Five Healthy Goals for the New Year

Many of us make healthy New Year's resolutions with the best intentions. Weight loss, in particular, is a popular New Year's resolution. The problem with healthy New Year's resolutions is that they often lack specifics which makes it easier to fail. General goals like "eat healthy", "exercise more" or "lose weight" can be hard to keep because there's no specific action plan for making a healthier New Year. Here are 5 specific healthy New Year's resolutions that will help you be healthier and may help you lose weight.

Get Plenty of Quality Sleep. Everyone knows that diet and exercise are key to maintaining a healthy weight. What many don't realize, however, is that sleep is the third part of the weight puzzle. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a 1999 study that limited healthy volunteers to only 4 hours of sleep a night created insulin and glucose readings similar to diabetics. The exact mechanism of how sleep affects weight loss aren't understood but it is clear that there is a connection. The recommended amount of sleep for an adult is 7 to 9 hours per night. If you have trouble getting a good night's sleep, the National Sleep foundation has a number of tips at www.sleepfoundation.org. If your sleep problems are severe, talk to your doctor. Try to set a specific goal of going to bed and getting up at the same time each night. This will help insure that you get the recommended 7 to 9 hours per night and keep your healthy New Year's resolution.

Drink More Water. Most recommendations call for drinking at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Water is important for our bodies to process food, expel waste and to replenish water lost to perspiration. Drinking more water, may actually help you keep other healthy New Year's resolutions. A 2004 study by German researchers discovered that after drinking 17 ounces of water, the metabolisms of volunteers increase by as much as 30%. Based on this information, the researchers estimated that by drinking an additional 1.5 liters a day of water, a person would burn an additional 17,400 calories over the course of a year. That equates to a weight loss of about five pounds. If one of your healthy New Year's resolutions includes a modest weight loss, drinking water may help.

Exercise at least 3 days a week. We all know that getting plenty of exercise is important to maintaining our health and a healthy weight. Unfortunately, its hard for many of us to find the time and discipline necessary to stick to a regular exercise routine. However, even modest improvements in the amount of physical movement can improve health. Try setting small goals for increasing exercise. For example, walk to your local coffee shop instead of driving. Try parking farther away from the entrances to stores to increase the amount of walking you do. Take the stairs whenever possible. Even small gains in the level of exercise can contribute to increased health and weight loss.

Eat 6 servings of fruits and vegetables. The USDA recommends that Americans get 6 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Fruits and vegetables supply plenty of vitamins, minerals and fiber to our diet. Furthermore, many fruits and vegetables have a very high water content. This helps make them filling without adding extra calories. For your healthy New Year's resolution, try setting a simple goal to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Some possibilities include ordering a side salad instead of fries, replacing one snack a day with an apple or celery or eating fruit for dessert. By setting a modest and specific goal, you may find it easier to work up to getting the full 6 servings per day, every day.

Get plenty of calcium. Osteoporosis is one of the most common disorders of older people in America. Osteoporosis is a major health threat for an estimate 44 million people. Fad diets can sometimes limit calcium intake which may have negative health impacts later in life. The good news from researchers however is that increased calcium intake is actually associated with greater weight loss. The researchers note that calcium from supplements or from dairy both contributed to increased weight loss but that low or non-fat dairy sources of calcium had a greater effect on weight loss. Make it one of your healthy New Year's resolutions to get plenty of calcium. The usual recommendation is 2 serving of low or non-fat dairy per day. If you are lactose intolerant or have a dairy allergy, consider a calcium supplement or Tropicana makes orange juice fortified with vitamin D and calcium. This is an excellent non-fat source of calcium.

This New Year's try making some small health goals that are specific and easy to keep. By doing so, you'll make long lasting healthy changes that may lead to weight loss and maintenance, an often made but rarely kept New Year's resolution.

References:

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.4809783/k.5FBD/Diet_Exercise_and_Sleep.htm

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040105/drinking-water-may-speed-weight-loss

http://www.webmd.com/news/20000417/calcium-low-fat-diet

http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/diseasefacts.htm