New Years 8 Step Plan To A Healthier You

Welcome to 2010 and the first day of the New Years 8 Step Plan to a Healthier You! Every New Year many people make the resolution to lose weight, get in shape, eat healthier and so on. Lets be honest, for most people this lasts a couple of days to a couple of weeks at best and then they fall off the wagon. The main reason for this is most people find it to be too much of a drastic change to their lifestyle. They go from one end of the spectrum to the other overnight and find it overwhelming, discouraging and hard to maintain. The fact is that making overnight resolutions will not work and they are not an effective way of getting things done. But, with attainable goals, a good plan and some hard work anything is possible. This is an 8 week challenge that will provide you with the plan, the hard work is up to you, and in the end the goals will become reality. How it works is every Monday for the next 8 weeks you will be given a goal for that week to complete for the next Monday. The goals will be reasonable, attainable pieces to the fitness puzzle that when put all together at the end of the 8 weeks will make for a healthier you. So lets get started.

Goal #1- Drink 3 litres of water per day

Why do it?- There are countless benefits to being properly hydrated here are some:

-increased energy

-water is nature's greatest anti-oxidant

-increased mental alertness and clarity

-lubrication of joints

-proper transportation of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to your body's cells

-helps control body weight

-improves digestion

-aids in strength and flexibility

-slows aging process and makes skin look and feel younger

-decreases chances of developing diseases such as breast, bladder, and colon cancer

How to do it- Here are some tips to help you reach your first goal:

-buy a water bottle to carry around with you while at home or work. You will drink more water if it's always readily available to you.

-add some lemon to your water for a little bit of flavour. Lemon is also an anti-oxidant and the flavour will help your body absorb the water and hydrate faster.

-start every day by drinking a tall glass of water as soon as you wake up. This will help kick start your body's systems including your metabolism.

-drink a tall glass of water with every meal. This will help aid in digestion and keep you from drinking high calorie drinks while you eat.

* the 3 litres of water per day goal does not include water consumption for exercise. If you are already participating in an exercise program drink 1 cup of water for every 15 min. of exercise. If you are not yet participating in an exercise program don't worry, be patient, follow these 8 steps and we will get you there.

Good Luck! Post any questions, concerns, or motivation to comments. Work hard and see you next Monday.