26 Feb 2013

Lust for life: six 'new life' resolutions

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Three Australian health experts share their tips on reinvigorating your daily life.

Stress relief & sleep support

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Now that the new year is well under way, how are you going with your new year’s resolutions? Are you still going strong or have they started to fall by the wayside?

According to Perth-based nutritionist and writer Glenn Cardwell you may have more success if you make them ‘New Life Resolutions’.

“New Years’ Resolutions rarely work. Nearly all them have been forgotten by now. They are made purely because it is the New Year not because there is a clear effort to change,” he says.

“When returning to work after the holidays, most people return to their old habits and forget the original goal. We don’t need New Years’ Resolutions; we need New Life Resolutions.”

Here are six expert-recommended changes that, if stuck with, can boost your lust for life (even reinvent it).

1. If you need to lose weight, examine your self-respect
Glenn: Food is not the cause of being overweight. Excess body fat is due to the attitude people have towards themselves and their food. People gain weight because they lose self-respect (or have self-respect bludgeoned out of them). They don't believe their body is worth treating the way nature intended.

The loss of self-respect is broad and accompanies many issues, eg. they watch television rather than walk. We need to reject mediocrity, self pity, boredom and laziness. It's time for all of us to embrace positive outcomes like happiness, fitness and well-being.

2. Set realistic goals for weight loss
Glenn: Forget about being the ideal shape as projected in magazines and movies. If you need to lose body fat, make your goals realistic because you are unlikely to reach the shape you were when you were 17 years old.

Even a small fat loss can make a big difference to your health. Many people who lose 2-5 kg will also see a drop in blood pressure, blood cholesterol and sleep better. The next point can make your goal weight much easier to achieve.

3. Accept what you can’t change
Success coach and author of ‘The Happiness Code’, Domonique Bertolucci: Don’t waste energy trying to change or alter things that are well beyond your control. Instead, focus on the things that are in your influence and find a peaceful acceptance of the rest.

4. Have courage
Domonique: If you want to be the best you can be, you need to do the right thing, not the easy thing. I don’t mean right or wrong in a black or white, moralistic sense; rather the principle of courage revolves around doing the right thing for you and having the courage to do it, even if at the time it feels like the hardest thing in the world. [

5. Make time for some sun!
Susie Burrell, Sydney and Illawarra-based dietitian: I know you are not keen to bring on any more wrinkles but the truth is that many Australian’s are simply not getting enough sunlight when we can to ensure we are making enough Vitamin D.

Vitamin D has numerous functions in the body and is also known to help prevent a number of diseases including some types of cancer. When it comes to energy levels, low Vitamin D also tends to result in lower mood states and muscle fatigue so if you are not feeling 100% and cannot remember the last time you went into the sun, it may be time to have your Vitamin D checked by your GP.

6. Assign sleep the priority it deserves
Susie: Perhaps the most obvious and simplest way of improving your energy levels, preventing fatigue and feeling better in general is to simply get more sleep.

While the average adult averages just 5-6 hours of sleep a night, we need as much as 7-9 hours’ sleep a night to be at our best. So even if you can only get to need early a few nights each week, make this commitment.

Remove all electronic equipment from the bedroom including mobile phones near the bed and practice getting into bed by 10 or 11pm and reading before you sleep – just the way nature intended it.

References available on request

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