Happy 2006!
Happy New Year to everyone! Yes, it’s that time again the beginning of a new year – a perfect time to wipe the slate clean and start a-new. As we are in the health and fitness industry, we are very familiar with the significance of the first day of January and we are proud to say that your Body Basics crew is here for you!
You’ve heard Get off the floor in 2004, and It’s time to Jive in 2005. These fun, energetic sayings are meant to inspire and pump us full of energy to make a resolution and stick to it so we may have a prosperous and fulfilling new year.
Now it’s 2006 and what fun, energetic saying will they come up with this year? We have one for you:
Get your kicks in 2006
Upon researching exactly what get your kicks means, I came across several interpretations from the obvious lyrics to the Route 66 song to the evolution of NBA shoes (aka kicks). The most fitting was an article I found to be very beneficial to all of you the importance of kicking your day off right with a good, healthy breakfast! Read on to see how you can begin getting your kicks in 2006!
When Rob Ralston wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is grab something to eat. Be it a granola bar and a bottle of apple juice from his room or an entire plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, he’s got to eat. I’m just always hungry when I wake up, he explains. After his meal, Ralstons ready to start his day. For some people, it’s just that easy. Their bodies tell them it’s time to eat. But for others, breakfast seems like an insignificant time-waster. Lauren Jones speaks for those with this mindset when she says she’s not a morning person. She gets up in the morning, goes to work, and then eats lunch. I really don’t like breakfast food, she says.
Listen Up
Watkins dietitian Anne Chapman says we all need breakfast because it helps to regulate our metabolism. The body has been in a fasting state for a number of hours, she says. Eating something soon after awakening sends the brain a message to speed up the body’s organs. A study from the Loyola University in New Orleans shows that those who eat breakfast in the morning have higher memory retention than those who do not.
Think Balance
The best meals contain the most food groups, Chapman says. So don’t just grab a donut at the gas station on your way to work. Think variety when deciding what to eat. Chapman suggests a piece of whole-grain bread with a teaspoon of peanut butter, a glass of skim milk, and a piece of fruit. It contains four of the five food groups, so it’s well-balanced.
Feel Good
The key is nutrition. Breakfast foods high in sugar are not healthy or helpful, Chapman explains. Fast-food breakfasts will leave you feeling sluggish with far more calories than you need to start the day. Breakfast cereals high in sugar will boost your blood sugar quickly so you feel temporarily energized, but soon after blood sugar levels plummet, leaving you feeling worn out and hungry again.
On the Run
Missed your first alarm and worried about making it to your workout on time? There are some alternatives to skipping the morning meal. Chapman says to look for a granola bar that contains fiber and some protein (about 7 grams). If you’re not into granola bars, you could blend a smoothie. Throw together some yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit and fruit juice or milk in a food processor.
You should make sure you give your body something to get it running. Even a glass of milk is a better breakfast than no breakfast, Chapman says.
So make a point to get some food in your system before getting into your car and heading to work or your Body Basics workout session. Give your day a jump-start pull a Rob Ralston and eat your breakfast!
Stepping Out Events
December 2005 marked the third Body Basics Client Appreciation BBQ. The purpose of these events is to let you, our clients, know just how much you are appreciated. We want to thank everyone who was present and a special thanks to those who helped provide the food at the last minute when our original chef had a family emergency. It was great to see everyone work together to aid us in creating the perfect assortment of food and drink. The result was a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon.
Making Your Resolutions Work All Year Long
The New Year is a time to start all over and finally start a weight loss program or a healthy diet. But, that enthusiasm for exercise tends to fade come February when you realize that losing weight is a lifetime goal and not something you can accomplish in a few weeks. If you really want to be successful at losing weight, you’ll have to do three important things.
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Adjust Your Attitude
Change the way you look at exercise:
Old ways:
- Punishment for bad eating
- An obligation
- Painful
- Time consuming
- Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
- Boring
New ways:
- A break from a stressful workday
- A way to boost energy and mood
- The only time you’ll have to yourself
- A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
- A chance to reward your body working so hard for you all day
- A way to improve your quality of life immediately
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Adjust Your Lifestyle
Keep in mind that losing weight means making a life change. If you are attempting another diet, ask yourself these questions: can I sustain this diet forever? Is this the way I want to cook, eat, or simply look at food from this day forward? If the answers to these questions are no, then you need to re-adjust your diet and opt for something that you can be happy and successful with for the rest of your life.
Once you recognize that losing weight and maintaining weight is not a temporary prospect, you need to look at ways to change your lifestyle to help you reach your goal:
Figure out the habits you would like to change
- You can do this by keeping a food/activity journal for an entire week. Do it without judgment or shame you’re simply trying to figure out what you’re doing every day that may be hurting your weight loss and activity goals.
- Replace those habits, one at a time, with different habits. Experts know that you can’t break bad habits without forming new ones. If you take away your daily Krispy Kreme and don’t replace it with something else, you’ll drift right back into your donut habit before you know it.
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Make a Plan for Success
Although the Body Basics Lifestyle Coaches are not a fan of diets, you have probably heard us make the statement, Every diet works. There is no magic pill, no magic diet, and no magic exercise plan. The key to being successful in weight-loss, fitness, and practically any aspect of your life is to be consistent! The reason diets work is because they are plans for people to follow. Once that plan is no longer followed, the diet will fail. So, it is very important that when you are making a plan for success, you create a plan that you can and will follow.
It is important to set your goals. Write down specific goals you have – not just I want to lose weight. Instead, your goals should include the following elements:
- Specify how much weight you want to lose and the target date by which you want to reach your goal.
- Make sure the amount of weight you want to lose and the time frame is realistic.
- Determine the reason for the desired weight loss
- Ask yourself some heartfelt questions:
- How will you feel or what will happen once you reach your goal
- How will you maintain the weight loss throughout the rest of your life
Once you’ve had this goal-setting session, you need to create a plan for yourself. Often times, this is a challenging step towards reaching your goals. Here are tips to ensure your success:
- Enlist all family members to get involved. If everyone eats healthy, you won’t have to fight to avoid that bag of chips your spouse munches on every night
- Hire a BodyBasics Lifestyle Coach
- Get a friend to exercise with you
- Take time every week to schedule your exercise routines
- Keep a workout bag packed so you don’t have to scramble for your gear
- Keep a fitness journal to track your workouts and progress
- Reward yourself often with massages, new clothes or a vacation
- Change your program every 6 weeks to avoid plateaus
- Re-visit your goals every six weeks as well. If you’re not reaching your goals it is better to know sooner than later. It keeps you mindful and should also enhance your ability to focus.
The previous article was paraphrased from this original article.
Client Spotlight
Ivonna Workout – January
Ivonna started working out with all of us at BodyBasics on October 31st (interestingly, that was also the same day that Chris no showed). Right away we all saw her potential. Ivonna, we all want you to know how much we look forward to seeing you progress.
Chris, Cecile, Jenny, Jason, Gordon, and Katy
Marge Furash – February
Marge Furash
Marge is an amazing women and a true testimonial to the benefits of health and fitness. With her wonderful sense of humor and her willingness to try anything we throw at her it is no wonder why she is our chosen client of the month.
Thank you for your inspiration and happy 60!
Chris, Jenny, Cecile, Gordon, Jason, and Katy
Getting Fit with BOB!
The BodyBasics BOB-OVER is in the home stretch! Five listeners of 97.5 BOB FM were selected to receive the BodyBasics BOB-OVER. The BOB-OVER is a 12-week program of exercise, nutrition and lifestyle coaching that will transform each of these contestants bodies and lives. This promotion will end January 14, 2006. An overall winner will be determined and prizes will be awarded.
To our Bobettes; Kim, Aanya, Jenifer, Jennifer, and Angela, we are all very proud of you and hope that you continue to put forth your best effort till the very end.
You can track the contestants progress and read their weekly journal entries on www.975bobfm.com and click on the link Body Basics Bob-Over.
Our Mission
To empower people to realize their innate abilities by providing an environment that nurtures, educates and inspires.
Keep Up the Great Work!
We are very proud of all of you!
Chris, Cecile, Jenny, Jason, Gordon, Katy
