Mini Resolution for January : Drink water. Drink lots and lots of water; at least six glasses a day. Drink a glass of water when you wake up, a glass before each meal and a glass before you go to bed. In addition, keep a water bottle with you at all times to sip from continuously, and place it by your bed at night. Drinking pure, fresh water can be expensive, so it might be smart to purchase a water filter for your sink, or a water system for your house. I get my water from my refrigerator that has a charcoal filter.
Mini Resolution for February: Eat raw vegetables. Continue drinking your water as you have for the past month, but add raw vegetables to your diet. Serve your entrees on a bed of raw broccoli. Eat carrots (with or without low fat onion dip) for snacks. Eat a Salad for lunch and a salad before dinner. By the end of the month, you may have noticed that by drinking all that water, and eating all of those vegetables, you do not have a lot of room for much else.
Mini Resolution for March: Get moving: You need to exercise. Just as the experts say, you need to participate in an aerobic activity for at least 20 minutes 3-4 days a week. Do whatever is most natural for you. Most people start with walking, but you can choose to do aerobics, join a gym, or take martial arts classes instead.
Mini Resolution for April: Stop frying: Take a good look at the foods you are eating. By now, you have seen enough progress to want more. To get past those plateaus you will need to eliminate fried chicken, French fries, and anything else cooked with boiling oil. Investigate grilling, baking, and roasting. Purchase a George Foreman Grill.
Mini Resolution for May: Go sugar free: As you get closer to your goal weight, you will have to make some drastic changes. It is time to let the sugar go. Consider using sugar alternatives like Stevia or little yellow or pink packages. When those are not good enough, try a tablespoon of honey. I, personally like raw sugar, but it must be used in moderation.
Mini Resolution for June: Eliminate carbohydrates. You do not have to eliminate all carbohydrates in your diet, but you should get rid of the white carbohydrates. Swap your white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Purchase brown rice instead of white, and use whole wheat breads and pastas instead of the bleached, enriched, processed versions.
Mini Resolution for July: Pick up the pace. You are halfway to your goal. It is time to put your exercise routine into overdrive. At this point, you should be exercising for an hour a day, four to five days a week. If you started with walking, you should be running, or at least power walking by now. If you have not increased your intensity, and endurance by now, you may want to take a few lessons from a personal trainer, or at least buy a video tape.
Mini Resolution for August: Do not ignore your sweet tooth. When you get a craving for something sweet, have a square of dark chocolate, or a juicy piece of fruit. Sugar free popsicles are great for late night snacks.
Mini Resolution for September: Eat more often. Chances are your weight loss has slowed down to a crawl. Instead of eating less, what you need to do is eat more often. Instead of eating two or three meals a day, you should switch to five or six mini meals. You can graze constantly, on fruits and vegetables.
Mini Resolution for October: Vary your activities. Your body will not by happy with the same old exercises for long. You need to start cross training. Find a new sport that you enjoy to do one or two days a week in addition to your normal daily exercise.
Mini Resolution for November: Eat more soup. As the weather gets frigid, it is easy to slip back into the habits of comfort food. With the holidays around the corner, you will also want to save you calories for special occasions of which there will be many. In the meanwhile, eat soup. Chicken noodle soup is my favorite and is low in calories, yet incredibly filling. Eat your favorite variety of soup every chance you get, but do not buy the canned variety, it has too much sodium.
Mini Resolution for December: Indulge a little. You have done a great job, and there is food everywhere this time of year. As long as you drink your water, exercise, avoid processed foods, and eat soup and vegetables for your regular meals, it is ok to indulge on those special occasions.
