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Contents
- Ten-Step New Year's Resolution Plan
- Message Boards Post of the Month
- Do You Have a Good
Post of the Month?
- Announcing Kathy
Smith's Project: YOU!™
- Chat Live with Steve Edwards and Kathy Smith
- Recipe of the Week: Mexi-Cali Breakfast Tacos
- Three Great Ways to Win in 2005!
Ten-Step New Year's Resolution Plan
Ten easy steps to resolution success!
By
Steve Edwards
Chances are, everyone reading this article has
made a New Year's resolution–but have you ever
met anyone who has actually achieved what they
set out to do? Well, this year, that person will
be you, if we at Beachbody have anything to say
about it! We've come up with 10 steps to help you
follow through and find success in 2005. Happy
New Year!
1. Choose a resolution
that suits you. Don't
be swayed by peer pressure or trends. For example,
if you hate swimming, why would you choose the
Escape From Alcatraz triathlon? Go with a goal
that's right for your.
2. Be realistic. The
most common mistake is to shoot for the moon–aiming your sights far
too high, and thereby setting yourself up for
failure. Be fair to yourself: Assess what you've
been able to achieve in the past, and work off
of this baseline. The primary example of this
is the ubiquitous, "I'm going to quite smoking," a
resolution that tends to get blown off—literally—during
the latter stages of a New Year's day hangover.
Make a more reasonable pledge, such as "I'm
going to cut down each month with the goal of
quitting by the end of the year."
3. Make a single resolution. We all have
many aspects we'd like to improve, but don't
try and take them on all at once. Focus on one
major goal. If you're succeeding come mid-year
and want to add something else, that's great.
January isn't the only time you can set goals
for yourself.
4. Target behavioral
change rather than a number. You
may target something like an event or race
as part of your plan, but make the ultimate
goal to change your behavior. That way if you
get sick, injured, or are too busy to participate
in your event, you can still see your resolution
through.
5. Plan in advance. Statistics
are skewed by those who make resolutions at the
last minute—vowing
to quit drinking while 10 drinks into New Year's
Eve. These resolutions often don't make it through
the first night. Planning ahead allows you to
make rational decisions about what you are capable
of. It also allows you to figure out how you're
going to break old patterns or avoid temptation.
6. Allow some failure. It
isn't realistic to think you'll make it through
an entire year without a glitch–after all, none
of us are perfect. A resolution that doesn't
account for any slip-ups is one that's designed
to fail. Find ways to make up for mistakes, and
don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are part
of life.
7. Get Support. Announce
your resolution to family and friends so that
they can be there to help... and then allow them
to help. Even the strongest of us need support
from time to time. For most of the popular resolutions
(exercise, diet, smoking, etc.), there are support
groups available. You can find many of them on
the Message Boards.
8. Change your point
of view. The mind
is a powerful ally. Re-program yours to focus
on the positive effects of your resolution. Instead
of thinking about how it might rob you of a pleasure,
focus on how it's going to make you feel happier
and healthier. So, instead of "cutting down
on drinking," you are "treating your
body with more respect."
9. Stick to the plan. Don't
give up. Throughout an entire year, you're bound
to go through a bad stretch or two; we all do.
Hang in there and fight through it. Even if you
barely have the motivation to get out of bed,
keep going. Fighting through the bad times gives
you resolve and makes the good times that much
sweeter. And don't forget the Nietzschean rhetoric: "What
doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
10. Remember the ultimate
goal. All
you're really trying to do is improve your life,
right? Keep this in mind, and keep going even
if you slip on the original goal. Because what
is failure anyway? You still improve, just not
as fast as you had planned, which by definition
in the grand scheme of things is not failure
at all, but success.
Message
Boards Post of the Month
This
month, congrats go out to both Tasha and Okimak
for our two-part Post of the Month from Okimak's
Power 90® thread.
The
following post is one that I received from
Tasha a.k.a. Committed in 04 & Beyond.
She sent me the most inspirational post that
came at a time when myself and those in my
support group, were experiencing when the "newness" of
the program wears off and reality sets in.
She helped me get back on track and find my
way again. I don't know where I'd be without
Tasha's words of encouragement.
Sincerely,
Kameko
Gay (Okimak)
Hello! Kameko I came to check on
you! You all have to get your motivation back.
This is what happens when real life starts
to come back into play and the newness wears
off. If you just push through it, it will pass.
I want to share with you a message I sent my
support group about when I reached where a
lot of you are:
The past two weeks
have been difficult for me. The journey is now
becoming a routine and is not so "new" anymore.
We have all had these feelings I am speaking of,
whether in a weight loss journey or another realm
of everyday life. You know, the excitement is gone
and you are in the trenches. It did not help that
I had been in a 2-week plateau...talk about discouragement.
That is when I had to look deep inside my heart
and my head and ask myself...Why are you doing
this? I had to ask God why I had lost my drive.
It took a week for him to answer me but when he
did the answer was to the tune of...WHO are you
doing this for? How did you get to this point in
your life? I thought to myself He answered with
questions? So I thought about it and realized....This
transformation that I WILL complete
is not so that people can come
up to me and say how "great" I
am, but to show the work that
God has done in my life through
my body. I also realized that
I wanted to get there and not
enjoy the journey to my destination
and soak up all of the lessons
that I obviously need to learn
so that I don't return to this
place ever again. While it would
be nice to be there overnight...if
I were would I really appreciate
it when I get there....NO, I
wouldn't, would I have learned
the behaviors that I need to
change to never return to this
weight again? NO. So with that
realization my excitement for
this program and "quick" results
ended and my appreciation for
this program, life change, and
the strength that God has given
me to get this far began. So
ended my bad 2 weeks and funny
enough....so ended
my plateau! I guess all of that
was God's way of getting my attention....and
all I can say to him is I hear
you!
Keep
your heads up and Keep Pushing
Play!
Look
at each day as a step and decide...will
I go forward today, will I go
back or will I choose to stay
in the same spot. Because no
matter what you decide the day
will end and move to another....
Hope that helps someone.
You all can dust yourselves off and do it!
Take Care!
Tasha
Do You Have a Good Post of the Month?
We
are always looking for inspiring posts by our
Members. If you come across one on the Beachbody
Message Boards, send it to us at greatposts@beachbody.com.
If your post is chosen, you'll receive a brand
new Beachbody T-shirt!
Announcing Kathy Smith's Project:
YOU!
Hi!
I'm Kathy Smith, and over the past year I've teamed
with Beachbody to develop a healthy, step-by-step
approach to "remodeling" your body and
transforming your life in 12 short weeks... Project:
YOU!
Over the years, you've
probably seen dozens of fad diets and weight
loss shortcuts come and go. Most of you have
probably even tried some of them, and while they
might have worked for a while, you likely regained
all the weight you lost—and then
some! This yo-yo dieting cycle is not only mentally
defeating, it also creates body chaos,
putting your body on the defensive and your metabolism
on hold as you store energy as fat and use muscle
for fuel. To make things worse, each attempted "quick
fix" pushes your metabolism further into chaos,
making it increasingly harder for you to lose weight
and keep it off for good.
People who are experiencing
this body chaos approach me every day, and they
inevitably ask me the same questions: "What workouts should I do when?" "How
often should I lift weights?" "What should
I eat?" I've always wished I could hand them
a prescription for exercise and diet—and this is
my way of doing just that!
After much experimentation,
Beachbody and I solidified a program and named
it Project:
YOU! We collected a diverse
test group of women and men of all ages and condition
levels, and put them through the 12-week program.
At the end, hard data showed that our people lost
hundreds of pounds and inches, improved their fitness,
and increased energy levels. It worked wonders
for them, and that's how I know it will
work for YOU.
–Kathy
Chat Live with Steve
Edwards and Kathy Smith!
Come
chat live with Beachbody fitness guru Steve Edwards
about your workout program, diet, or anything else
you'd like to know regarding your 2005 health and
fitness goals. Chat
begins at 4:30PM, PST on January 4.
Get ready to chat live
with the one and only Kathy Smith, a leading
authority in the world of fitness and wellness.
Get those questions ready—she's sure to provide
tons of valuable tips to improve your eating
habits and exercise techniques. Don't miss this
great opportunity to personally chat with the
creator of Project: YOU. Chat
takes place January 6 at 5:30PM, PST.
Recipe
of the Week: Mexi-Cali Breakfast Tacos
This week's recipe comes courtesy of Beachbody's
very own Dulce B. If you're looking to spice up
your morning meals, give these great-tasting breakfast
tacos
a try.
Mexi-Cal Breakfast Tacos
(serves 4)
8 corn tortillas
1 14 oz package of firm tofu (crumbled)
1 small avocado
peeled, pitted, and sliced in �-inch
slices
1 medium tomato diced
1 small white onion diced
2 Tbsp of crushed garlic
4 stalks of green onion (trim
ends and dice)
1 cup of one or two of the following
vegetables: mushrooms, spinach, green pepper or marinated
cactus ("nopales" to you Southwestern folks)
� cup
cilantro
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp limejuice
1 tsp of Mexican spices; one or all
of the following: cumin ("cominos"), chili
powder, chipotle seasoning, Habanero seasoning, cayenne
pepper. Make sure to use unsalted seasonings.
1 tsp
sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat a large sauté pan over
medium/high heat; add olive oil, onion, garlic
and green onions. Sauté till clear and caramelized,
then add vegetables and sauté till glazed and tender.
Stir in crumbled tofu, cilantro, sesame seeds,
Mexican spices, salt and pepper to taste; continue
to sauté till
tofu is lightly browned. Add limejuice, mix well,
and reduce heat to a simmer.
Gently heat corn tortillas in the microwave (approx.
45 seconds), or on a pan or grill (1 to 2 minutes).
Garnish four plates with diced tomato and sliced
avocado. Wrap tofu mix in tortillas, and serve
with salsa or hot sauce and a tall glass of Lemonade
or Limeade. Enjoy!
(Suggested serving size – 2
wraps per person.)
If
you have a recipe you think is both heathly and
delicious, send it to recipes@beachbody.com.
If we publish it, we'll send you a free T-shirt.
Three Great Ways to
Win in 2005!
1.
Win CASH and other
cool prizes every day just by playing the Fitness
Quiz! Click here to
play now!
2. Win a
$100 gift certificate every day just for working
out with others in WOWY! Click
here for more details.
3. Kick
the New Year off right by joining your favorite
Beachbody trainers, Support Team Members, and
other workout buddies in WOWY on January 1 at
11AM PST/ 2PM EST. Click
here to be part of this record-setting
event!
