Here is What’s Wrong with your “Healthy” Resolutions

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I don’t really believe in resolutions… plus everyone pretty much forgets about them after January.  I think it’s better to set goals for the year and write them down to continue to be mindful of them. I wrote a post on goal setting awhile ago, and this is a great time to read about it again and reflect on the past year and plan for the next.

Setting a health goal is important in so many obvious ways… the important thing is to set HEALTHY health goals that are attainable and realistic. Many people fail to meet goals they set that are nearly impossible to achieve.  Clinically it’s important to set goals that can be measured…. But how should we be measuring in real life? Losing 10lbs? Setting a PR?? Or should we measure by happiness and the feelings of success??

If you are at an unhealthy weight you might feel pressure to reach a certain number on the scale…. And doing anything you can to reach that number… is that really healthy?? Stressing over a number on a machine? Why not instead think about making healthier choices each day? Finding an exercise to enjoy? Indulging in less unhealthy choices more moderately??  Eating more nutritionally dense foods to nourish your body? There is health at every size, you don’t need to be a size two to be healthy and happy.

On a fitness note… why are you so focused on pushing yourself so hard to meet a time goal? Running a race should be health focused not numbers focused. So many runners I know put absolutely too much pressure on themselves to PR or cut minutes off last years’ time.  Fitness should be enjoyable, not a competition!!!  People need to be proud to complete a 5k or marathon, not set a personal best, lift an extra 10lbs, or win first place! Enjoy your runs, quit timing yourself for every mile… learn to listen to your body and not push it to the point of breaking. Fitness injuries generally come from not treating your body right… if we were a little more intuitive and less strict on ourselves about workouts there would absolutely be less injuries.  You only have one body, take care of it!

One of my goals for this year is to continue to remind myself to be more mindful of my workouts… if I need a rest day on a day I was planning on running 8 miles for race training, I’m going to take it, and not guilt trip or stress myself out over it. I’m going to continue to build muscle by lifting heavy to make my body strong and not worry about my clothes fitting a little tighter from the extra weight I’ll put on. I’m not going to stress out about improving any times of previous races and just enjoy being able to complete each race. I challenge you guys to do a lot of the same… stop making yourself feel bad, depriving yourself, or overworking yourself. The stress caused from all of that is only potentially leading to athletic injuries, weight gain, and more negatives. Listen to your body when it comes to eating right and exercising smart. Give yourself a healthier and happier 2015!

(And no that’s not my weight, I rarely to never get on a scale, I prefer to maintain a healthy lifestyle and not worry about numbers).

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