As we close the windows, pull down the blinds and lock the door on yet another action-packed year, most of us are sitting back and reflecting on the year that was.
Many of us are readily going about writing (or just thinking) about New Year’s Resolutions to help motivate and inspire us to create a better year than the one before. The top New Year Resolutions for most people include weight loss, finding a new job or perhaps to make more money.
But if so many of us participate in this ‘New-Year’s-Resolution-Ritual’ why is it then, that so many of us end up failing and throwing in the towel after just one week?
Probably because if it’s easy to do, it’s also easy not to do.
But let’s be honest. If your goal is to lose weight in the New Year, for most people it’s not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of dedication and will-power to change bad habits that have probably been entrenched into your way of life for years – or perhaps decades.
Of course, it’s even harder when you work shift work.
Or is it?
Most of us use this excuse, but realistically that’s all it really is – an excuse. At the end of the day, if you want something badly enough (and here lies the key – you have to really want it), then you will move heaven and earth to achieve it. In essence, you will find a way.
In contrast, if you just want to “lose some weight”, then you’re probably not going to make it happen. You will be all talk and no-action which will lead you down a repetitive path of another New Year’s Resolution going nowhere.
So where do you start? How do you make your 2013 weight loss New Year’s Resolution become a reality?
Well firstly you have to appreciate that health is one of the most precious things in life (actually it’s THE most precious thing in life), and yet most of us take our health for granted. The only time we think of our health is when we lose it. Then the realization hits us: without our health, we have nothing.
So rather than thinking about wanting to “lose some weight” in 2013, I want you to start changing your mindset to “Becoming More Healthy” because these two elements go hand in hand with one another. The problem for most of us when want to “lose some weight”, is we end up beating ourselves up when we don’t reach a certain magical number on the scales by a certain day, week or month.
And there goes another New Year’s Resolution. Failed – yet again.
This is why a “Becoming More Healthy” mindset takes the pressure off. It makes it easier because it changes your focus.
Reaching a ‘magical number’ on the scales will make you feel good for a while, but you need more than that – both mentally and physically. Your body needs to emulate good health, not a number on a set of scales.
So whether it’s the soup diet, the cabbage diet, the lemon diet – or whatever diet you might decide to put your body through in 2013, you will probably lose some weight but only temporarily. Not to mention it’s incredibly unhealthy to go on these severe deprivation-style diets.
So how do you become healthy – and lose weight at the same time?
Think raw – raw foods that is.
Now before you get ready to yell at me via your computer screen, I’m not talking about eating raw fish, although there are plenty of people around the world who consume raw fish on a daily basis. I’m talking about eating more plant-based foods, and eating them raw (or as close to raw), as possible.
World renowned Nutritionist David Wolfe mentions in his book – Eating for Beauty, “raw-food eaters require two hours less sleep than if they ate cooked food”.
Wahoo! Now that’s the kind of inspiration and motivation a tired, energy depleted shift worker needs to hear. He also states “… the more we eat, the more sleep we require”.
Another big tick for your shift worker ‘bank of knowledge’.
So the simple key to losing weight in 2013 is to eat less, but eat more raw plant-based foods. After just a few weeks of following this eating plan, you will begin to feel less exhausted and more invigorated. A positive side-effect for a sleep-deprived person who has to work 24/7.
Need some direction or a place to start? I began my “Becoming More Healthy in 2013” New Year’s Resolution with an energy booster smoothie this morning called ‘Parsley Passion’ (see picture above). This beautiful recipe (it’s actually one of my all-time favourite green smoothies) is found in the book – Kind Living Kitchen. This incredibly inspiring book contains a whole heap of healthy raw food recipes to get your taste buds going.
Parsley Passion (Serves 1)
- Large handful of curly leafed parsley
- 1 SMALL Lebanese cucumber
- 1/2 banana
- 1/4 avocado
- 1 CUP of fresh apple juice
So Bon Appetite to a healthy and raw 2013. Forget about the scales and concentrate on feeling healthy and vibrant in 2013 (despite the irregular hours). When you adopt this healthy mindset and way of life for good – just watch the weight begin to fall away.
An important point to keep in mind: just remember if you really want to achieve something badly enough – you will find a way to do it. You will certainly go through many ups and downs in your quest to “Become More Healthy in 2013”, but every goal, every achievement in life always begins with baby steps.
As Dr Martin Luther King Jr so famously quoted – “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, you just have to take the first step”.
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