Top 10 New Year Resolutions

10 Proven Fitness Resolutions For 2007

By Raphael Calzadilla, BA, CPT, ACE
eDiets Contributor

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Here we go! We're ready to storm into 2007 with great fitness resolutions!

Is your resolution to get fit? Lose weight? Feel more energetic?

In my 14-plus years of personal training experience, nothing sets a person up for failure as much as an open-ended, generic fitness resolution.

Resolving to lose weight is sort of like asking yourself what your career aspirations are and answering, "to become famous" or "to do well on my job." There isn't a specific action plan or any real goal you can sink your teeth into.

I'm not a big fan of lots of resolutions and goals. If you have one to three resolutions, you're on the right track. Focusing on a few fitness goals will bring greater results. A long list will only make you feel overwhelmed.

Limiting the resolutions, being focused and maintaining consistency is the key.

I'm going to help you by providing 10 resolutions. All you have to do is fill in the blanks where necessary or modify the resolution based on your fitness experience.

Remember, don't choose all of them. Just one to three resolutions is all it takes.

Let's start with a contract. Yes, that's right. You have to make a written commitment.

I (place your name here) hereby resolve to implement the following fitness resolutions:

1. I will lose 4 pounds per month for a total of ______ pounds by (place the date here).

2. I will workout three times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes during the months of January through March. If my schedule allows, I will add a fourth day in April. (If twice per week is more realistic, then go with that. The key is consistency and being realistic based on your lifestyle).

3. I will increase my endurance by 2 minutes per week so that I can power walk an additional 16 minutes per workout session by March 1, 2007. (You can choose any form of cardio, but there must be a realistic time increase and a time frame goal).

4. I will perform resistance exercises twice a week for 20 minutes using a whole-body workout routine.

5. I will find a video tape that I find fun and will do it twice per week during January and February. (This resolution is for those who dislike working out. It provides a fun element and a short-term goal. I'm positive you'll want to continue after February, but the short term goal takes some pressure off).

6. I will find a group exercise class such as spinning, aerobic dance, jazzercise, etc. Sign up for the class and commit to two days per week for 30 days.

7. I will increase my flexibility by stretching three days per week for 7 to 10 minutes (Flexibility is important and it doesn't take all that much to improve upon it).

8. I will go for two 15-minute walks per day from Monday thru Friday. One walk will be at lunch time and one walk will be after dinner. (This fitness resolution is for those who are so busy they can't make it to the gym).

9. On January 2, 2007, I will hire a personal trainer for two sessions per week for a total of 20 sessions. (This resolution is for those who need a good push -- and some teaching and motivation to go along with it).

10. On Monday, January 1, I will join eDiets and sign up for the fitness and exercise program (then choose two additional goals above).

As always, please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

A drug-free competitive bodybuilder and 2005 winner of the prestigious WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation) Pro Card, Raphael Calzadilla is a veteran of the health-and-fitness industry. He specializes in a holistic approach to body transformation, nutrition programs and personal training. He earned his B.A. in communications from Southern Connecticut State University and is certified as a personal trainer with ACE and APEX. In addition, he successfully completed the RTS1 program based on biomechanics

Drink to Happier Holidays

By Shawn McKee
eDiets
Staff Writer

The holiday season is a time to be spent with family and friends, being thankful for times past and planning resolutions for the upcoming year. But it's also a time when holiday festivities, pressures and loneliness lead to a spike in drinking and driving. Don't spoil the spirit by winding up in jail -- or worse -- this winter.

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From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day of 2004, there were more than 3,500 traffic fatalities and 37.5 percent (1,316) were alcohol related, according to data reported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

According to reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 1 in 3 Americans will be involved in an accident involving an impaired person at some point in there life.

Addiction expert and author of Alcoholism: Myths and Realities, Doug Thorburn, explains that all you have to do to see the increase in DUIs in the holiday party season is to check the court dockets at the beginning of each year. The numbers are staggering and the government has taken note of this disturbing trend.

The NHTSA's traditional message during the holiday season is Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk -- Designate a Sober Driver. However, in recent years, many states and local communities are increasing enforcement of impaired driving laws through sobriety checkpoints or saturation patrols, and are adopting the cautionary message: You Drink & Drive. You Lose.

Why do people drink more during the holidays?

A recent survey of 1,000 people around the country for New Seasons Behavioral Health Care Systems may reveal some answers.

Half of Americans agree that loneliness and depression play a part in the alcohol-holiday connection. More interestingly, 7 of 10 blame holiday parties, according to the survey.

The respondents were asked to select all of the reasons that may contribute to that kind of excessive behavior from the following list: "the prevalence of holiday parties, stress associated with spending, more encounters with family, the expectation that the holidays must be happy times, the heartache associated with holidays past, increased feelings of loneliness and isolation, or none of the above."

While the alco-holiday fiestas were far and away the No. 1 reason respondents believed people drank too much during the holidays, loneliness and isolation emerged as the second top reason, according to one-in-two of the Americans surveyed.

"The abundance of parties during the holiday season clearly presents more opportunities for overdrinking, but that's not the full story. The holiday season compounds issues of family tension, financial stress, feelings of isolation -- and problems arise when people stop regulating behaviors like drinking, eating and spending," according to Steven M. Orenstein, MA, LMFT, and CEO of New Seasons. "People like to wait and make recovery a New Year's resolution, but that's a mistake."

Often when drinking in excess common sense goes out the car window, so the National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD) supplies a list of tips for staying safe when celebrating this holiday season.

"People have choices, to drink, to drink to impairment and whether or not to drive," says John Moulden, president of NCADD. "Drunk driving deaths, injuries and crashes are totally preventable if people make responsible choices."

Here are the NCADD's tips if you are going out to drink:

° Designate a driver ahead of time. A designated driver is a non-drinking driver.

° Take a cab or public transportation.

° Make a reservation and spend the night.

° Sip your drinks, consume food and alternate with non-alcoholic beverages.

° Ask your server about a ride home if you have been drinking to the point of impairment.

'Tis the season for giving, so give yourself and those around you the chance for another year of resolutions, family gatherings and fun by making sure you don't get behind the wheel if you've had too much to drink. Happy holidays.

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Shawn McKee graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism and has written for The Broward and Miami New Times.

Top 10 Holiday Tips on Healthy Recipes

By Susan Burke MS, RD, LD/N, CDE
eDiets Chief Nutritionist

Every year about this time, I hear the same holiday songs. I hear people sing the old refrain of overindulgence -- I have to have it. Whether it's for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or other seasonal celebrations, people have a hard time with holidays and overeating. Some throw up their hands and give in to temptation; others rationalize the holidays as a time in which they are destined to put on pounds.

Top Tips for making your holiday recipes healthy ones.

1. Low-fat cooking techniques should be used. Bake, broil, grill, poach and saute foods in a very little bit of fat in a non-stick pan.
2. Use nonstick pans for baking, grilling, for breads and cookies, for sauteing and even for soup. Nonstick is one of life's little pleasures -- you need to just lightly spray with cooking oil.
3. Reduce the fat in the recipes. One of the simplest methods of making all your recipes healthier is reducing the amount of fat in a recipe. If the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, use 1/4 cup, plus 1/4-cup fruit puree or unsweetened applesauce. This is good for any quick bread, cookie or cake. Yeast breads and piecrusts need a precise balance of ingredients, but experiment to see if you get acceptable results.
4. Don't add fat to your food,especially unhealthy, saturated fats. Most stores carry margarines without trans fat if you want to put a spread on the table. Instead of basting the turkey with butter, try flavorful vegetable broth, white wine or orange juice (my personal favorite).
5. Buy low-fat and nonfat varieties of milk, sour cream, yogurt and cheese. You'll lower the fat and calories effortlessly. I use low-fat buttermilk in baking -- substitute for milk in any recipe.
6. Substitute 3 tablespoons of cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of canola oil for 1 ounce of baking chocolate, and lower the saturated fat.
7. Two egg whites can substitute one whole egg, depending on the size. All the fat, cholesterol and most of the calories from eggs are in the yolk.
8. Substitute crunchy cereal for bread crumbs. I like to use crushed corn flakes or nuggets like Grape Nuts.
9. Cut servings smaller! Make that cake serve 12 instead of eight.
10. Buy the leanest cuts of meat, and substitute 1/3 ground turkey breast. Don't buy ground turkey because it also contains skin and dark meat, making it just as caloric as ground meat or more.

Don't forget; the holidays are not an excuse for cheating on your meal plan. Going out or staying in, you get to choose what you will eat, how much you'll eat, and when you will eat. Don't skip meals, keep exercising (in fact, make it your business to get the whole crowd out for a walk after your big meal), and remember that there are no good or bad foods. Think of food as fuel; it may be good for your engine, or it may clog the fuel line. Foods may be fatty and full of sugar, but that's often what makes them taste so good.

If you want some dessert, either share with our tablemates or opt for a small piece. Balance with an otherwise healthy meal, and stay active.