Health and Wellness

By Sameer Kumar, Esq.

It's April, How's That New Year's Resolution Coming Along?

It’s four months later. How’d you do? Did you lose the weight? Did you clean up your diet? If you’re still on track, I applaud you and encourage you to keep up the good work. But maybe you did all right in January and you’re now plopping down $75 a month for a gym you haven’t used in months. In that case, here’s a quick read to get you back in the zone. If you take nothing else from this article, remember one thing - purpose is king. Knowing "why" you’re doing it will provide the motivation to reach your goal. It’s not going to be your trainer or a fad diet that gets you there. It’ll be your drive for something better than you have now.

When I wear my personal trainer hat, I ask my clients two questions. First, "what do you want to achieve through training?" Their responses are always tangible. "I want to lose 50 pounds," "I want to gain ten pounds of muscle," "I want to tone my arms" or "I want to lose my gut."

But it’s always my second question that seeks to attach purpose to the goal. "What will you be able to do then that you cannot do right now?" I love the saying "think it real." Here’s where they picture themselves fit (or fitter) and they see their new images, their new personalities, their new attitudes. So do the same thing right now. Figure out what getting in shape will do for you. Who will you be? What will do you? How will you act? How will you feel about yourself?

Just to get you started, here are some of the best catalysts I’ve heard from my clients. My 120-pound, 5’10" client tells me that he wants to put on 20 pounds because he’ll finally be able to talk to girls without worrying if they think he’s too scrawny.

A 150-pound 5’4" woman tells me that once she loses 30 pounds she will be able to dance. Considering there’s nothing physically wrong with her, I had to ask, "Well, why can’t you dance now?" She clarified, "I love dancing at weddings and parties – after I lose the weight I won’t be wondering if they’re watching me dance or wondering how fat I am."

The "why" rarely has anything to do with the diet or the exercise. Now, although I do love philosophy, spiritualism and all that feel-good-make-you happy stuff, the unfortunate part is that it rarely lasts all of 45 minutes after you’ve heard it. I promised myself never to give the ideas without action. Here’s how you are going to stick to your goal and get your butt in shape.

First, don’t tell me you don’t know how to start. I have some harsh news to break to you: You’re not stupid. The reason that you are (and remain) out of shape is because either: 1) you’re not eating enough good healthy food, 2) you don’t move, 3) you eat too much, or 4) you just eat junk (or maybe a combination of all four).

We are a fat nation. We love to eat and hate to exercise. The good news is that we really aren’t dumb when it comes to health. You know that eating fast food and samosas isn’t good for you (please don’t tell me there are vegetables in samosas). We know that plopping our butts in front of "Biggest Loser" or Zee TV, whatever tickles your fancy, will not get us in shape.

The only thing tangible about getting in shape is the process, of which you already know the four steps (don’t worry, I’ve included them below). The rest is your drive, which is as unique as the people themselves (the "why").

I love lists so here are my top ten steps to getting back on track and keeping your New Year’s fitness resolution:

1. Decide "what" fitness goals you want to achieve.

2. Figure out at least three things that you want to do once you’ve achieved that goal. (Know"why" you are setting these goals.)

3. Write them down. It makes them real.

4. Drop down to your underwear and take a picture of yourself (I suggest a Polaroid rather than CVS one-hour photo). Keep it with you, look at it often, and know that you will never look like that again.

5. Stop eating cakes, cookies, soda, butter, oil, cream, ghee, fried stuff, cheese, fast food, samosas, dosas, and probably anything else ending in "osas." Remember, if it tastes too good and you don’t know how it was made it’s probably not that good for you. Don’t eat it.

6. Load up on your veggies, fruits, lean meats, lentils, water, oatmeal, whole grains, low-fat dairy, etc. (you know what to eat).

7. If you’re fat, eat less. If you’re fat and you don’t eat much, talk to a nutritionist – you may not be eating enough or enough of the right foods.

8. Move! I don’t care whether you stroll around the block, run a marathon, chase your children around the house, or chase someone else’s children around the park. I don’t care if you dance around your living room – just do anything that distinguishes you from a rock. FYI, I don’t advocate chasing after random children anywhere, ever!

9. Kill your TV. Unless you have a treadmill in front of the tube and actually use it - don’t watch TV until you’ve achieved your fitness goals. It’s an unnatural human fattener.

10. Gauge your success often. Nothing motivates like success. When you’ve lost a few pounds don’t go have a hot-fudge sundae – go lose a few more and really look phenomenal. When you look phenomenal, let me know and I’ll buy you a hot-fudge sundae (fat-free of course).

Hopefully you got the extra little kick you needed to get back on track and keep up with your New Year's resolution. Who made up the ridiculous rule that you can only make resolutions once a year while you're tipsy?

Decide to get in shape TODAY and instead of making another questionable resolution in 2007, you can just show off 2006's success.

Disclaimer
Before you begin any exercise program and/or diet, and before you follow any of the advice, instructions or any other recommendation in this article you should first consult with your doctor and have a physical examination. The recommendations, instructions, and advice contained in this article are in no way intended to replace or to be construed as medical advice and/or to replace the advice of a certified personal trainer, and are offered only for informational purposes and as a motivational tool.

Sameer Kumar, Esq. is in the business of helping individuals achieve personal success in life. He is the managing partner at the Law Offices of Sameer Kumar, P.C., a Certified Personal Trainer, and an inspiration speaker & writer. He can be contacted at sk@sameerkumar.com.

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