If Not Now, When?

Fitness-After-50 - Thomas D. Manfredi, Publisher
tom@fitness-after-50.com
http://www.fitness-after-50.com
May 1, 2006; Vol. 2, Issue 5
Published the first Monday of every month

THIS ISSUE: Redo Your New Year's Resolutions

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Redo Your New Year's Resolutions
4) Teleclasses
4) Question & Answer
5) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Wow! Another month has come and gone. As I mentioned last month, my wife and I were looking forward to a visit from our son and grandson. They were here last weekend. We had a great time. We did several hikes in the desert, panned for gold in an old gold mining town, went to the zoo, and built and flew a kite (not much wind though). I must admit that I'm glad my son was along to keep up with my grandson. The little guy might not be up to long hikes in the desert, but he can sure run around the house a lot. I guess that's why many people say it's good to have your children when you're young.

This month is going to be a busy one for me. My other job is conducting training seminars for business people in a variety of business related subjects. I will be attending, and presenting at, five different conferences over the next 30 days. I think that will keep me out of trouble for a while.

You may have noticed in my last few editor's notes that I usually mention I hope you are continuing to be successful with your health and nutrition goals. That is always my desire, but I know that it can be difficult to stay focused. Sometimes we just need a little encouragement. Other times some new ideas on how to plan and meet our goals can be helpful. In this month's newsletter I am giving some pointers that may help you get back on track if you have been having some problems. And if you haven't set any health and fitness goals for this year, this may be the perfect time to get started the right way.

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi
tom@fitness-after-50.com
fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Redo Your New Year's Resolutions

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? Many people never make it past the first few weeks with their plans for change in the new year. There are some pretty universal reasons why this happens. Knowing what they are and how to deal with them can help you to be much more successful in the future. So, if you are disappointed in your ability to stick to those promises you made to yourself at the beginning of the year, now might be a good time to try again. Here are some pointers to make goal planning and follow through more successful.

Fit the Goals to Your Life - Don't come up with lofty goals that you read about somewhere and you think sound cool. Make your goals about correcting the bad habits you have and developing new habits that are healthy and specific to you. You need to analyze why you are doing the things you want to stop doing. If you snack a lot in the evening after dinner, is it because you keep lots of snacks handy? If so, do some house cleaning and get rid of them or at least move them somewhere that makes them more difficult and inconvenient to get a hold of. Maybe you avoid going to the health club because you really don't like socializing when you work out or you are too intimidated by all the super fit people you see there. But, you might enjoy taking a brisk walk around your neighborhood or the local mall so you can see what's going on in your area - such as new neighbors or the latest sales. Everyone's likes and dislikes are different. If you want to be successful with achieving your goals, make sure they fit your lifestyle.

Make Your Goals Pragmatic for You - Think modest and achievable. Did you plan to get up every morning to do 60 minutes of exercise but instead you hit the snooze alarm all the time? Maybe you should plan on exercising for 30 minutes three of four times a week when you get home from work or on your lunch hour instead.

Schedule It - Many busy people rely heavily on their daily planner, whether it's a PDA, a calendar sheet or a binder. Whatever method you use to keep track of your daily appointments, don't forget to schedule things like a specific time when you plan to do your exercising.

Think About Short Term Goals - If your goal is to lose 30 pounds by next year, it is easy to eat those extra snacks now and tell yourself you've got plenty of time. You'll be much more successful if your plan says you want to lose 3 pounds this month. If you're a big dessert eater, you might want to plan to eat desserts only on the weekend.

Write It Down - Research around adult learning suggests that people who just verbalize what they want to do differently will only succeed about 20% of the time. If you write down your plans and goals you will be successful 70% of the time. In other words, those who write down their goals and plans are three times as likely to achieve them as someone who doesn't. That seems like a pretty good improvement in the odds to me.

Be Positive - When it comes to changing our behavior, it is inevitable that sometimes we will fail. Successful people aren't the ones who don't fail, they're the ones who don't let it get them down. They just shrug it off and get back on track. Beating yourself up for failing does no good. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Tell yourself you'll do better in the future.


©2005 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to mailto:teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Thanks Angelo.
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Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good !

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to mailto:quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com
Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to fitness-after-50.com



Tom Manfredi, 1218 Easy St., Ste 101, Wickenburg, AZ 85390