis shoes at work - when you have a break, bust them out and go for a quick walk.
• Take periodic breaks - drop and do 10 pushups, or take some time to do some stretching if you can feel your muscles tensing.
• Do weight lifting with everyday items - have to take the groceries inside? Load up and do a couple of arm curls, or hold them away from your body while you carry them inside to work your core muscles.
• Make everyday things into a game - See how fast you can clean the bathtub, or race your kids to see who can rake the most leaves.
• Periodically rearrange your room. Moving furniture is great exercise!

Healthy Eating Tips

 Often simple changes can make a big difference:

1. Don't buy lots of junk foods If you see it, you'll eat it. Buy smaller amounts and keep it out of sight or don't buy it at all!
2. Keep a variety of produce around - Join a food co-op or a community supported farm to increase variety and freshness of produce (for more information visit www.bountifulbaskets.org or www.utahsown.utah.gov)
3. Cut up fruit and veggies for easy to grab snacks and keep them in plain sight on the counter or in the fridge.
4. Use recipes containing fruits and vegetables - It may take several tries before a kid decides a food is good. Just keep offering them a variety of foods.

It's also important to recognize that change is going to take time. Try not to get frustrated when the results you want are not happening as fast as you wish they would. Making small and simple changes in your lifestyle will make the process more manageable and before you know it, getting three servings of vegetables a day or exercising three times a week will be a habit instead of a chore.