A New You for the New Year is a video clip that ABC News aired on 1 January and which deals with New Year's resolutions.
In the video clip we are told about five easy ways to make 2014 the best year yet in our life.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and note down the five tips to make our life easier this year.
Lesson idea:
The video clip lends itself to a nice lesson about New Year's resolution after the holiday break.
What are the typical New Year's resolutions people usually make?
Why do people usually fail to fulfill the resolutions throughout the year?
Is it a good idea to share your resolutions?
Have you made any New Year's resolutions?
After watching the video, how could you adapt the theory of the 'easy fives' to your resolutions?
If you're one of the nearly a hundred million Americans starting a New Year’s resolution today chances are you’re about to… let me guess, improve your health for 2014, whether your goal is to lose weight, to eat better, exercise more, ABC’s chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser is here to help with five easy ways to make 2014 the best year yet in your life.
That's right.
So let's start by talking about resolutions and how to pick a good one.
Yeah, I mean that’s when a lot of people make a big mistake and they choose something that's so impossible to do that they're never going to succeed. So if you want to pick something that you really care about and you want to pick something that you can live with, so you know it has to be something that's doable in your life and then you want to tell people about it because that will help keep for feet to the fire when it gets a little tough. Those three things will get you…
I never want to tell anybody. In case I don't do it.
I know, I know because you think next week I’m going to blow it, so I don’t want anyone to know.
So I think that's smart to have somebody watching you.
Becoming your coach, yeah, you don't have to tell everybody, but tell somebody.
Ok. So keep your goal…you know, be real.
That's right. That's right.
So, the five… the fives… Five simple things you can do to improve your health. The first one to address is the single most common New Year’s resolution. That, of course, is losing weight.
Yes, so losing weight, everybody wants to lose weight and they want to lose a lot of weight. They want to look like the models they see here at GMA. But that is a goal for failures. So here it is, this is the fives, 5%, if you can lose just 5% of your body weight, you’re going to reduce your risk for diabetes, all kinds of medical problems and 5% is doable. If you weigh 200 pounds 5% is ten pounds, right? And so if you set the goal, I'm going to lose ten pounds over the next three or four months, you can do it. For a lot of people that just means to cut out the soda, you can lose your 5% that way, ok? And make a change that you can live with and 5% is doable.
5%, very reasonable. Another one we all make, vowing to exercise more.
Yes, you know, and there exercise is key. If you can say there that I'm going to take five minutes, right? Five minutes. You always say you have to do 30 minutes five times a week for your health.
That's too daunting.
It's daunting. How do you even start that if, if your life is full… but five minutes, okay, and that can mean you're getting up from your chair, you’re taking these mini-breaks throughout the day, you're walking for five minutes. The thing we’ve learned is that the time you spent sitting at your desk is really bad for your health. So five minutes, five times a day, you’ve got twenty-five minutes there. You're walking around, you're checking with people, you may go up and down the stairs, going around the block once. You're done.
You can do it.
You can do fives.
I also like, your morning five.
Yes, your morning five. So we know that breakfast is really important to be able to concentrate at work. It’s important for your kids to do well at school but people say, I don't have time for breakfast. Take five minutes in the morning. That’s all it takes for breakfast. Whole grain cereal with some fruit on there, whole grain toast, toasted, put a little peanut butter, some raisins on there. You can do that in five minutes and you'll get off on the right foot.
Yes, it goes against everything you think, I’m going to eat less but that's the one meal that you don't want to skimp more.
Yes. If you skip breakfast you’re more likely to eat more across the entire day and the total of calories will be higher.
Five minutes, all it takes to make yourself some toast. This is interesting, you say that gratitude can improve your health.
Yeah. There is more and more evidence that having that attitude, being grateful, being thankful is good for your health. And so here’s an easy way to change that framework. Consider focusing on the person who really did you in today. Focus on five things that happened today that you're grateful for, it may be just someone said hi to you. Someone who at coffee said ‘oh, you go first’, just something, and before bed, think of those five things. Write them down in the notebook. Occasionally write a note to somebody and say, ‘you know what, thanks so much for just saying hi’ and those things will change your whole mindset, it's good for your health, you'll sleep better.
Less stress.
Less stress.
Stress causes cortisol or something...
Yes, it raises the stress hormones, which are really bad for you. Which is changing that focus to being grateful.
I love that idea. It’s a great idea to do to kids to change their frame of mind.
You can do that around the dinner table, what thing today are you grateful for, what are you thankful for? They will help you.
I’m thankful for these tips. And finally, tell us about five minutes for you.
Yes, so this is the one that I'm going to do, I'm going to tell people this because I’m going to try to do this this year.
Ok I’m going to hold you to it.
For me, it's going to be meditation. I know George meditates, Dan Harris meditates. It’s very hard Dr. B. to turn that brain off I tried, focus on five minutes.
It is, it is. You know, focus on five minute, you know. I'm going to take on meditation. If you do it for five minutes twice a day it's going to bring down those hormones, it's going to relax you and it’s going to allow you to sleep and focus. The stress in your life is going to melt away. I'm more and more convinced that meditation is really, really good for your health and I’m going to try and do it. I have trouble shutting off the brain and everything that is going on. I’m going to try five minutes in the morning, five minutes in the evening.
I'm going to do that one with you. I’m saying it to you right now.
Really? All right. That’s right. The easy fives.
Give me a high five.
High five. There we go.
Really great tips. Thank you so much Dr. B.
