Why you should make - and stick to - New Year's resolutions in November By Cassie White Posted Tue 3 Nov 2015, 11:35am
Picture this: it's February 1, 2016 and you're feeling pretty pleased with yourself. You're back at work, wearing clothes from several seasons ago that still fit and feeling free of the usual post-holiday guilt. Feels amazing, right? Thing is, when was the last time this really happened? It's hardly breaking news, but many of us come out of the holiday season carrying extra baggage (and no we don't mean your carry-on). Nutrition Australia says on average Aussies gain between 0.8 and 1.5 kilograms over Christmas.
PHOTO: Choosing wisely: kick off the holiday season
with more exercise, not less MAP: Australia
While that's not a huge amount of weight, it's well-known kilos gained are hard to lose. One study suggests many of us are still carrying holiday kilograms the following September. By then it's only a few months until we repeat the cycle. So it goes, year after year, until that extra 1.5 kilos becomes 15 kilograms. It's not that we don't try to do something about our holiday blowouts. Like clockwork, at the start of every year, it's DEFCON 1 in my gym. The guilt, shame and unrealistic New Year's resolutions propel everyone out of bed and into spin class. My gym becomes some kind of reverse panic room, where the mayhem is contained inside. But within a few months the level of activity dies down - life gets busier, days get shorter and our motivation wanes.
Christmas is one day - and the only time rum balls are an acceptable breakfast food.
To be completely honest, the boom times are fantastic for trainers; getting new clients couldn't be easier. Yet for many of us that's not why we're in this business. We'd much prefer you to be feeling great and brimming with body confidence all year round. Get your regular dose of ABC Health & Wellbeing Subscribe to get your weekly update of Health and Wellbeing news, features and opinion from around the ABC.
Get a head start So why not consider beginning (or continuing to stick with) a solid exercise (and overall health) routine before the holidays this year? You'll be much more likely to have a healthier mindset by the time the festive season is in full swing. You'll be more likely to squeeze in a workout before Christmas drinks, go for a lunchtime walk rather than another catchup at the pub and find something active to do instead of sitting on your backside in front of Carols in the Domain/National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation/the Boxing Day Test.
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