Tag Archives: new year resolutions

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A New Year And Another New Diet?

2014 new years resolution is DIET!As we delve into another New Year, its often all about New Year’s resolutions and which new diet can we try this time round.  Unfortunately for most of us, we often throw in the towel with any new diet because thoughts of deprivation creep into our psyche making it all too hard to sustain.

Of course an erratic work and eating schedule certainly doesn’t help, but how about trying something different this year and make your New Year’s resolution not to go on a diet.

Yep, that’s right.

It’s time to give this whole dieting thing the flick because it just messes with your head and makes you constantly think about, and focus on food all of the time.

And no matter whether it’s counting calories or committing to 30 days of diet shakes and pills – it’s just not sustainable (or enjoyable for that matter).

I remember trying to lose 10kgs of extra weight which I gained within my first year of starting shift work and it was hard, really hard.  I had never been on a diet before (nor had I needed too because I was always quite sporty and athletic) so the entire concept of just being “on a diet” put my head into a bit of a tail spin.

All of a sudden I was fixated on every single item of food that went inside my mouth.  It became like an obsession which literally took over my life for quite a few years.  It became a roller coaster ride of having tight clothes to wear; followed by skinny clothes to wear, followed by tight clothes- you get the picture.

It was such a crazy way to live.

But the moment I stopped thinking about what I ate (AKA “fired my diet”), the weight began to fall off and stabilize.  I began listening to my body feeding it real, seasonal and whole foods which my body eagerly soaked up and became revitalised from the added nutrition.

I’m sure it was secretly breathing a huge sigh of relief as well.  Thank goodness – no more dieting!

So forget about jumping on another soul destroying “roller-coaster diet ride” this New Year.

  • Listen to your body and stop eating when you’re full.
  • Gradually remove (and replace) all packaged, tinned and bottled foods with foods that do not have an ingredients list that you need a chemistry degree to decipher.
  • And just JERF!  That’s short for “just eat real foods” by the way.

A life without dieting is the best “diet” you can ever be on, and most importantly your body (and your sleep-deprived mind) will thank you for it.

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New Year Resolutions: Why You Need To Have The Drive And Determination Of Roger Federer

As we near the end of the first month of the year, how are your New Year resolutions coming along? Are you starting to lose momentum? Have you begun to lose interest and swayed back into your old habits?

Well let’s face it – most of us have given up within 2 weeks of starting any New Year Resolution or goal for the new year.

Of course when you work shift work, the erratic and irregular hours can make it even harder to commit to anything. In fact keeping to any type of schedule and sticking to it can be extremely hard.

That is, if you let it.

As the late, great Jim Rohn once said …

“When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.”

You see the key to achieving any New Year Resolution is you have to really want it or it’s just not going to happen. It’s no good saying that you’d like to lose weight or you’d like to get another job – you have to really want it.

So many people have the mindset they should lose weight, do more exercise or change jobs but it needs to be more then that. You need to write them down and look at them every day so that you are focussed on the end result. You have to be able to see it and feel your New Year Resolutions as being achieved.

The key difference is when you really want the results, it will spur you into the kind of action that will lead you to the results you’re after.

Now since we’re in the throws of the Australian Open tennis right now (and I’m a tennis fanatic), here’s something to ponder.

Roger Federer didn’t get to where he is today because he thought he’d like to be Number 1. He wanted it like nothing else and was prepared to do what ever it takes to get there.

This determination and unwaivering belief has made him one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In fact almost unbeatable to anyone that faces him across the other side of the net.

So don’t say to yourself “I’d like to lose weight” or “I’d like to get another job”.

Really want it. Go after it like there’s no tomorrow because even the littlest of things can make a difference.

Little things like eating a piece of fruit every day, going for a 15 minute walk every day, looking for ways to improve your education every day, looking for ways to make yourself more valuable every day .

Persistence will always leads to results.

So remember to have the drive, enthusiasm and commitment to achieving your newly set goals for 2012. Otherwise fast forward 12 months – and everything is going to be exactly the same as it is right now.

Don’t let working shift work be the reason you didn’t achieve your New Year resolutions and dreams for 2012.

Make shift work the reason you’re going to achieve them – no matter what.