18 Ways to Have the Best Year Ever – Part 4

New year’s resolutions, goals and dreams for the new year, ordering my life, things and possessions, new start in the new year, keeping my new year’s resolutions…we go through the same routines every New Year – have you made any progress and been successful with your ideas, dreams and goals each year? Some years, yes, and some years not so much .
Read this Part 4 of the list to make your life more alive, more connected, more organized and more true to your goals. Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 if you missed them also!

Say No to Aging

10. Use the 10 percent effect. For example, increase exercise 10 percent by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, drink 10 percent more water by having a glass after you brush your teeth, or decrease fat consumption by 10 percent by eating fruit instead of a cookie. “When you achieve one goal, either increase it by another ten percent or pick a new ten percent goal,” says Michael Brickey, Ph.D., author of Defy Aging. “Over time the changes become profound.”

11. Spot exercise everywhere. “Every little bit helps,” says Connie Tyne, L.M.S.W. “A two-year study at the Cooper Institute for Research in Dallas showed that stepping up everyday activities can provide health benefits similar to exercising moderately.” So don’t use the drive-in window at the bank, take an extra lap around the mall, stroll around your yard when you talk on your portable phone and walk next to the moving sidewalk at the airport. “Aim for 30 minutes of total physical activity a day,” she says. “Even in small doses, you are burning calories, using stress chemicals to manage stress better, lowering blood pressure, raising healthy cholesterol and reducing body fat.”

12. Follow the 30-minute rule. “Studies suggest that the key factor to staying younger is eating slightly less than your body needs and staying slightly underweight,” says Elson Haas, M.D., author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. “Stop eating before you’re absolutely full. If you don’t, then half an hour later you’ll feel over full.” By eating less, you’ll feel better, get slimmer and stay younger.

Continue to part 5!