Why You Shouldn’t Set New Resolutions This January

by Sandra Koury | Dec 27, 2019 | All, Home, Top Tips

Okay, so this post isn’t for everyone. This one is for the yo-yo dieters and the “I can’t stick to my workout” crew. For many people, setting schedules, making plans, and sticking to routines is near impossible.

We might know exactly what we need to do, exactly how we should eat, or which workouts benefit our bodies. Even if we have all the right information, we still stray from the path to success. Why?

Well, we often forget something we’re commonly told: Everyone functions differently. Just because an approach works for Person A doesn’t mean it’ll work for Person B. So why take–on your health and fitness plan any differently?

If you’re setting up your New Year’s Resolutions and, in the back of your mind, you’re already anticipating the struggle, this one’s for you.

Don’t Set a New Goal, Set a New Approach

When we struggle to achieve a goal, it’s rarely the goal that’s the problem (unless it’s unrealistic or unattainable). So, instead of setting a different goal let’s focus on setting a different approach.

This is how to do it:

Zero–In on Your Motivators

1. Take some time to think about what your reasons are for wanting to make some change. However you do it, make sure it’s memorable. Make a list and keep it accessible, think about them to yourself, say them aloud, tell them to someone, or find some other way to make them easy to remember.

2. Choose more than one! This is so important to do. If one of your motivators ceases to matter, or if you successfully hit a milestone, having more than one helps you keep going towards your ultimate goal.

3. Choose reliable motivators. For example: If you’re losing weight for health reasons, and you choose to motivate yourself with the possibility of fitting into a special outfit, what would happen if one day you decided you no longer cared for that outfit? A reliable motivator could be the sense of accomplishment from taking the stairs without getting winded or when you find you’re able to chase your kids for longer than a few minutes.

Rewrite Your Goal

If you have a goal like “I want to lose 25 pounds in 3 months,” rewrite that goal to say something like: “In 3 months I want to be able to run a mile without stopping.” When you’re focused on your fitness level instead of on the scale, you’ll lose weight without even realizing it.

You can also take your big goal with the faraway end-date and dice it up into bite-sized pieces with closer end-dates. Doing it this way means you’ll have opportunities to hit more achievements which can do a lot for your motivation!

Forgive Yourself for Your Mistakes

If you make a mistake, don’t let yourself slip into the idea that you may as well stop trying. If you swore off junk food, and one day you couldn’t help yourself and you had a donut, that doesn’t mean you can have junk food for the rest of the day because you already slipped up. Forgive the moment of weakness and enjoy the heck out of that donut. Then get back on track from there without undoing the rest of your day.

On that note, you should also make allowance for small indulgences here and there. Taking the hard-core “cold turkey” approach doesn’t work for everyone and you may sabotage your chances for long-term success.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

Remember when we talked about planning and how it’s easier for some than it is for others? Waiting until the last minute can be the downfall of many. We understand. The end of the year is a really busy time. There’s no reason you can’t start to work towards your resolutions on January 10th instead of the 1st, or an hour from now if that’s what you wanted. The important thing is to set a hard start date. If you waffle back and forth on when you really started your diet, you’ll find reasons why this or that cheat meal is acceptable, because you “didn’t really start yet.”

Trust us on this one, your body doesn’t know the difference between starting your health plan on Monday or Wednesday or at the start of the new year or mid-February. The important thing is to decide when you’re starting and follow-through.

We can help you succeed! Follow our blog for helpful posts on fitness and nutrition topics, and for motivational stories from other LA Fitness members. You’ll find helpful posts like our dietitian’s answer to this question about How to Create a Meal Plan. You’ll also be able to listen to the episodes of our podcast, like this one on How to Like Running. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter, today!

10 Mason Jar Uses That Work

by Sandra Koury | Nov 29, 2019 | All, Fun, Home, Top Tips

Mason Jars became popular in 1858 when John Landis Mason invented an alternative for food preservation that was easier and more effective than the current methods.1

Before these versatile glass containers became used for everything from food storage to decorative flower vases, they were the hottest new design that simplified your kitchen creations.

The biggest innovations were the airtight lid that kept air, bacteria, and bugs out of your food, and the clear glass that allowed you to view the contents without having to break the seal.1

Today, these jars have more uses than we can count. In observation of National Mason Jar Day, we’re giving you a list of 10 ideas to put your mason jars to good use.

Nightlight

A simple string of lights can be bundled and placed inside a mason jar for a DIY nightlight. The result of this easy project is a warm household addition that is reminiscent of catching fireflies in a jar.

Don’t be fooled by the utility of a nightlight either! They can be great tools for better sleep because they disrupt your circadian rhythm less than a light of regular brightness.

Candle Holder

Use these jars without the lid to craft some rustic candle holders. All you need are a few tealight candles to take these jars from ordinary to beautifully functional.

Use them for a romantic evening in, as evening party decorations, or as accents on your holiday table setting.

Salads

When building a salad in a jar, the results can be colorful and appetizing, but does it work? Our guess is that it can be helpful to have a glass jar, especially if you like to use acidic salad dressings. The glass won’t absorb and pass along the flavors to your next meal and the airtight seal can help keep your veggies fresh.

When putting together your ingredients, you’ll want to pour the dressing first and add your heaviest ingredients next. Beans, corn, and other non-absorbent ingredients help separate your dressing from lighter ingredients that can wilt. When it’s time to enjoy your creation, shaking the contents out into a bowl helps distribute the dressing across the contents.

Infused Water

Water is necessary for our bodies and for some reason we can be very good at depriving ourselves of it. Fortunately, someone decided it would be a good idea to infuse water with the fresh, crisp flavors of different fruits and herbs.

Now that we’ve been enlightened, we can enjoy the refreshing relief of a cool drink of water in dozens of flavorful ways. Mason jars are, again, a great way to infuse your water because they are compact and can also serve as your drinking glass.

Iced Coffee and Tea

Iced tea is made even simpler by using a mason jar because it can be prepared overnight. You can steep a tea bag in cold water, refrigerate it the night before, and it’ll be ready for your grab-and-go morning.

Cold brew coffee concentrate can be diluted with water and then mixed with cream, sugar, and any spices you like to customize your drink. This one may not taste the same if prepared the night before but using a glass mason jar is a fun way to show off your expert coffee making skills.

Oatmeal and Parfaits

While we’re on the subject of overnight prep, overnight oats are another great option. Not only do they have a lot of great health benefits, you can take their flavor in so many different directions. You can also layer some fruit, yogurt, and granola for another tasty morning meal.

Preserves and Pickled Foods

We can’t talk about mason jars and ignore what they were initially invented for. Take “homemade” to the next level and try making your own pickled fruits and vegetables, and toast-worthy jams.

If you “quick pickle,” you’re essentially soaking your chosen fruits or veggies in a mixture of vinegar, water, and salt. This method requires you to refrigerate the jars. To properly pickle, the process is more labor intensive and requires a lot of boiling, transferring, and testing. This step-by-step instruction by Epicurious can help you pickle pickles that can be stored up to 1 year without refrigeration.

Dry or Fresh Herbs and Spices

Dry herbs are great to buy in bulk because they will keep for a long, long time. Store them in small to medium sized mason jars to easily see what you have on hand and for simplified stacking in your pantry or cupboard.

You can also use the jars as mini planters where you can keep fresh herbs to grow in your kitchen. Be careful not to over water them because, as you know, mason jars don’t have holes for water drainage. You don’t want to risk root rot and you probably don’t want to try creating your own holes in the jar.

Nuts, Seeds, Rice, and Beans

Preserve the crunch of nuts and seeds and the freshness of rice and beans by storing them in a mason jar. These can also be purchased in bulk, and if you’re trying to minimize your impact on the environment, you may already have reusable grocery bags. Make sure your grocery bags are available for your next shopping trip by storing your previous purchases in mason jars!

Original Gift Giving

Do you have a recipe everyone loves, and you’d like to gift the tasty treat without giving away your secret recipe? Assemble a festive mason jar complete with all the ingredients for your famous hot cocoa, brownies, cookies, or other baked good.

This works best when you have dry ingredients because you won’t need to refrigerate your gift. Making these yourself, as opposed to buying the store-bought versions, is also great because you can substitute high calorie ingredients and sugar for other components. You can still gift the flavors of the season but without compromising your own or the health-conscious lifestyle of your recipient.

For more snack time ideas for your mason jar, check out our dietitian’s suggestions to this reader’s question about energy-boosting snacks. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

Sources

Goldfarb, Anna. “A Short History of the Mason Jar.” Kitchn, Apartment Therapy, LLC., 1 May 2019, www.thekitchn.com/a-short-history-of-the-mason-jar-234146.

LA Fitness Living Healthy Blog Gets New Look

by Fitness Contributor | Dec 1, 2016 | All, Helpful, Top Tips

LA Fitness Blog Gets a Fresh Look

Find tips on the best ways to navigate through all the new and exciting things on the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog!

New Changes

Have you noticed anything different about the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog? If so, you are right on track, as we have redesigned it and made it more interactive for a better experience for you! What do some of the redesign elements include?

Interactive- The LA Fitness Living Healthy blog allows you to ask our Dietitian questions and also allows you to submit your fitness goals. Watch videos, gain insightful information and interact away!
Any device any time- The LA Fitness Living Healthy blog is easily accessible and can be viewed on either your laptop, mobile device, or tablet!

These are just a few of the many things you can do with our blog redesign. Below are a few tips and tricks on how to navigate throughout the new blog and how to find articles that pertain to you.

Navigation Tool

Let’s get started with an introduction to the Navigation Tool on the top of the home page. You will see four different options to choose from: Home, Community, Nutrition and Subscribe. These are your main sources for exploring the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog. There is a lot to see and learn, so keeping reading for more information!

Want to have access to the latest and greatest articles from LA Fitness? Then go ahead and click that “Subscribe” button! To subscribe, click on on the Subscribe tab in the Navigation Tool, fill in your e-mail address, and then click “Subscribe.” If you check the checkbox beneath the e-mail address box, you will also receive up-to-speed news about LA Fitness, club updates, offers, promotions and much more!

Were you subscribed to the older LA Fitness blog? Make sure to re-subscribe to the our newest one by following the same steps above. We don’t want you to miss out!

Another simple way to subscribe is to keep an eye out for the Subscribe button below.

You will see this Subscribe button around the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog. It gives our blog users a quick and easy way to subscribe. All you need to do is click on the picture or text and it will take you directly to our subscribe page. Next, you can fill in your e-mail address and start the process of being involved with the LA Fitness community via our blog!

Community

The LA Fitness Living Healthy blog offers a community section which includes member stories, club league updates and one of our newest additions, Commit to Fit. Commit to Fit is a section dedicated to our members who want to commit to fitness goals. No matter what your goal is in fitness, we want to hear it! Here is how you can submit your fitness goals:

In the Navigation Tool, click the “Community” tab, and you will see an option called “Commit to Fit”.

Mobile

If you are on a mobile device, click on the top right corner with the three bars and you will see all of your options.

Commit

After you have clicked, “Commit to Fit,” it will bring you to this page:

This is where you can submit your personal fitness goals and possibly be featured on the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog! Whatever your fitness goal may be, it is important to us. It’s simple to submit – all you need to do is fill in your name, fitness goal, when you want to achieve your goal, your e-mail address and then enter your home club.

Check out the community section for more inspiring member stories, fitness tips and much more!

Nutrition

Now that you know how to submit your fitness goals, why not get more information on living a healthy lifestyle? That brings us to the “Nutrition” section of our blog. If you head up to the Navigation Tool again, you will see the page called “Nutrition,”. Click on that and it should bring you to this page:

From there, you can navigate through the latest nutrition articles, and go through older ones as well!

Questions

Have a question for our registered Dietitian? Send a question via the LA Fitness Living Healthy blog. Go to the “Nutrition” tab in the Navigation Tool, hover your mouse over it and click on “Submit a Question.”