If Not Now, When?

Fitness-After-50 - Thomas D. Manfredi, Publisher
tom@fitness-after-50.com
http://www.fitness-after-50.com
January 8, 2007; Vol. 3, Issue 1
Published the first Monday of every month

THIS ISSUE: 6 Ways To Kick Start Your New Year's Diet & Exercise Plan

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: 6 Ways To Kick Start Your New Year's Diet & Exercise Plan
4) Teleclasses
4) Question & Answer
5) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Happy New Year!

Here we are at the start of another new year. I hope that you have had a good start to your's.

For me, the holiday season and the start of the new year brought many good things, but also, some sadness and challenges too. My wife and I went home to Chicago for Christmas. That was absolutely great! We got to spend time with our four grandchildren, our daughter and son and their spouses, other family members, and some of our good friends. The holidays are always better when you get to spend them with people you love.

Unfortunately, when we got back home to Arizona, a sad thing took place. We have two cats, Punkin and Fuzzy. When we got home they were very glad to see us, and Punkin (our favorite) was up to his usual antics to get our attention – climbing on the bed and into the bathroom sink. We went to bed that first night back home and when we got up in the morning we found that Punkin had died peacefully, in his sleep. He was only 10 years old and didn't seem to have any serious health problems, so we don't know what happened. He had been with us for almost 10 years and was definitely an important part of our family. We are really missing him. Fuzzy seems to miss him too.

On January 4 th, I had knee surgery to repair some torn cartilage on both sides of my knee (40+ years of martial arts training can take its' toll on your body). The surgery was done arthroscopically (through 2 small incisions), so my recovery time should be relatively short. But, it's still a challenge, because now I've had to alter my exercise routine until I recover. Also, I'm not suppose to get on the mats and teach martial arts for a while so I won't be tempted to do something that might re-injure my knee. I guess I'll just have to make do.

For the start of another new year, I thought I would talk about some ideas to help you kick start your new year's resolution to do better with your diet and exercise plans. I wish you lots of success.

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - 6 Ways To Kick Start Your New Year's Diet & Exercise Plan

People always joke about New Year's resolutions and how no one really keeps them. It's a fact that most of us have a lot of trouble making changes in our lives, but there are some things you can do to improve your odds. The following tips are specific to diet and exercise goals, but you'll see that some of them can be applied to almost any kind of change.

1. Have a plan. Decide when the best time is for you to exercise and stick to it. Don't worry about when the experts say is the best time to exercise, you know what will work best for you, your body, and your other scheduled commitments. Try to do some type of exercise every day.

And do the same thing for eating. Try to eat at the same time each day. And plan your meals in advance. That way you have a better chance of eating the things you know you should rather than just what's available at the time.

2. Drink Lots Of Water. Drinking adequate amounts of water can help your body tolerate new exercise better, and it helps with the processing of food. Everyone should drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses of water every day, or one 8 ounce glass for every 20 pounds of body weight. Whichever is greater.

3. Visualize. Try to imagine what it will be like when you lose weight or gain a certain level of physical fitness. It has been proven in a number of studies that people who visualize their goals are much more successful at reaching and maintaining them.

4. Give It Time. You need to realize that changing a bad habit (poor eating) or creating a new one (exercising) doesn't happen overnight. The average adult requires at least 30 days of effort to develop a new habit or break an old one. Forgive yourself if you make a mistake or miss a goal. Just push on and try harder.

5. Reward Yourself. Plan on giving yourself small rewards for accomplishing certain goals. We all like to have things to look froward to. In your plans, make room for rewards. They don't have to be big things - maybe a special dessert on the weekend if you stick to your diet during the week. Or, going to a movie if you meet your exercise goals for the week.

6. Eat Protein At Every Meal. Adequate amounts of protein will help build muscle, and it helps reduce feelings of hunger. You don't have to eat large quantities of protein. A few ounces per meal will usually suffice.

Add these tips to your plans for the new year and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much more successful you will be.


(c)2005 - 2007 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 teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

There is some controversy on the subject. Opponents say that we can get all the vitamins and minerals we need from a balanced diet. Proponents, like myself, believe that with all the processing of our foods today it is highly unlikely that we will get what we need just from a balanced diet. Additionally, I believe that, for the cost involved, taking a daily supplement is cheap insurance to help us get the vitamins and minerals we need.


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 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