New Year’s Day Resolutions

January 1, 2013

By Anna Varriano

Happy 2013 everyone! I trust you all had a wonderful holiday with friends and family.

2013 has delivered two unforgettable experiences for me so far. First, my daughters and I spent New Year’s Eve with my parents in Florida, where they treated us to a spectacular “Fantasy Ball” at the Breakers Palm Beach Florida (the photo above is of the INDIVIDUAL desserts served – and yes, I did enjoy SOME of it!). My parents have wanted to do this for years, and this year was the year, in honour of the second unforgettable experience I had this month – turning the big Five-Oh. I was so deeply touched by all of the wonderful friends and family who sent wishes, cards, notes, flowers and gifts, and also celebrated with me in person one way or another.

Now I’m being asked if I ‘feel’ 50. What is 50 supposed to feel like? Am I supposed to feel wiser? Happier? Depressed that my life is half over (not according to my dear Uncle John who wished me another 50, and another 55 after that!)? Less energetic? Have more aches and pains?

My belief is that we can be happy and healthy at any age – provided we make the right nutritional and lifestyle choices, and have the right mindset – and it’s never too late to start!

I’m also being asked to share my New Year’s resolutions. OK. Here it goes:  I don’t have any. Why? Because I like to take the approach that I should make every day an opportunity to commit to a happier and healthier life. Having said that, I’ve heard lots of people talking about their resolutions, and as always, losing weight and eating better make the top of the list.

Needless to say, these two things go hand in hand. In the past week, I’ve heard so many people talking about the ‘diet’ they’ve just started.  Most of them seem kind of sad about it – sighing about how miserable and hard it’s going to be. That doesn’t’ sound like a very Happy New Year to me!

When you hear the word ‘diet’, how does it make you feel? Does it make you excited? Or do you conjure up images of powdered meal replacements, a fridge full of celery sticks and grapefruit, serious calorie reduction, feeling hungry all the time, having to measure things and weigh things, having to count calories, losing weight for a period of time and then gaining it all back? By the way, that last point is the reality of dieting.

What is dieting anyway? Merriam-Webster defines it as:  a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight <going on a diet>.  Interestingly, the word ‘diet’ comes from the Greek word ‘diaita’, which means ‘a manner or a way of living’. It has nothing to do with a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly to lose weight! So, what if we shifted our focus back to the origin of the word?

Instead of embarking on a limited time ‘regimen’ that will lead to the short-term result of losing weight (that we’ll gain back once we’ve had enough of the ‘regimen’), why not embark on a process of making simple, daily decisions that over time will lead to the long-term result of a healthy, happy way of living that is going to boost our overall wellness, and come with the amazing side-effect of losing weight?

Healthy, life-long weight loss/management will only happen when we get on a path of making practical, healthy changes, at a pace that we can handle, so that before we know it, those changes are a part of our everyday ‘manner or way of living’. It takes time and effort, but it’s not that hard – and it can be fun and exciting! It takes focus and determination at first, but before you know it, you’re on an effortless path to health. I know it works because I’ve seen so many of my clients do it – and years ago, I gradually lost about 20 pounds, and not a single one has ever found its way back to me – and you can experience it to, providing you have the right skill set (knowing what changes to make), and the right mindset (feeling good about the changes you make).

This is the holistic mind-body approach offered through the Mindful Weight Control program, developed by myself and Marlene Keys.  You’ve probably heard me talk about this amazing program before, and I wanted to let you know that the results participants are sharing with me and Marlene are truly inspiring and rewarding.

And finally, I wanted to let you know that on Thursday, January 31st 2013 from 7:00pm-9:00pm, I’ll be giving my workshop “The Skinny on Fats: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”. It’s by far one of my most requested workshops. There is so much confusing information out there about fats, many of us are making the wrong choices. Low-fat and no-fat foods are not the answer! You have to eat fat to lose fat! But do you know which ones? All animal fats are not evil. All vegetable fats are not healthy. If you’re not making the right choices (and most people aren’t), you could be sabotaging not only your weight loss efforts, but your overall health. The cost of this workshop is $20, but if you have purchased the Mindful Weight Control Program by then, you can register and attend the workshop free of charge!

As always, I look forward to partnering with you to help you achieve a healthier, more vibrant you in 2013!

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