NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONERS GUIDE TO NOT BURNING OUT

Here's some New Year's advice from Dr. Mike Woodbury at our North Raleigh Chiropractic Partners office!

The concept of the “New Years Resolutioner” is almost a societal meme at this point. The person who is well intentioned about putting their health first and commits whole heartedly to starting an exercise routine, cleaning up their diet, and getting good sleep. Unfortunately it seems that by February most of these folks are burnt out. They’ve fallen off the wagon, and for others this makes it one of a few years in which they sat out to better themselves and somehow are fed up and back in a rut. There are a few common reasons for this, and ways to avoid the falling out.

Too much, too soon in the gym

            One common reason people stop working out altogether is because they’ve jumped in too hard, too quickly. Can you go to the gym and workout hard 5-6 times a week? Yes! But not for long. Putting your body under that much stress so quickly is a sure fire way to burn yourself out mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s a massive shock to your system. Your muscles are sore for what seems like days on end, your low back hurts, your knees and shoulders are clicking and popping, and climbing stairs has become a burden too great for Atlas himself to carry. Your daily routine is interrupted, so now you fight the 5 o’clock traffic to go torture yourself rather than heading home. The responsibilities of life haven’t gone anywhere. You still have to do the laundry, make dinner, and put the kids to bed, but now your body hurts everywhere. And if another one of those gym salespeople tries to sell you on personal training you’re going to throw one of those dumbbells at his blockhead. So how do we avoid the burnout? Here’s a couple strategies

• Ease into it- Going 0-60 in the car is fun. Doing that to your body is not. Use weights that are manageable. And don’t go 5 days a week right out of the gate!
• Plan your workouts in advance- 3 days a week is a great start for most people. Get out your calendar and mark off 3 days in each of the weeks in January that are going to be the most convenient for you.

“Sally has a soccer game on Tuesday? That’s definitely not a day to workout. But I do work a half day on Wednesday, so that will be a good fit”.

Mark your days, try not to workout back-to-back days, and STICK TO THEM.

What do I even do here?

            Ok, you made it in the door. You remembered your gym bag, water bottle, AND your tennis shoes. Great.

“But what are all these machines? And those dumbbells over there are as big as I am, so I probably don’t need those. What do I even do with these dumbbells that I can actually pick up? Why does that big guy over there look so angry? Maybe I should just go to the treadmill.”

As a regular gym-goer myself I’ve seen that very thought process in action. I, and others, can tell when someone either knows nothing OR knows just enough to get themselves hurt. We want to help, but we don’t want to be “that guy” that gives unsolicited advice. We also don’t want to make someone feel uncomfortable by just walking up and bossing them around.

In undergrad I was a personal trainer, so I can tell you that there are a lot of great personal trainers and a lot of not so great ones. You probably don’t want to sign a contract with a gym for 6-12 months with a potentially bad trainer for hundreds of dollars. Where do you turn to? Well, in true millennial fashion, to the internet we go! There is NO REASON anymore to not know what to do at the gym. Why? YouTube. There are literally hundreds of fitness dedicated channels that show you chest, back, leg, etc workouts step by step AND will show you proper form. Simply put what you’re looking for in the search bar and pick your favorite one. If weights aren’t your thing, no problem. Most gyms have some kind of spin class, aerobics, or Zumba class ready to go at the busy times of the day. Plus you have the added benefit of a group environment where I guarantee you’re not the only resolutioner on a bike!

Vegan, paleo, keto, is everything unhealthy now?

            We all packed on a few pounds over the holidays. Like seriously, some people even fried a WHOLE TURKEY. Well, this is the south, we can fry just about anything. So before you panic just know that most of the added weight we put on over that 2 week conveyer belt of salt and sugar is water weight. It’ll go away almost as quickly as it came on.

            In 2019 a lot happened in the way of popular diets. We have the paleo diet of trying to eat very little starches or complex carbs, the classic vegan diet of only plant products, high in fruits and veggies, and now the ketogenic diet where 80% of your calories come from healthy fats and we kick the body into burning ketones instead of glucose (yeah, it’s getting a little crazy).

            Here’s the thing: humans love to pick a team. There’s a whole rhetoric to all these different diets, and there are definitely benefits to them all! Avoiding processed grains and food with paleo is great, eating lots of healthy fats like fish and avocados in keto is really good, and who couldn’t use some more fruits and vegetables in their diet? Here’s my best personal advice

Just. Eat. Real. Food.

Real cheese, not the powdered stuff in the instant box. Real meats, not bologna or those little mini hot dogs in a can from Vienna. Doritos are vegan, but not good for you. Deli meat is paleo, but not good for you. Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. Fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh baked bread, milk, eggs, nuts and seeds. Eating well at home really isn’t difficult IF you know how to do it.

But what about eating out? Most of your fancier restaurants use good quality foods already. The real hang-ups are the impromptu lunches and quick stops on the way home. My personal advice is when in doubt, get a burrito. Seriously. Chipotle is a great spot. Think about it, a flour tortilla, rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, fajita veggies, guacamole, cheese and chicken or lean steak. All things you’d find on the perimeter of the grocery store. Don’t want the tortilla? Get the bowl.

Ultimately, when it comes to diet, you need to ease into it just like exercising. Replace one junk food meal the first week. That’s only one meal out of 21, you can do it. The next week replace two, then three, and so on. Lastly, and I can’t stress this enough, it’s ok to have a cheat meal. In fact, designate Friday nights as official cheat time. Go out with your buddies and have some nachos and a beer. Ladies, have the wine and pasta. None of us get out of this life alive, you have to live a little. 10% of your meals being bad isn’t going to outweigh the 90%. Your goal is to  make it a happy habit, not a punishment to bear. Enjoy eating healthfully, gradually, but also know when to live a little. Going from 100-0 on the diet is a sure fire way to get you back in the drive-thru line. Don’t beat yourself up over not being perfect. Messing up means that you’re trying, and that’s the best you can do!

Blog Written by: Dr. Mike Woodbury

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