7 Habits For Achieving Your Wellness Goals

1. Rethink your drink.
Lose the sugar and drop the weight. You can still get flavor in water/tea while skipping the sugar. Try adding citrus wedges, chopped mint, sliced cucumber or frozen berries to tea or water. My tea and my water almost always get a couple of slices of lemon in them. You'll also be getting the added health benefits of the fruit that you put in the drink.

2. Slow Down to Lose the Pounds
In a study in which female participants were instructed to wolf down their meal, they ate, on average 70 additional calories and felt less satisfied than the group that was instructed to eat slowly and enjoy their meal. It is important to eat slowly, take small bites, chew thoroughly and put your fork down between bites. Take your time and enjoy your food.

3. Know Your Serving Size.
The palm of your hand is approximately 3 oz. serving of meat. Your fist is a good measurement for ½ cup, which would be the serving of pasta. Thumb is about 1 ounce and the tip of the thumb measure about 1 teaspoon. Also, eating a small healthy snack (a 1/4 cup of almonds or walnuts for example) 30 minutes prior to your meal will help you feel fuller sooner and you'll back down on what you eat at the meal.

4. Aspire to Perspire.
When it comes to working out, there are more options than there are shades of green. When creating your workouts focus on transforming your body as well as tuning your mind. Try it all and find the activities you enjoy the most. Remember 45 minutes of cardiovascular activity most days of the week and 45 minutes of weight training at least 3 times per week is optimum.

5. Scale Down
As the number on the scale goes down so should the number of calories you are eating. To figure out your BMR – divide your current weight by 2.2 pounds then multiplying this number by 0.9 and then by 24. Now multiple your BMR by 1.2 and you have arrived at the number of calories your body burns per day when you factor in your physical activity. (300 – 500 calories per hour of intermediate exercise) Once you have your final number- shave off 500 calories to find how many calories you need to eat to lose a pound per week.

6. Mix It Up.
Have you been doing the same workout day in day out? If so, your body has more than likely become just familiar with the physiological conditions and this is no longer a challenge. To grow no more and to increase your body’s metabolism, you must change your workouts on a regular basis to continue the challenge. Increase your flexibility, strengthen your core, improve your agility and work on your speed. Constantly mixing it up will keep your body guessing, changing and improving.

7. Make a Promise. And keep it.
It is very difficult to blow off a commitment that you have made public to people that are important to you. Tell your family, your friends, your trainer and anyone else you think will be supportive of your new aspirations. A workout partner is always good for keeping you committed to your wellness goals.

Until Next Time...BE WELL!
Dr. Bruce