Resolve to be a Healthier You

When the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, I want you to make me one promise: Please resolve not to make the same old New Year's Resolutions.

There's something about a brand new year that has so many of us vowing to drop 20, 30, 40 pounds. We're not really sure how we're going to do it, or when exactly we're going to start. Heck, it just sounds good.

We're hopeful that we can just eat a certain well-publicized breakfast cereal and the pounds will fall off. Some of us even make the trek to the local gym and sign on the dotted line. Funny thing, but by the end of January, the sudden glut of gym patrons is down to the same old trickle of old regulars. By February, many people are back on their comfy couches with a bag of chips. They won't worry about resolutions until next year.

It's time to stop the madness. Why not just resolve to be a healthier you in 2010...and start on January 2. Yes, I'm giving you Jan. 1 to sit around in your PJs and sleep off what might have been a night of partying. But it's time to start the new you the next day because procrastination won't get us anywhere as this new decade begins.

With every resolution, there must be a why behind the plans. I wanted to share with you a few ways, means and reason why health should be top on your priority list this year.

• It's smart -- literally -- to lose the weight. A recent study shows us that as you become fatter, your brain tissue actually contracts. In fact, obese people have eight percent less brain tissue than those with a normal BMI. In a study done by UCLA School of Medicine researchers found that once your brain volume decreases by 10 percent you can even begin to show symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The flipside is that vigorous exercise like my cardio bursting done consistently a few times each week actually reenergizes your brain.
• Eat more fish this year. Wild fish contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids, which keep your heart happy. Try to experiment with a new type of seafood every week and kick it up a notch by making delicious citrus and vinaigrette marinades. Make sure to choose only wild fish, as farm raised fish may contain higher levels of toxic chemicals and lower levels of omega 3 fats.
• Give up your soda. Yes, I said to drop the habit. I'm mortified by a study that says the average American drinks more than 48 gallons (!) of soda each year. Your diet soda is like drinking a cocktail of chemicals while regular soda is like chugging down pure sugar. Soda drinking is so unhealthy that a group of docs, scientists and lawmakers have even proposed a special tax on it. Instead of sugar, vow to make sparking water with some Emergen-C your drink of choice. You can also give your skin an internal facial by drinking hot and cold green teas. Sprinkle in a little cinnamon to the tea (which levels out blood sugar) for a delicious drink that even the kids will adore.
• Vow to move it. I know that other exercise programs seem to take up such a huge chunk of your time, but my weight workouts and cardio bursting (more info atwww.jjvirgin.com) can take as little as 20 total minutes to do. Think about it. That's one TV show or a long phone call to your girlfriends. Cardio bursting involves going all out for 30 seconds to 60 seconds and then alternating this with 1-2 minutes of easier active recovery (i.e. sprint and walk). Alternate bursting and recovering to accumulate 4-8 minutes of total burst time. I promise that once you start, you will never stop because the results are dramatic both on your waistline and in your energy levels.
• Get your sleep. Most of us skimp on sleep, which is a trend that will end for you in 2010. You need to vow to get your 7-9 hours of unbroken sleep in a cool dark room with no distractions including TV, phone, computer, restless pets, etc. When all those nice sheets go on sale this month, use your Christmas return money to make your bedroom into a private retreat with great lines, a yummy comforter and the world's best pillows that you can afford. It's not frivolous because sleep is when your body recoups and recharges. It's crucial for good health and an easy, inexpensive way to give your body what it needs.

© 2009 JJ Virgin & Associates, Inc. JJ Virgin, PHD, CNS is a celebrity wellness expert, author, public speaker and media personality. She is internationally recognized as the leader of the Weight Loss Resistance Revolution™ and trains other health care professionals in her program. She is the president of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals, www.nanp.org.

If you are frustrated with your body and feel like nothing you are doing is working, take her free quiz "Are You Weight Loss Resistant?" at www.jjvirgin.com and receive her monthlyLEANzine loaded with insider information on fighting fat and getting lean for life!