Get a Jump on Your New Year’s Resolutions
At the time you are reading this, you will have about 4-6 weeks left remaining in this calendar year. 2020 and New Year’s resolutions are right around the corner. Each January, roughly one in three Americans resolve to better themselves in some way. A much smaller percentage of people actually make good on those resolutions. While almost 75% of people stick to their goals for at least one week, only 46% of them are still on target six months later.
At The Anti-Aging & Longevity Center of Philadelphia, our goal is to help our patients achieve medical wellness and optimize health. While most people go to conventional doctors because they’re sick, our clients are people who are motivated to get healthier and live longer by preventing disease before it occurs in the first place. This is true preventative care. People say they go to the doctor when they get sick. As we get older, and are taking care of older bodies, prevention is key. One must be proactive for healthy aging.
Medical wellness is much more than just being free from illness. It is a dynamic process of change and growth. Simply put, it is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being – not just the absence of disease. In order to achieve medical wellness, we must actively take steps to get there. Our clients go to the doctor because they don’t want to get sick.
I’m going to suggest three simple goals that you can start on Thanksgiving and achieve by the time the new year rolls around. A study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology concluded that it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic. The exact number was 66 days. Jump-starting your New Year’s resolutions in November will ensure a higher likelihood of success come 2020.
The holidays are usually a time when we tend to eat more, drink more, sleep less, and encounter more stress than usual. There is no better time to take an active role in changing our health for the better. So, here’s to your health!
Resolution #1: Try intermittent fasting (IF)
Intermittent fasting refers to an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and periods of fasting. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat, but when you should eat them. It’s not a diet. Think of it as a tool in your toolbox that can be paired with any type of diet or lifestyle.
While intermittent fasting has gained recent popularity, this is not a new technique at all. Fasting has been practiced throughout human evolution. Ancient hunter-gatherers did not have refrigerators, supermarkets or food available all year long. Sometimes they could not find anything to eat, and as a result, humans have evolved to be able to function without food for extended periods of time.
There are several different ways of doing IF, all of which involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods.
The first is the 16/8 method, which involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating periods to 8 hours. Another common method involves fasting for 24 hours one or two times a week.
Many people find the 16/8 method to be the simplest, most sustainable, and easiest to stick to. Finish dinner by 7pm and don’t eat anything until 11am the following day. This is, by far, the most popular method. If you really depend on that morning cup of coffee, you can still have it. Just make sure that the cream and sugar you add don’t exceed 50 calories and your body will remain in the fasted state. Aim to stick to the 16/8 method three or four times each week.
What happens when we intermittently fast? Simply put, caloric restriction helps us live longer and better.
IF is a powerful weight-loss tool. By eating fewer meals, you usually lower your total daily caloric intake. Fasting also lowers levels of insulin and increases levels of growth hormone, which leads to release of the fat-burning hormone norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline). These changes increase the body’s basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is essentially the number of calories we burn every hour during normal resting activities. IF is a double-edged sword, as we consume fewer calories and we burn more calories even without exercising.
Our practice focuses on anti-aging and longevity. I help my clients feel and look younger and to extend life while maintaining vitality. Intermittent fasting effects changes in your body on the cellular and molecular level that help prevent aging. The cells in your body initiate important repair processes and change how your genes express themselves. When you fast, your cells initiate repair processes that decrease inflammation. Essentially, they churn up old dysfunctional proteins that build up inside of the cells. This process, known as autophagy, is a “spring cleaning” that is necessary to keep the body running smoothly and efficiently.
One additional benefit that every one of our IF patients has reported? Improved mental clarity.
Remember to seek out a qualified physician before embarking on caloric restriction. IF improves insulin resistance, but if you’re prone to low blood sugar, you need some medical guidance before starting IF.
Resolution #2: Cut your stress levels
A little stress now and then won’t kill us. In fact, spikes in cortisol (our fight or flight hormone) give us an energy boost and enhanced focus. Constant stress is a different story. We’ve all heard the expression, “Stress will kill you.” Well, it’s actually true, and I’ll explain why. Prolonged stress, whether physical or mental, leads to high levels of cortisol. Cortisol turns off aspects of the immune system that fight infection, impairing our natural immune response and making us vulnerable. As a result, stress leads to inflammation and impairs the body’s ability to heal. This leads to fatigue, irritability, intestinal problems, headaches, weight gain, increased blood pressure, low libido, damaged joints, insomnia, depression, obesity, and heart disease, just to name a few consequences. While stress is inevitable, it’s important that we actively combat stress with relaxation techniques, proper sleep, gentle exercise, and by making time to do the things that give us joy.
Many of us have stressful jobs, challenging relationships, or young children to care for, and it’s simply not reasonable to just stay away from all situations that cause stress. Here are a few strategies to help mitigate stress and lower those cortisol levels:
1. Practice some deep-breathing techniques. Start three times per week and increase to once a day. Find time each morning and each evening, even just 2-3 minutes to start, and build up over time. If you think your life is too busy to set aside 3 minutes twice a day, you’re probably the person who needs this the most.
2. Take a yoga class two or three times each week, or practice meditation. Some yoga classes actually incorporate meditation as part of the program.
3. Exercise for 30 minutes three times each week. Whatever you choose, it’s important to stick to the program. Put it on your calendar at the beginning of each week or it’s not going to happen. These self-care regimens are essential to your well-being; give them the same amount of importance as client meetings and parental obligations. Exercising for 30 minutes a day takes up 2% of your day – yes, you DO have time for this when you resolve to do so.
Resolution #3: Sleep more
Better sleep can help you eat healthier, exercise more, and think more clearly. Sleep even helps you keep your resolutions. Many of us think of sleep as a luxury, but it is not. Some people aren’t even aware that they’re lacking proper sleep, or they purposefully sacrifice it for work or leisure demands.
If you want to eat healthier, you have to get adequate, high-quality sleep. The pitfalls of eating junk food are twofold when your sleep is lacking. Night owls are much more likely to snack in the evening by raiding the pantry, and those who eat at nighttime tend to weigh more.
Even if you’re not a night owl, people who don’t sleep enough tend to make poor meal choices during the day. Restricting sleep decreases your levels of leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full) and increases your ghrelin levels (the hormone that increases appetite). This can change the profile of what you eat to high-carb, salty, sugary snacks.
Who wants to hit the gym when they’re exhausted? Improving your sleep quality and quantity is essential to exercise optimally. Beyond lacking mental motivation, another detriment of poor sleep is that the physical payoffs of exercise are reduced.
Want to improve your work quality, reduce brain fog, and be in a better mood?
Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Try to go to bed about the same time each evening. Keep your bedroom as dark as possible because light can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps control your sleep and wake cycles. Cover up any direct glow from clocks or electronics because you’re most sensitive to bright light in the middle of the night.
Make a habit of not using your smartphone or tablet in your bed. Set the phone to “do not disturb” mode so you aren’t interrupted by late-night calls or texts. Exercising some deep breathing or mindfulness techniques can also help set the stage for a great night of sleep.
Remember that the new year is a time for people to reflect on the past year and promise to make positive lifestyle changes. Set these small, attainable goals now, to help ground you through the holiday season. Consider setting these goals with a family member or friend. Life is a marathon, not a sprint – so take one small action each day. Visualize yourself achieving your goal.
