HEALTHYLIVING

Tips, trends to jump-start your new year

Thursday, January 25, 2018

FINAL-1 Mon, Jan 22, 2018 10:43:33 PM

Have you vowed that this will be the year you will lose weight, eat healthier, make better financial decisions, quit smoking or simply delve into self- improve-ments? And if you made such a New Year’s resolu-tion, have you stuck to it now that we’re almost a month into 2018?

According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, about 58 percent of Ameri-cans make these resolu-tions, with only 9.2 percent of people saying they were successful in achieving their resolution at the end of the year. Many of us fall off the bandwagon within the first week.

Why do we fail to maintain our resolutions throughout the year? The answer is quite simple. Immediate results are

paramount to us, and their value is far more important than future fulfillments.

Studies have constantly connected the art of self-control to success in weight loss, managing personal finances and overall self-improvement. We are well aware that inducing con-straint when faced with temptation and suppressing our urgency for immediate results will lead to exertion of our willpower and ulti-mately reaching our resolu-tions. Yet, we still submit to our impulses of binge eating or shopping.

Why? Because we are nearsighted in our vision of self-control. We need to bear witness that self-control is not a barrier to obtaining momentary pleasures, but rather a way for us to create gains and increased worth for our future. We imagine self-control to be like a resis-tance band, holding us back

from that doughnut, holding us back from purchasing that expensive car and finally holding us back from happi-ness. We see it as a burden inevitably making us miser-able. Although we may be able to first resist the urge, our willpower slowly fades, and before we know it, our resolution is long forgotten.

To add to this, we con-stantly face emotional situ-ations leading to stress. We feel stressed at work and use smoking as an outlet. We lose a family member

and decide to get away and splurge on a vacation. We give up on self-control and willpower since it makes you miserable, and death is eventually inevitable, right?

Stress seems to be a major player in affecting willpower and decision-making. Researchers from the University of Zurich did a study where they decided to have people pick between foods while stressing them out. The results were that people under stress chose the unhealthy item, while

people with no stress picked the healthier item.

Part of this experiment involved observing brain activity of the participants. Scientists noted alternating spikes in connectivity in various areas of the brain and also noticed that the stress hormone — cortisol — was partially responsible for the reduction in this con-nectivity. With reduction in brain communication also came reduced willpower.

In the most recent Stress in America survey, 57 percent of respondents reported losing weight as a goal for the new year, and 50 percent opted to eat a healthier diet. The survey further showed that fewer than 1 in 5 adults reported being successful at making health-related improvements.

There is a continuous battle with people struggling to have enough willpower. The American Psychological Association defines willpower as “the ability to delay grati-fication, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals.”

Achieving your resolu-tions through healthy behaviors and resisting

temptations can be stress-ful. However, strengthening your willpower can help to achieve your goals.

The APA advises these techniques to help you strengthen your willpower:

� Focus on a single, clearly defined goal instead of a list of goals. Succeed-ing at the first goal will strengthen your willpower and improve your ability to succeed in the next.

� Monitor your behavior toward your goal by keep-ing consistent track of your progress and developing a feasible action plan.

� Build positive relation-ships, and surround yourself with people you trust and who will be supportive of your goals.

Take the time to reflect on your emotional well-being before delving into your new goals. Be grateful and reflect on what you have now instead of what you want. Be patient with your-self, and be proud of all your achievements no matter how tiny they are.

Achieving your goals is not a race or competition, it is a step toward the best you that you can be. Make 2018 a celebration of you.

New Year’s resolution not sticking? Here’s whyBY ANGELA SILVEIRA

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Dreamstime

It’s always the same question at the start of the year: How do you lose weight and keep it off?

According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, about 58 percent of Americans make resolutions. But only 9.2 percent of people say they were successful in achieving their resolution at the end of the year.

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Statistics indicate more and more men, women and children are overweight or obese. The National Insti-tutes of Health state that more than 35 percent of adults in the United States are obese and more than 34 percent are overweight, while 17 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are obese. Obesity rates are three times as high among today’s children than they were among youngsters just one generation ago.

As individuals attempt to lose weight, they may won-der what is the most effec-tive way to accomplish that objective. Some argue that the secret to weight loss is lots of exercise, while others insist that calorie control is the key. When it comes to slimming down, some may be surprised by what the experts have to say.

The Mayo Clinic in

Minnesota advises that cut-ting calories through dietary changes appears to promote weight loss more effectively

than physical exercise alone. According to Shawn M. Tal-bott, Ph.D., a nutritional bio-chemist and former director

of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic, weight loss is about 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. People

generally see the largest short-term results when they eat healthy foods and healthy portions.

Poor diets can be difficult to overcome, as it takes a lot of exercise to spur dramatic weight loss, whereas a low-calorie, healthy diet can be a simple and effective means to losing weight. Nutrition-ists often point to a balanced diet that focuses on fruits and vegetables, lean pro-teins and whole-grain car-bohydrates over fad diets or ones that require the adher-ence to strict guidelines that are difficult to follow for lengthy periods of time.

But exercise should not be abandoned in favor of a low-calorie diet. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, who runs one of the largest obesity clinics in Canada, says that weight loss occurs from what’s created in the kitchen, but health is gained in the gym.

Freedhoff often advises

his clients to make smart changes to the foods they eat to spur weight loss, and then incorporate exercise into their lifestyles as a way to keep the body in top form. Regular physical exercise is necessary to maintain strong bones, build muscle, improve flexibility, and keep the cardiovascular system working efficiently. Exercise also releases endorphins, which can improve mental alertness and feelings of well-being.

The Mayo Clinic notes that studies have shown that people who lose weight and keep it off over the long haul are those who get regular physical activity.

When it comes to losing weight, the foods a person eats play a bigger role than exercise. But it is the combi-nation of both diet and exer-cise that can lead to greater overall health and sustained weight loss.

Exercise vs. dieting: What’s best for weight loss? S

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FINAL-1 Mon, Jan 22, 2018 10:43:37 PM

Look into your salad bowl and think: If a fountain of cognitive youth were flow-ing in there, would you return every day?

In research that gives new meaning to the expression “salad days,” a recent study finds that older people who ate at least one serving of leafy greens a day had a slower rate of decline on tests of memory and think-ing skills than did people who rarely or never ate these vegetables.

The study was published in the journal Neurology.

After almost five years, regular consumers of such veggies as kale, spinach, collard greens and lettuce

enjoyed a mental edge that was the equivalent of 11 years in age.

To be sure, the top tier of leafy-vegetable consum-ers started with cognitive scores that were slightly higher than those in the bot-tom tier. That’s probably a testament to the power of lifelong eating patterns.

But over five years, the pattern of mental aging differed markedly in these two groups. Study partici-pants who ate an average of roughly 1.3 servings of leafy greens a day experienced a decline in test performance that was about half as steep as that of participants whose daily consumption was near zero.

Those stark differences were evident even after the

researchers took account of a host of factors that are

known to affect mental aging, including age, gender,

education, exercise, partici-pation in cognitive activities,

smoking, and consumption of seafood and alcohol.

Greens power

BY MELISSA HEALY

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Leafy vegetables may make brain seem years younger

Changing the foods one eats is one of the more com-mon ways people try to get healthy, and many people find adopting a vegetar-ian diet helps them realize their goals.

Adopting a vegetarian diet can be a great way to improve personal health. Vegetarians may now find it easier to maintain their lifestyles than ever before thanks to the year-round availability of a variety of fresh produce and more vegetarian dining options offered at restaurants. Even pre-made vegetarian foods are more widely available at markets and grocery stores.

Approximately 6 million to 8 million adults in the U.S. eat no meat, fish or poultry, according to a Har-ris Interactive poll commis-sioned by the Vegetarian

Resource Group, a non-profit organization that disseminates information about vegetarianism. Many more avoid red meat while still eating fish and poultry.

Although studies into vegetarianism long pointed out the potential nutritional deficiencies of such a diet, the tides have shifted, and many nutrition

experts now note how eat-ing plant-based foods offers sufficient nutrition and can reduce the risk for chronic illnesses. A vegetarian diet may offer protection against cardiovascular dis-ease, some cancers, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Data published in the Proceedings of the Nutri-tion Society found that

vegetarian diets are high in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, essential vitamins and minerals; offer an abundance of antioxidants; and are very low in satu-rated fat.

However, switching to a vegetarian diet is not enough to lose weight or get healthier. Choosing the right type of vegetarian foods — including whole grains, fruits, vegetables and protein-rich legumes — and controlling portions is key.

Vegetarians may have low cholesterol, as well as fewer incidences of stroke and obesity and cardio-vascular incidents than non-vegetarians. Whether this is entirely food-based, or because vegetarians tend to also embrace other healthy habits, has not yet been determined.

Vegetarians: A growing community

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FINAL-1 Mon, Jan 22, 2018 10:43:38 PM

Let’s say you and your neighbor are both 75 and similar in most every way: You both completed the same amount of school, take regular walks together, don’t smoke and gather with friends over an occasional beer.

But while you enjoy a little more than a bowl of greens every day, your pal barely touches the stuff.

This long-running study would predict that at 75, your memory and thinking skills are a notch stronger than your neighbor’s. Over the next five years, hers will decline twice as fast as yours.

By the time you’re both 80, a battery of exercises that test several types of mem-ory, as well as the speed and flexibility of your thinking, may show that your mental age is typical of a 75-year-old’s. Meanwhile, your neighbor’s performance on the same cognitive tests may look more like that of an 86-year-old.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” said Martha Morris, the

senior author of the study who studies nutrition and brain health at Rush Uni-versity Medical Center in Chicago. “Eating these leafy greens was independently associated with slower cog-nitive decline. That tells you this single food group con-tains so many nutrients, it could be brain-protective.”

Morris and her colleagues identified a small cluster of specific nutrients that appear to offer anti-aging benefits. The leafy greens that participants were asked about are gener-ally rich in vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin K-1, lutein and beta carotene. While inconsistent, research has suggested that some or all of these nutrients may play some role in protecting the brain against inflammation, the accumulation of toxic proteins such as beta-amy-loid, and neuronal damage and death.

For lifelong avoiders of leafy greens, the study doesn’t show that a late-life conversion to kale salads and spinach shakes will

keep dementia at bay. But Morris said she thinks about nutrition the same way she thinks about exercise.

“You do get immedi-ate benefits from eating healthy foods and exercis-ing,” she said. “And you get long-term benefits.”

Dr. Lon Schneider, a specialist in dementia at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said that the new study offers impor-tant insights into which nutrients in the Mediter-ranean diet help support health in aging. But it also underscores the complexity of dementia and cognitive aging — and the absence of a “silver bullet” to counter them.

“Dementia is a complex illness, as so many chronic illnesses are,” Schnei-der said. “It’s clearly not caused by one thing, and surely, its onset and sever-ity are not caused by one thing. This shows the envi-ronment is really impor-tant. Diet matters.”

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FINAL-1 Mon, Jan 22, 2018 10:43:39 PM

If you skipped most of your workouts to be more “present” during the holiday festivities and haven’t gotten back on track yet, we feel you.

We rounded up some of the workouts that have fitness fans talking to keep you motivated. Do them at home, in the studio, on a trampoline or on a lake — what-ever it takes to get moving.

If you love working out at home

There are tons of amazing streaming options out there, and the new offering from former SLT (Strengthen Lengthen Tone) star Bethany C. Meyers is worth check-ing out.

Called be.come, it is a music-driven mashup of low-impact yoga, Pilates and strength training. Best of all, it doesn’t require any equipment, and the

body-positive message and focus on becoming the best, strongest you is super-motivating.

Also worth a look is Anna Kai-ser’s streaming service AKT On

Demand, which offers 55 videos ranging from 10 to 90 minutes and includes everything from her popular dance cardio to signature strength-training moves that have made her popular among celeb cli-ents Kelly Ripa and Shakira.

If you love high-intensity interval training and competition

Several gyms are like play-grounds for gym rats. Classes can include circuit training, obstacle courses and race training to build athleticism, strength, endurance and mental acuity.

Think overhead ropes, nets and pipes for traditional Spartan course training. Or unleash your inner athlete at a gym where ses-sions are team-oriented, competi-tive and fun.

The goal is to bring sports conditioning workouts to the mainstream. Think moves like battle ropes, squat jumps and bear crawls. Check out race-training and Spartan classes in the region for similar types of workouts.

If you hate using the treadmill and elliptical

Stop overlooking one of the most forgotten pieces of gym equip-ment. 2018 is all about rowing workouts, and boutique studios are popping up everywhere.

Don’t worry, it’s not like spin-ning, where you’re on the rower for a boring 45 minutes. Many of the classes mix up rowing intervals with strength and ab conditioning for a high-intensity, low-interval punch like cardio and core class.

At one gym, for example, the focus is on rowing in unison as a group guided by the coxswain. Another gym relies on rowing machines to boost your heart rate in its high-intensity, low-impact classes.

Another option: Just start mix-ing in 10-minute intervals on the rowing machine at your gym dur-ing your normal workout.

If you like boxing

Supermodel Gigi Hadid is always

Jump-start your workout

BY KELLI KENNEDY

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rowing, rebounders, boxing among 2018’s

top fitness trends

Associated Press

Members work out in one of 9Round’s 600 clubs worldwide, offering 30-minute kickboxing-themed workouts in a convenient circuit format. Boxing is winning favor with fitness enthusiasts this year.

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Boxing is enjoying a fighting presence in area gyms and studios.

gushing about her boxing workouts at Gotham Gym in New York. Enough said.

Boxing workouts have followed the ebb and flow of most fitness fads and are having a big moment now with studios for everyone.

Chances are your local YMCA or fitness club is offering a few sparring classes.

If you dread cardio

It’s easy to see why trampoline or rebounder workouts are all the rage. It’s low-impact and gentle on your joints, but offers the heart-pumping cardio ben-efits of a hard run. It’s great for improving balance, and, most importantly, it’s fun.

Mini trampolines are rela-tively inexpensive (you can buy one from celeb trainer Tracy Anderson for $70), and there are tons of online workouts to get you started.

Anderson’s 50-minute work-out (available online or on DVD) is half muscular struc-ture followed by 25 minutes of dance cardio performed on the rebounder.

Or if you can’t take in-per-son classes with Simone de la Rue of Body by Simone in Los Angeles, try her DVD, which includes three tram-poline dance routines to target the upper body, lower body and core.

If you like yoga

As the fitness scene has focused more on upping the intensity ante, there’s been a countermovement that’s all about active rest and recovery. Beyond just sitting on the couch watch-ing Netflix, these classes are focused on yin yoga, gentle stretching, dim lights, self-massage, foam rolling and aromatherapy. Namaste.

Crunch Gym’s newest

class is Hair of the Down Dog: Detox Yoga to help you recover from late-night partying or too many bur-pees. Equinox has doubled down on restorative classes with stretch essentials and athletic stretch classes that include guided self-mas-sage and flexibility training for better range of motion.

Gyms using foam rollers are all about rolling out your troubles.

And at places like New York’s Mile High Run Club recovery room, you can book stretch sessions, reflexology and acupunc-ture or spend some time in their compression boots or playing with the Hyperice recovery tools.

Other gyms offer aro-matherapy classes, where students put the essence of plants on specific body points to help restore har-mony and wellness.

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