Here’s my New Year’s Resolution. What’s yours?
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist
I don’t often make New Year’s resolutions and I don’t usually tell anyone. I suppose the rules change when you blog.
The resolution for 2012 is (surprise, surprise):
TO BE HEALTHIER
Now, that must be a common, mundane, and often unfulfilled resolution. How many of you have resolved to lose weight come the new year?
Having mulled it over, I believe it’s useless to make such resolutions without a WHY and a HOW?
There has to be clearly set-out achievable targets. Something to promote accountability. To increase the change of successfully achieving the resolution. So, I’ll tell you mine:
WHY?
- I want to feel Better. I want to get through the day with more energy, and be more alert & efficient.
- I turn 40 this year. I’m hoping to live to about 90 & would like those years to be relatively illness-free. Luck & genetics will play a role in this wish, but I thought I should try to improve the odds.
HOW?
These will be my targets & my KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):
- Sleep More. 7 hours on at least 5 days a week. Since I wake up at 6am, I will put my laptop to sleep & get into bed before 10.45 pm.
- Exercise More. My Xmas present, the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle is getting a workout. The mission is to keep it up – at least 30 minutes working up a sweat, 4 days a week.
- Eat better. Our family Chef, my wife, has been seeing Monica Kubizniak to help improve our nutrition. We now eat a larger quantity & variety of fibre & legumes, our food is much less processed, breakfast has become more central & we are just more aware of what we put into our mouths.
- Holidays. I will have at least 4 weeks away this year with my family. And attempt to not bring (too much of) my work with me.
Many of you must have made health-related resolutions. If you haven’t done so, take some time to consider the WHY, so that you can work out the HOW?
Please write a comment & make your resolution public. Be accountable.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
My New Years Resolution is similar, to get fit and become a runner again. I am doing this by using the couch to 5k application on my iphone which apparently takes you from being completely unfit to running approx 60 mins straight in 8 weeks. I will also be doing some other training to build muscle with Sarah (an exercise phsyiologist). I will also be diligent with my diet, eating lots of protein and veges etc. I have booked in for a body composition scan so I look forward to seeing exactly what my body is made of. I feel if I have the scan done and get some concrete results, it will then help me to know what exactly I need to do exercise and diet wise. I am hoping i’m not too shocked by the results!
So, thats my plan, fingers crossed I stick to it!
So thats my plan.
My NY resolution – to run the Mother’s Day Classic (4km) in May. Ok, it’s not very ambitious but a realistic goal… I think.
I love the KPI’s so you can measure your progress. As for holidays — four weeks??? Amazing. I’d be happy to get a one week vacation.
You definitely need more holidays. Important to chill out and reflect back on what you have achieved and also allows you to plan ahead hopefully with a “bird’s eye” view.
my NY resolution is to have a positive attitude and stop dwelling on the things I can no longer do but focus on the things that I am able to do…making a list is helping with this. I will also explore things that I can do that maybe I have never done before to make sure my life is still exciting and not just an existence.
My aim this year is to be more lean than ever before, not just to feel healthy but to look the part as well. A little vain on my part but I don’t think it is a bad thing. We are also starting up a health challenge at work and I hope I can come close to winning it. Continuing to eat healthily is still a little bit of a challenge and so consolidating great eating habits is another item on the agenda.
I hope you all achieve your goals. It’s so good to see everyone making such an effort for their health which in turn will help the people around them.
Hi Errol
You were doing an amazing job when I last saw you. Hope the festive season was not too tempting!. As you know i try to maintain a good level of health and have been swimming over summer!. Will be in touch
. Happy healthy and successful 2012
http://www.sometimesitislupus.com/2012/01/new-years-resolutions.html
My new year’s resolutions: many are about managing my health (and particularly my lupus) better. Taking my pills without complaint; eating healthy food for the sake of healthy food, rather than aiming to change stubborn numbers on the scale; asking for help when I need it; and doing more relaxing and planning and less frantic working….
There’s work and family things as well, but most of it’s about taking better care of me, because I’m learning the hard way that I’m not a whole lot of use to work, family, friends, or anyone, unless I take appropriate care of me.
Great blog Irwin! I love this time of year, setting goals and such..its exciting:)
Health wise, I am commiting to
- Booking in a massage once a month.
- Booking a weekend away every 3months to stay refreshed and have something always to look forward to
- I want to deadlift 70kg and be able to Clean 50kg.
- Go to a yoga class once per week.
My New Years Resolution:
Hmmm, if it were under my control, I would resolve to finally get a reprieve on the assault that RA continues to make ,in my body, with no response to 5 biologics plus methotrexate. Since it isnt under my control, I resolve to keep trying to remain hopeful and see the beauty and blessings that surround me. And it would be great if I could lose some prednisone weight, accumulated with the treatment of last summer’s pericarditis!
Thanks for the comments. We all have our own challenges & goals, and I hope we can achieve our resolutions and at least, accomplish those under our control.
It`s great to read about everyone`s health and fitness goals. My new years resolution is do Pilates every day of 2012. I`m going well so far but have signed up to a website http://www.stickk.com to keep my honest – you create a committment contract with yourself and give your credit card details upfront so each week you dont reach your goal the amount of your choice is automatically deducted and donated to charity.
Clever way to commit, Laura. I just checked out your blog site & it looks very good – http://mypilateslife2012.wordpress.com/
Thanks! I really enjoy your blog too.
Hi Irwin,
Good resolutions.
As a physio, I feel I must add that you your should consider some form of resistance training like “Sarah” did above. The benefits of compound movement weight training are great!
Thanks for reading my blog. My story is at http://physiodetective.com/2012/01/29/my-story-why-i-am-loving-crossfit-or-any-other-exercise-and-why-you-should-too/#respond
Basically it is:
1. Eat more like a Paleo diet with “Zone” proportions – Crossfit Journal 21 (Google it) has a free article in PDF which outlines the eating plan. I tell you, you don’t go hungry!
2. Do Crossfit Workout of the Day (WOD) – I go to Crossfit FX (www.crossfitfx.com) so I follow their WOD. I have rearranged my schedule so i can go 6 times per week!
3. My weight goal is to be at about 85-90kg (more if it is lean muscle mass is ok) and be able to do pull ups and handstand push ups unassisted
I am loving it and enjoy watching my muscles start to develop and my fat start to recede. Since I started 6 weeks ago, I have lost 8kg and increased my strength
Thanks for the blog Irwin and for reading my one
Thanks Antony. I have added some strength work & varied the workout. I am weak and so its in a graded fashion under the supervision of Melissa, one of our exercise physiology team.
By the way, you should really consider having a proper Body Composition Test performed. Not sure what’s available in the area but contact me if you’d like to have one in Parramatta. To inspire you, here’s my-not-so-sexy body composition: http://bjcconnectedcare.com/2012/01/one-fat-rheumatologist/