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Everybody has made resolutions that lasted only a week or two. It's true that most New Year's resolutions have a short shelf life, with the average one kept until February 1, just 32 days after it was established. In fact, 68% of Americans said they quit their resolutions even sooner than that. So how do you make a resolution and stick with it? What are resolutions that really work? Sure, we're past New Year's Day, but that doesn't mean you can't start fresh and make a resolution to make your life better right now.

Start with something small and build on it.

Resolutions are about eliminating bad habits and starting beneficial ones. You notice the word habit. That's important. You didn't just wake up one morning and notice you gained a large amount of weight overnight or had all your muscle turn to flab. It took time and several bad habits for that to happen. Make one small change, either in your activity level and diet. Focus on it until it becomes a habit, which may take a couple of months. Make it as simple as substituting water for soft drinks or coffee---or at least to start with---for all the coffee and soft drinks but one during each day.

Look for ways to walk more and increase your activity level.

A sedentary lifestyle doesn't change overnight without you focusing on changing it. Set a goal to take a walk every day. Try to get in 30 minutes, whether it's a 30-minute walk or three 10-minute ones. You may already have a habit established every evening that involves watching videos, television or gaming. Find a way to make it more active. For instance, before you settle in, do a plank and hold for as long as possible. During commercials on television, do jumping jacks. Get the whole family to do them with you for added fun. Seriously, everyone will whine and complain, but keep at them and you're sure to swing them over to your side. It could be a new family tradition that benefits everyone.

Learn to change how quickly you do things.

Are you a procrastinator until it comes to eating sugary treats? Use that talent to your benefit. Push yourself to do ten jumping jacks immediately, but start to procrastinate when it comes to sugary treats. If you mess up and eat something sugary, forgive yourself and start again. It doesn't help you in any way to chronically condemn yourself. In fact, that's a bad habit that you also should resolve to change. If you don't like yourself, why would you want to do anything that makes you healthier?

• If cutting out added sugar is one of your goals, start first by cutting out sweet treats, such as candy or baked goods, then focus on food with added sugar once it becomes a habit. It's easier if you have fresh fruits and vegetables ready as a snack.
• Carry water with you at all times if you're making dietary changes. When you feel like eating or drinking something sweet, take a large gulp of water or two to quell your appetite.
• Create a go-to list that starts with your initial goal and builds to the ultimate goal. Once you're sure you've conquered one habit, move on to the next goal on the list. When you have a plan of action, it makes change easier.
• If you want an option that's even easier, come into Habitat Health and Fitness for a free trial session. We'll create the program for you, then all you have to resolve to do is show up and do it.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness

While there's a general consensus that after six weeks, exercising can resume. However, just like a workout program, that should be modified for your particular situation. If you've had a normal delivery and have no complications, maybe even exercised throughout the pregnancy, you might start sooner. If you had a C-section or other complications, you may not be ready. Always check with your health care professional for the best time to begin doing strength training after having a baby.

First work on strengthening the pelvic floor.

No matter if you gave birth vaginally or with a C-section, strengthening the pelvic floor is important. Start your exercise regimen by building strength in that area. Doing a pelvic tilt several times a day strengthens that area. So do Kegel exercises and the yoga position, the Happy Baby Pose, where you lay on your back, bend your knees to your chest and grab onto your feet or ankles with your hands. Increase the amount of walking you do and carry the baby around the house if you want to do strength training. You'll be surprised how someone so little could weigh so much after several minutes. If you go outside for a walk, use a stroller or carrier for the baby. You'll still be exercising your legs.

If you did strength training before childbirth, don't expect to pick up where you quit.

Your body just went through some major trauma, even if the birth was a breeze. Hormones have changed, everything stretched and you probably haven't done heavy duty strength training in months. Take it easy, especially at first. Start out easy and work into your previous levels slowly. You need to give every part of your body a chance to recover. Use lighter weights or do bodyweight exercises, modifying them if necessary.

Avoid high-impact exercises when you first start, particularly if you're new to exercise.

Focus instead on exercises like the pelvic tilt, which is also known as the bridge. Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Your arms should be by your side as you lift your bottom off the floor, squeezing it as you do. When you get to the top of the bridge with your body straight from your knees to your shoulders, do a Kegel and hold. Then slowly lower your body. This exercise builds strength in core muscles and the glutes.

• n you're ready to get back to the gym, even if it's just to get some "mommy time," you'll love our group sessions. Each person has his or her own workout plan that's tailored to specific needs and goals.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness

If you haven't already set a fitness goal. It's time to start. Setting a goal is like having a destination on a road trip. If you don't know where you're going, you won't know when you get there and you definitely won't know the quickest way to go. A fitness goal can be anything that's important to you. If you want to look better, it can be toning your body or losing weight. If your health is top priority, it may include building your strength, flexibility and endurance.

Once you set your goal, you'll have a specific target at which to aim.

Your goal needs to be specific, besides being extremely important. Don't just say you want to lose weight, but note how much you want to lose. It's the difference between going to a town and going to a town to a specific address. A combination of a healthy diet and a program of consistent exercise that's based on your specific goal is normally the answer to fitness goals.

How does having a goal give you motivation?

Having a goal that's specific and one that's measurable can help keep you on track. How do you measure your progress? That all depends on what your goal is. Is it to lose inches and look fit or lose pounds? Do you want to have more energy? Is more flexibility, strength or endurance what's important to you? You can measure yourself, weigh yourself, or track the number of reps you do. You can also take a picture once a month in the same outfit, at the same place to show how improved you look every month.

Break down your goal to smaller steps.

A big goal is motivating, but doesn't keep you motivated. You need small wins along the way to do that. When you break down your goal to smaller, more quickly accomplished chunks, you get success every time you achieve that smaller goal. Success builds success. While a big goal can get you started, breaking it down to smaller goals keeps you motivated.

• Don't forget to write down your goal and break it down to the steps to reach it. Also record your progress. If you're out of shape, it can be as simple as being able to run around the block without stopping.
• Staying motivated is easier if you have accountability. When you know someone else is watching your progress, you'll be more motivated than if nobody is watching.
• Our semi-private and team training classes not only provide a personal trainer who works with each person individually, it also provides comradery. You'll make friends who can help drive you toward success.
• Our trainers can create a program for you that will help you reach your goal faster. We take a scientific approach that makes your workout time more effective.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness

We know that your diet, including what you drink is just as important to improving your health as exercising at Habitat Health and Fitness in Winter Haven, FL. It's one reason we promote healthy diets and encourage making healthy choices when you want something to drink. While water is always a good choice, another viable option is green tea. There are many health benefits, besides it being low in calories and devoid of added chemicals. You have to be sure to keep the green tea its healthiest, so don't add sugar or sugar substitutes. If you need a sweet drink, add a bit of honey and slowly reduce the amount you add if you can.

What are the health benefits of green tea.

If you want a beverage that can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, oral cancer, stomach, breast and pancreatic cancer, opt for green tea. According to a variety of studies, you need between three and five cups a day, although as little as one cup a day can help. It can also lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by as much as 33%, but that's only if you drink at least six cups a day.

If you want a boost to your metabolism, consider green tea.

Not only do the polyphenols----catechins such as EGCG---improve your metabolism, they also provide other benefits. EGCG---Epigallocatechin Gallate---help prevent neurodegeneration to protect you from diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's disease. They are antioxidants that help prevent neural damage and even reverse existing damage. Large studies showed adults that consumed three cups a day for years had far less cognitive impairment. It reduced the potential of Parkinson's by 30 to 40 percent. .

You'll have a better smile because green tea helps teeth and gums.

Whether you're fighting gingivitis, tooth decay or simply want better oral hygiene, consider drinking green tea daily. It has an antibiotic, antifungal effect to improve your oral health. That can also improve your breath, since bad breath often comes from bacteria in the mouth. Not only will your oral health improve, so will your bone health. Several studies indicate that women who drink green tea suffer from fewer fractures during perimenopause. Matcha tea---a type of green tea---is one of the best for this.

Green tea can help you lose weight. The catechins boost your metabolism and the tea is filling to reduce the amount of calories you consume. It also may help regulate your hormones and aid in reducing Buddha belly.

Green tea can also stabilize your blood sugar levels, which can help you lose weight and lower your risk of diabetes, abdominal fat and reduce sugar cravings. When you eat sugar, it increases insulin in your blood, which causes you to feel even hungrier.

Green tea can boost your immune system because of the antioxidants it contains. If you drink matcha tea, it has the most vitamin C, which also helps your immune system. Other types of green tea also contain vitamin C, but not as much.

Green tea can fight the signs of aging, particularly to your skin. It helps hydrate the body, which helps fade wrinkles. It reduces free radicals that can age skin and potential reduce the effects of photoaging.

You probably have heard a lot about eating raw veggies and how healthy they are. While it's true some raw vegetables provide more nutrients than cooked ones do for some nutrients, cooking enhances other nutrient content. Cooking may destroy natural enzymes, but it's also easier to digest. Some vegetables simply don't taste good raw, either. It all depends on the vegetable and how you cook it.

Raw vegetables contain more nutrients, but do you absorb them all?

No matter how much of any vitamin you consume, if your body isn't absorbing it, you're not getting the benefit. One study followed three groups of women. The first group ate the average American diet. The second group ate a diet based on dietary recommendations with both cooked and raw vegetables and the third group followed a raw food diet. While the group that ate the raw food diet consumed more nutrients, some of those nutrients, such as beta-carotene, the group that ate the diet that was both cooked and raw absorbed more of the nutrient. Cooking can destroy some of the nutrient, but it may also make that nutrient more bioavailable.

When you cook tomatoes, you increase the lycopene content.

Lutein is another antioxidant that increases in cooked vegetables. In addition, when you cook vegetables, it can release certain minerals and make them more available. Heating spinach to release calcium is just one example. Cooked vegetables increase not only digestibility, but also helps you chew more thoroughly and boosts the net energy value of food.

Some vegetables simply taste better cooked.

Sweet corn, potatoes or eggplant are also foods you shouldn't eat raw for flavor or digestibility. Potatoes, whether white or sweet, simply taste better when eaten cooked. Raw potatoes contain lectins and starches that hard to digest and can irritation. Asparagus is also best when cooked and tough to chew when raw. Carrots are actually healthier when they're heated. The heat helps release nutrients. Don't even consider eggplant, it's bitter and tastes awful if it's not cooked.

• If you don't like raw vegetables, the healthiest way for you to eat a vegetable is the way you'll actually eat them. Cook them if you like or eat them raw, but add more veggies to your diet.
• While tomatoes lose much of their vitamin C during cooking, cooking boosts the amount of lycopene. Include them in your diet both cooked and raw.
• While crucifers like broccoli, kale and Brussel's sprouts taste good both cooked and raw, the raw version can create gas or upset your stomach. Introduce the raw version slowly into your diet.
• Find ways to increase your intake of veggies. Perk up a salad by adding roasted vegetables you normally wouldn't include. Add vegetables to your scrambled eggs or have a stir-fry night.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness