Guide to the Better you

  Have you ever told yourself that you are going to lose weight and get fit in time for spring, only to be frustrated when warm weather rolls around?   It’s easy to hide behind heavy winter clothes, but when the mercury starts climbing, the clothes get lighter and we can’t hide any more.   “ Why didn’t I start working out weeks ago ?” we ask ourselves.   “ If only I had started sooner !” Regret-proof your spring:   set a deadline The best way to protect yourself from a regret-filled spring is to set a deadline and start NOW.   Deadlines are powerful motivators.   Without a deadline, you really have no set-point toward which to work.   You have nothing pushing you. We need to be pushed.   Deadlines create a sense of urgency.   They help you position yourself to succeed, because that final date is always staring back at you.   It forces you to prioritize and strategize.   Otherwise, you will let things slide…you will keep putting off the workout, and insisting that tomorrow you

  Mike Fohner, cross country running coach, tells this story about one of his students: Last year, one of my young cross-country runners was fully content walking up the hills and avoiding physical exertion to the maximum extent possible. I tried all sorts of tactics and motivation techniques…to wits end. Even my “walkers club” (post practice sprints for those that walk during practice) had no effect. One meet, this runner unexpectedly knocked 3 minutes off her best time to which I gave a look of amazement to her parents. They smiled and said, “Well…she didn’t walk…so I guess we owe her ten bucks!!” So it appears that money is an effective motivator for all ages! The statistics Brace yourself.   According to Rod K. Dishman, Ph.D., director of the Behavioral Fitness Laboratory at the University of Georgia, nearly 50 percent of people who begin an exercise program drop out within the first 6 months.   The question is, “Why?”   What is it about sticking with a fitness routine that

  When was the last time you thought about your liver?   If you are like most people, this amazing organ does not command much of your attention.   But if you are interested in living as healthily as possible, attending to your liver can have big payoffs. Named after the Old English word for “life,” the liver is a critically important part of your body.   The array of functions it performs is staggering.   These include:           Controlling blood sugar           Regulating fat storage           Producing proteins           Cleansing the blood           Metabolizing fat        Producing energy However, if toxins clog and overwhelm the liver, it will cease to perform its functions correctly.   If the liver cannot cleanse the toxins from the body effectively, those toxins can trigger an immune response which not only can burden the immune system but possibly lead to autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. You may also find that weight control becomes much more difficu

  Zig Ziglar once said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” And each of us knows from our own experience that he is right.   The general flow of human life tends to be toward ease and comfort.   One day flows into the next, and many of us never quite get around to turning our good intentions into reality. Those ‘good intentions,’ while no doubt admirable, tend to remain unrealized mainly because they are too vague.   Vague ideas are impossible to focus on and aim for; they are moving targets. Do you have moving targets in your life?   Perhaps you want to eat a more healthy diet or lose the winter weight that has crept upon you.   Maybe you just want to establish a regular workout routine and stick with it this time . The keys to your success are two-fold:   steady the target and create momentum.   How to stop a moving target Imagine a target shooter trying to hit a small bull’s eye on a distant target.   He begins to aim, but then the target suddenly moves to