By Patrice Cahill
It’s hard to believe but it’s 2016 and spring looms on the horizon. Most folks, as New Years comes around, make their resolutions.
I love when New Years rolls around it’s a reason to start anew. Many people ask me what my resolution is and, frankly, I just shake my head and tell them that I do resolutions.
I mess with them and say it’s because I’m perfect (actually I’m far from it). But it’s more so because I don’t believe we should wait for a turn of the calendar to make good solid changes in our lives.
It’s true that we resolve to give up something that is bad for us or our health, such as smoking, eating unhealthy food, getting too little sleep (the list goes on and on). But I believe that when you are trying to change something like that, do it now! How about an August resolution or a November promise?
Those that think like me are called Non-resoluters. How did I get this title? Experience. I have seen very well-intentioned people realize in September or October that they need to do something about their fitness health and wellness. They don’t want to wait until New Year’s to make a “resolution, so head into a gym or rethink their eating/nutrition habits and make those changes.
October is not a bad time to start this process, as it’s basically the prelude to the Thanksgiving-Christmas eating season. Starting in October will give you a good six weeks of a fitness/nutrition lifestyle — a good way to build up some momentum heading into the holidays.
Conversely, if you think of starting this the week before Thanksgiving, it can backfire. Then, heading into the holidays — with all that wonderful food and merriment — can be lethal. You get the picture.
Yet this is when we make most of the New Year’s Resolution.
I don’t want to sound negative, or to be down on anyone who uses the new year to get motivated. But I’ve seen too many where fitness goals fall by the wayside. Gyms that are jam-packed in January (so much so that clients complain to me they can’t even use one piece of equipment) will become less packed come spring. Folks get busy and get outside after being cooped up in the winter and going inside to the gym doesn’t sound so appealing.
I’m trying paint a picture to demonstrate how New Year’s resolutions, particularly in fitness and health, can end up failing. This is exactly why I am one of those folks that do what I need to do for my well-being regardless of what time of the year it is.
I believe in making any changes to your health and fitness when you think of them and regardless of the time of year. If you get the urge to get into shape or eat better in June, don’t wait until after the holidays.
Summertime may be when “living is easy” with all the barbeques, vacation days and getaways. It’s easy not to eat healthy or eat out and not heat the oven if the weather is too hot. But if you think of starting that program in June, then do it!
If you happen to think of this in October, and that month has you thinking of apple picking and all the apple pies and apple crisps that goes with it, eat your fill and then head to the gym to walk or run it off.
Think about it, whenever you decide that you need to get into shape or eat better, that is the exact time to do it and not hold it off until some old fashioned resolution notion. No matter what your idea is to make good changes to your life do it when you think of it or make your own time for your own resolution. If due to natural events, your fitness goals happen to be on New Year’s day great but don’t make that the end goal. So maybe I am being a bit too harsh on New Year’s Resolutions and if I am I am sorry. In fact, 2016 New Years is long gone and will be quite a few months until New Year’s rolls around again. My aim is to try to have people move away from that type of thinking and come up with a new timeframe to have their fitness and health goals met rather than have a one time a year hit or miss milestone. To me this is taking something that can be a negative, taking charge and turning it into a positive, one that you invent yourself. Oh and folks there doesn’t have to be ONE time to do this, after all, there are 365 days in a year, sometimes 366 but I won’t quibble about one day, just New Year’s Day.
Patrice Cahill is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and Certified Senior Fitness Specialist. She currently trains/instructs seniors with their fitness needs around the North Shore and is the Senior Specialist/Group Exercise Instructor at Lynn Senior Center, Silsbee Street, Lynn, MA. Weds and Fridays, 11:30 – 12:15 pm. Call for details, 781-599-0110.