Losing weight is one of the resolutions at the top of many people's perennial New Year's resolution lists. And it is a tough one to keep.
About one in three people make a resolution to better themselves in some way. According to a 2002 study, 75 percent were able to keep up their resolutions for a week but less than half (percent ) were still succeeding after six months.
Perhaps it is that extra five pounds that's been hanging around since the last baby, or a more substantial amount that has been building up over years and years. Regardless, it is on many people's to-do list come every January 1st.
However, there are more specific resolutions you can make to be healthier (and happier too) and losing weight might be a nice side benefit. Check out these three healthy resolutions for the New Year.
1. Reduce stress.
There are lots of factors that can contribute to high levels of stress in your life. They can include: unhealthy diet, extended work hours, not enough sleep, little exercise and being isolated from friends and family.
While some stress is okay, and can actually be invigorating, extreme amounts of stress can increase your risk of everything from depression and insomnia to heart disease and obesity. Taking time to relax, spend time with loved ones, and get enough sleep can significantly reduce the stress in one's life.
2. Reduce alcohol consumption.
Much has been written about the health benefits of a glass of red wine, but a problem arises when you consumes too many of those glasses. Not only can drinking excessively lead to bad decisions, it can actually affect the brain’s neurotransmitters and increase the risk of depression, memory loss, or seizures.
Continuous heavy drinking can also lead to an increase in risk of hypertension, heart disease, liver disease, stroke, and mental deterioration. It can even contribute to cancers of the breast, liver, mouth and throat. Eliminating alcohol altogether, or even decreasing the amount to a glass or two every week, can show immediate benefits.
3. Get more sleep.
Sleep may seem like a trivial thing, but it can affect just about every aspect of one's life. Sleep helps to burn fat and improve one's immune system. Not getting enough sleep can contribute to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Experts have also found that sleep is important for the process of consolidation, or strengthening, of memories.
As a bonus, getting more sleep can lift one's mood and improve one's appearance!
Focusing on changing one's routine to add 15 minutes more of sleep each night until eight hours of sleep is achieved, or scheduling a midday nap (without guilt), can help one get enough zzzz's.
Sources:
Health.com. Web. 30 December 2013. "Ten healthiest New Year's resolutions".
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20452233,00.html
CNN.com. Web. 30 December 2014. "Make a new kind of New Year's resolution".
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/30/health/new-years-resolutions-different
Reviewed January 2, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith