From YOU Docs Daily:
Did you ring in 2012 with new resolutions to get healthy? Bravo! Writing down new resolutions has the same effect on your willpower as dropping a NASCAR engine into the family sedan: You'll whiz over the finish line. An impressive 60% of resolution makers hit their goals within months. (Folks who claim New Year's resolutions don't work are all wet.) Making more than one resolution helps.
Of course, what's on your get-healthy list counts, too. We YOU Docs want to change what we bet is in the number one spot. Instead of the almost inevitable "Lose weight," make it, "Move." Not to a new town. Move your butt!
That's right. If you need to lose just 10 or 20 pounds, bump "Lose weight" and everything else down a notch, including "Eat spinach" and "Learn to IM the kids." Kick "Get fit" to the top of the list. Getting your body in gear got even more important in 2011. Here's why.
Fitness edged out the scale. The fit/thin debate raged for years, until new research on 14,000 guys hit the news late in 2011. Compared to men who slack off, guys who stay active and get fitter are almost 40% less likely to die over 11 years -- even if they gain weight. Every increase in fitness lowers your risk for fatal heart attacks and strokes by 19%. Cutting back on exercise boosts your risk four times more than gaining a few pounds does. The take-home lesson? Unless you're obese (that's a whole other issue), worry less about your weight and more about getting and staying active. It's not that we YOU Docs don't think excess weight — especially belly fat — isn't important, but doing something active every day discourages a build-up of that health-threatening belly fat. Plus, it reduces stress, improves sleep, sharpens your memory, makes you happier, keeps your body's systems humming, AND makes you more likely to do other healthy things -- such as losing weight.
Sitting around proved lethal. Strong evidence in 2011 showed that sitting around messes up your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, and -- yes -- causes cancer. Scientists tied more than 90,000 cases of breast and colon cancer a year to prolonged sitting. But breaking up endless time on your tush, even for a few minutes, breaks up the bad body effects. Find out more.
Here's how to make resolution number one stick like glue for a healthier YOU:
Did you ring in 2012 with new resolutions to get healthy? Bravo! Writing down new resolutions has the same effect on your willpower as dropping a NASCAR engine into the family sedan: You'll whiz over the finish line. An impressive 60% of resolution makers hit their goals within months. (Folks who claim New Year's resolutions don't work are all wet.) Making more than one resolution helps.
Of course, what's on your get-healthy list counts, too. We YOU Docs want to change what we bet is in the number one spot. Instead of the almost inevitable "Lose weight," make it, "Move." Not to a new town. Move your butt!
That's right. If you need to lose just 10 or 20 pounds, bump "Lose weight" and everything else down a notch, including "Eat spinach" and "Learn to IM the kids." Kick "Get fit" to the top of the list. Getting your body in gear got even more important in 2011. Here's why.
Fitness edged out the scale. The fit/thin debate raged for years, until new research on 14,000 guys hit the news late in 2011. Compared to men who slack off, guys who stay active and get fitter are almost 40% less likely to die over 11 years -- even if they gain weight. Every increase in fitness lowers your risk for fatal heart attacks and strokes by 19%. Cutting back on exercise boosts your risk four times more than gaining a few pounds does. The take-home lesson? Unless you're obese (that's a whole other issue), worry less about your weight and more about getting and staying active. It's not that we YOU Docs don't think excess weight — especially belly fat — isn't important, but doing something active every day discourages a build-up of that health-threatening belly fat. Plus, it reduces stress, improves sleep, sharpens your memory, makes you happier, keeps your body's systems humming, AND makes you more likely to do other healthy things -- such as losing weight.
Sitting around proved lethal. Strong evidence in 2011 showed that sitting around messes up your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, and -- yes -- causes cancer. Scientists tied more than 90,000 cases of breast and colon cancer a year to prolonged sitting. But breaking up endless time on your tush, even for a few minutes, breaks up the bad body effects. Find out more.
Here's how to make resolution number one stick like glue for a healthier YOU:
- Do mini-workouts. Often, the toughest thing about exercise isn't doing it. It's fitting it in. If you can't swing a 30-minute walk every day, plus about 30 minutes a week of strength training (our easy Rx for fitness), don't worry about it! Slicing and dicing your activity into 10-minute chunks spread throughout the day works just as well for your weight, waist-management, and health. Just be sure to do 30 minutes total. Here's a simple way to get started if you've spent the last few months (or years) on the couch.
- Use the buddy system. Why go it alone when being in cahoots with a healthy-change partner doubles your odds for success? You keep each other honest and cheer each other on. Plus, walking and talking with a pal naturally blows off stress -- another big health booster. Check this slideshow for more ways to keep stress from aging your body.)
- Find an enforcer. Don't trust yourself? Add another layer of support: your doc . . . or soon, one of us, Dr. Mike. "Reporting in" regularly is a proven way to get to your goals. Dr. Mike (aka, "The Enforcer" to YOU Doc patients) has done this behind the scenes for years. We're taking it public soon. Keep checking this column.
- Give it 2 weeks. That's how long it takes your brain to start cementing a new habit, such as walking every day. Here's a way to do the minimum and still lose 4 pounds of pure fat.
- Just move it. Pace, don't sit, when you're talking on the phone. Do an extra lap around the office when you go to get coffee. Put your new exercise bike smack in front of the TV (that's where ours are). Clean the kitchen like you're doing an aerobics class. Take a 10-minute break every chance you get and walk -- or just do two flights of stairs. Your break now counts toward your daily exercise goal! Sweet.
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