Gerrit's Success with the 3-2-1 diet

Gerrit Van Doornik (@GerritvDoornik on twitter) is a student from the Netherlands. He has undertaken a fund raising project with some friends, who are all completing a range of endurance events to help raise money for a charity called ‘right to play’. You can read about here. http://www.project1on1.nl/?page_id=152

He read about my 3-2-1 blog and gave the diet a go, getting some great results. The difference here is he then adapted it to suit his lifestyle – which personally I think is the KEY TO SUCCESS not a failing! Here is his story...

When Mel asked me if I could write down my experiences on the 3-2-1 diet I didn't really know where to start.

Let’s go back to October, I just finished my first triathlon season with a bang (crashed in my last triathlon, but that’s another story) and started making plans and a schedule for winter. One of the plans was to lose some extra weight, I’d been around 84 kg (168lbs) all season and in October I was somewhere between 85-86 kg, perfect according to my friends and family but not for me of course.

I didn’t know anything about losing weight so I started reading stuff, asking people for advice and then Mel came by on twitter about the 3-2-1 diet. For me this was all the same as any other diet but she was enthusiastic so I figured to give it a try.

How was it?

It took some efforts, eating a lot in the morning, a bit less for lunch, bringing along healthy snacks to the university and not eating too much for dinner. For me eating a lot didn’t prove to be difficult, I’m used to eat soft curd cheese (Quark) with muesli in the morning and I just ate some more of this, easy enough. Lunch was fine too, I’m a student and I usually get some slices of bread at the canteen for lunch, this is reasonable cheap and since the diet promotes a lighter lunch (compared to what I was used too), this got even cheaper now, perfect for me! Than the 4-o’clock snack came along, for the first weeks this was ok, I brought some stuff from home and this kept me through the day. The dinner in the evening would then be some light salad, all perfect.

The difficulties

I’m not a very well-planned person when it comes to shopping. Muesli+curd for the morning is easy enough but I always mess up with the snacks, so at some point I found myself never having a snack for the afternoon. Drinking water is part of the diet so I started increasing the water intake (even more). This helped enough for me, I was not hungry and I was still losing weight.

Living in a student house together with 7 other students proved to be an extra obstacle too, for the first few weeks I was fine eating a salad (or something similar) when they had “normal” dinner but never joining in for dinner is just not so nice. So at some point I joined in for “normal” dinner, still trying not to eat too much but probably I was eating much more then I was supposed to (sorry Mel)!

Training

For my training, I didn’t change too much, I’m training somewhere between 9-12 times a week and I only do morning training sessions if I plan to do two sessions a day. I simply prefer training in the evening so I don’t wake up early if I don’t have to.

RESULTS:

The diet helped. I started somewhere in October and continued until the beginning of December, I lost around 5kg (10lbs) and I felt perfect while doing it. To give some evidence, here is a graph of my weight (the trend is obvious, I lost just a bit over 1 pound a week).

My experiences with the diet are positive, I’m not the most experienced dieter, this was the first I ever tried and I didn’t follow it exactly all the time. It works for me to stick to the 3-2-1 principle without being too strict. During dieting I didn’t feel fatigued due to a lack of food or whatsoever, but at the same time, I hardly ever feel fatigued because of this so I cannot tell if 3-2-1 made a difference.

At this moment I’m at a steady 83kg again which is fine for me in the off-season, my first big plan coming up is the Rotterdam Marathon (in april) and I might lose some kg’s before doing that. If I will, I will definitely use the 3-2-1 principle again.

Mel’s thoughts:

When I did this diet, I too lost a steady but small amount per week, so this is very similar results to those I myself experienced. The beauty of this diet is you can be flexible, and still make it a success. For me this is the key, or a ‘diet’ is impossible to stick to and will ultimately fail!

Having nothing else to compare it with, Gerrit will not be able to state, like I can, that a ‘normal’ diet, which works on calorie deficit, usually leaves athletes tired and depleted, therefore unable to perform. This was certainly the experience I had.

I am very glad that Gerrit had success, and hope both he (and you) can see that around a loose set of basic but locical nutritional principles, this diet CAN work for anyone, but especially for athletes.

Thank you Gerrit, for sharing your story.

Amanda’s success on the 3-2-1 diet plan

Amanda is a rugby player that I know via Twitter (@singbo7, http://openside.amandasingh.me). Little did I know, she had read about the 3-2-1 diet plan I posted on my blog, and decided she would give it a go. As you will read, she had AMAZING success. A BIG thank you Amanda, for sharing this with us. Here is her story...

Using the 3-2-1 plan advocated by Melanie Ryding, I lost 4kg in 2 months and reduced body fat by 3%.

I'm a female rugby player and have been looking to put on size. By size, I mean muscle, not fat! But I have struggled with getting my nutritional balance right, and suffered a lot from fatigue, especially after games.

My training program is reasonably intensive, with a typical offseason week consisting of 10 - 12 sessions, as follows:

Typical week training:
. 5 strength or power sessions (upper and lower body)
. 1 acceleration / speed and agility session
. 1 - 2 aerobic endurance session
. 2 - 3 anaerobic endurance sessions (typically tabata intervals or Crossfit sessions)
. 1 field / skills session

Towards the end of last year, I scaled back my training a little to freshen myself up mentally. I was still working hard in the gym because my primary focus was on building size and I basically kept up the same eating habits. I went from 67.5kg to 72.5kg, and although some of this was muscle, a fair proportion of it was fat.

In November, I planned a trip to the US to play in the New York Sevens Tournament. The week before I left, I stayed with my mum, who had lost 7 kilos on Weight Watchers and suddenly realised I needed to fix my nutrition. My endurance and strength were good, but to improve as a player, I had to get my body composition right and optimise the way I fuel my body.  

Two days before I left, I came across Mel on Twitter and read her 3-2-1 article. That very night, I wrote a nutrition plan for myself based on it and never looked back.

Firstly, I followed the plan as best I could while travelling, which wasn't too hard, 'cause I made a shopping list and planned my meals (although there was recourse to McDonalds on occasion!) I found I lost 2kg in 2 weeks, although some of this was muscle bulk because I had no gym access.

Here are the main changes I made:

·       scheduled in a training session before breakfast every day (except Sunday, my rest day). This may be anything: a gym session, a tabata or other endurance session, or a skills session;

·       increased the size of my breakfast (usually a small amount of cereal, some whey protein isolate and a piece of fruit);

·       ditched artificial sweeteners, most specifically, Pepsi Max. For the past ten years, I'd get through two cans of diet cola a day. This was a big change for me, but I think it's been critical.

·       drank a lot more water. I find water usually satisfies those hard-to-define cravings that I would normally have attempted to satisfy with a muesli bar.

·       prepare snacks on Sunday for the entire week. I make up packages for morning tea each day, usually 20gms of beef jerky and an apple. Since I've already exercised, had a good breakfast and eaten a good snack by 11am, the rest of the day is a breeze. Being prepared helps me avoid less good snacks that I'm prone to eat when I'm tired.

·       snack on peanuts, fruit, ham or light crackers with cottage cheese. I like to prepare a mix of sultanas and nuts so they're always handy.

·       eat two pieces of 85% cocoa Lindt chocolate every night for dessert just to keep me happy!

Importantly, I now consider eating to be refuelling, and this has had some pretty amazing consequences. I will usually try to do some sort of exercise before each meal, even if it's just a set of pistol squats or one-armed pushups (in Greasing the Groove style). Nowadays, I don't even feel hungry unless I have exercised!! I was amazed to see my teammates rush for food when we got off the plane in Darwin last week - I wasn't even the slightest bit hungry!

There are two more points I ought to mention. In my third week on the 3-2-1 plan, I set myself a challenge: complete five Sufferfests in seven days. For those of you un-aquainted with the Sufferfest training videos , they're well worth checking out if you want a challenging workout for your indoor trainer and are as mentally difficult as they are physically taxing. Five in a week was a significant mountain for me to climb. And as it turned out, I added an actual mountain to that training load, with my dad asking me to run Mt Majura with him for my sixth very intense endurance session for the week.

Despite this increased training load, I performed extremely well: hitting PBs for each Sufferfest session AND two PBs in the gym! I was gobsmacked. This 3-2-1 thing was a winner in my book, especially considering my previous problems with fatigue.

The second thing I should mention is that I changed the way I perform my resistance training. Instead of going to failure each set, I now aim for the highest volume of quality work I can possibly perform. Because I did so well with the Sufferfest challenge week - where I scaled back my gym sessions a little - I am certain now that my previous train-to-failure methods were contributing to my fatigue.

I find I have much more energy in general now and recover from individual training sessions more rapidly. I feel so much better and I feel my performance is still improving, and this is due in large part, I am sure, to the 3-2-1 nutrition plan. I am now 68.5kg and leaner than I have ever been, meaning my muscle bulk is pretty near peak, too. This is a pretty good size for my rugby goals, and my performance in the recent Darwin 7s indicates I am faster and more powerful, with stamina comparable to any Wallaroo player.

A big thanks to Mel for posting her thoughts on the 3-2-1 plan!!

-----------------------

If you have any questions or if I should clarify any points, please let me know!

Cheers,

Amanda Singh

Mischief Rugby

Read her blog here: http://openside.amandasingh.me/

What is the 3-2-1 diet? Find out here http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html

Have you tried the 3-2-1 diet yet? How did you get on? Share your story with me and be the next guest blogger... info@melanieryding.co.uk

Does Fruit make you fat? ‘No Fructose Diet' – final verdict!

Here’s the reason I started this experiment: http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2011/01/is-fruit-sugar-fructose-bad-for-you.html

Here’s the results from week 1: http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2011/01/no-fructose-diet-week-1-verdict.html

What have I done so far?

·       2 weeks, no fruit (at all!) including no fruit drinks, nothing fruit flavoured, I checked everything I ate for fructose content.

·       I replaced fruit with rice cakes, small quantities of nuts, or ham or something similar.

·       I drank water / black coffee instead of fruit drinks.

·       I have still followed the 3-2-1- rules with regards to meal balance

During this week (week 2) I added back in sports drinks, but only to use during hard or long sessions.

How was it eating like this?

As I have already said, I found this type of diet exceptionally hard. It didn’t get any easier towards the end of week 2. In fact, now, where I would normally crave fruit, I am now finding my cravings have switched to cakes and biscuits. When I first gave up chocolate, it took 2 weeks to ‘get it out of my system’. All that seems to have happened in this case is somehow I have rationalised the fact that it’s ok to eat biscuits and cakes, because they are not fruit and its fruit I am not allowed!! Of course, this is a ridiculous train of thought! Clearly, there is a real risk here to my wellbeing, health, and training fuel mix!

I still found exercise harder at times, and to be honest felt a lot more lethargic during morning pre breakfast sessions. Some people say it was psychological, I honestly don’t think it was because it didn’t change at all throughout the past 2 weeks.

It is also worth noting this, the most important thing. During the past two weeks I have been ill, or one kind or another. First I got an eye infection, and then no sooner was I done with that, I got an ear infection. Now it needs to be noted that I am usually a very healthy person, and very rarely visit the doctor. I honestly cannot remember the last time (if ever) that I had an ear infection. It certainly seems a very large coincidence that the main food group that delivers vitamin C is omitted, and I become ill. I would definitely attribute this to eating less fruit.

I quite honestly am relieved to be ‘back to normal’ so to speak!

The results after 7 days

Weight difference: -2.5lbs

BMI difference: -0.1

Body fat % difference: no change

Water content difference: no change

The results from week 2 (compared to the result at the end of week 1)

Weight difference: no change

BMI difference: no change

Body fat % difference: no change

Water content difference: no change

TOTAL RESULTS after 2 weeks on a no fruit diet:

Weight difference: -2.5lbs

BMI difference: -0.1

Body fat % difference: no change

Water content difference: no change

What does this mean?

I had no idea what to expect when I started this experiment. I was I must admit, convinced by the research I had read. When I look back, a lot of research on this topic is USA based, and I read that they use a lot of high fructose corn syrup. It is also worth noting that the research quoted in my previous blogs does tend to focus on people with a much higher body fat % than me.

I tried to understand why the research suggests that fructose may be more likely to convert to fat, yet I had seen no change. Victoria Haigh (@fitvic on twitter) a nutritional advisor, reminded me that it may take up to 12 weeks to see a change, much like when you first start exercising? I guess she may have a point.

It is also worth noting that everybody is different, therefore the results will not be the same on everyone that tries this. You can see that by the comment Kris made on the first blog on this topic:

‘I actually was looking into this several months back - because I was doing all this good stuff and not "seeing" any changes. Then I started looking into the glycemic index. As a result, I actually did no fruit & no starches for 3 weeks - it was tricky, but I based my meals/snacks around protein and low GI veggies. And I totally noticed a difference. Now I eat fruit and starches (but they aren't the centre of my meals) - but the fruits I eat are typically apples, pears, berries & melons.’

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it actually made NO difference at all to me, and in fact I believe contributed to a weaker immune system.

Many people have said that surely the benefits of fruit outweigh everything else? I tend to agree. I was sent this article, which, although the research is in very early stages, is suggesting that polyphenols and flavanoids (found particularly in fruit) are key to rebuilding muscle. Is this why I ache so much more than normal?

‘In a 2006 edition of the prestigious science journal Cell, Lagouge and colleagues published a study whereby mice underwent a 15-week diet and exercise programme where they were either supplemented with resveratrol or a placebo. After the supplementation period, the results were striking. The mice which had been supplemented with resveratrol had a 33 percent higher peak oxygen uptake, and a near 50 percent greater run time to exhaustion.’
When the researchers took samples of the mice muscle and attempted to look further into the mechanisms behind these increases there was a 2.5 times greater area of mitochondria in the muscle.’ http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/nutrition-can-fruit-make-you-fitter-28854

I certainly think that without fruit and vegetables, I would eat a much less healthy diet. When I searched ‘does fruit make you fitter’ on the internet, I got an article that writes exactly that! Here, they say fruit and vegetables stave off other cravings. http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/why_fruits_and_vegetables_help_you_lose_weight.aspx

When you ask Google can fruit juice make you fat, the answer you will get is yes, because of the amount of sugar that is added to it during production!

I found someone else who tried this experiment too. This will show that different people will get different results: http://www.fitbuff.com/does-fruit-make-you-fat-the-truth-revealed-workout-recap-september-28-october-5-2008/

It’s interesting to note that when he decreased calories, he gained weight. I have in the past been told that in fact, the body goes into starvation mode if you don’t eat enough, and therefore you are more likely to store fuel as fat. It is also worth noting that his workload increased by around 15-20 minutes a day. David Sutton, my strength and conditioning coach (@PerformTrain) would, I imagine, say that is all you need of strength training to make a difference, regardless of diet.

There is no getting away from it, people are still saying excessive fructose consumption is bad for you.

'Fructose, especially its excessive consumption, may increase:

• the risk of abnormal blood clotting ailments and hypertension (high blood pressure)
• the risk of type 2 diabetes
• total blood cholesterol levels (it serves in part as the raw material for the synthesis of cholesterol within the body)
• LDL-“bad” cholesterol levels, and
• blood triglyceride levels, especially in diabetics (fructose has a greater propensity to increase serum triglycerides than glucose).

Excessive consumption of fructose may also cause:

• fatigue, especially in persons who are fructose intolerant
• insulin resistance, and
• obesity.

It is estimated that up to 33 percent of persons are unable to completely absorb fructose due to fructose intolerance (also known as dietary fructose intolerance (DFI) which may cause

• flatulence
• intestinal cramps (abdominal pain)
• bloating, and
• altered bowel habits (diarrhoea)' http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/reader_triglycerides_low_fructose_fruit.htm

I do not, however, believe that I excessively consume fructose.

What now?

I’m told that eating fructose based foods with protein Slows down conversion to glucose & regulates release of insulin. Insulin is needed to properly utilize the energy stored in carbohydrate. This process can be better explained here: http://www.shapefit.com/diet/sports-nutrition-during-exercise.html. Although this talks in an exercise context, the principles are the same. I'm also told that depending on whether an individual is acid or alkaline based determines where you get your Vitamin C from.

Interestingly, except for my early morning apple, I don’t often eat fruit on its own, certainly not in large quantities. Perhaps this is why I have seen no change.

In future, I think I might keep some of the habits (e.g. less fruit juice, snack on rice cakes, natural yoghurt rather than the likes of Muller light) however I will not be omitting fruit from my diet, I believe the positives far outweigh the negatives. I also read that strength training is the best way to reduce body fat %. But I think that’s a topic for another blog, perhaps! And then there's also the different fruits and how they have different fructose levels....

My conclusion: Science may suggest that fructose contributes to body fat, but science also suggests that it contributes in part to sports performance, stronger immune systems (as well as many other things I expect)! So where you gain in one area, you might lose in the other.

No Fructose Diet – Week 1 Verdict

What have I done so far?

·        1 week, no fruit (at all!) including no fruit drinks, nothing fruit flavoured, I checked everything I ate for fructose content.

·        I replaced fruit with rice cakes, small quantities of nuts, or ham or something similar.

·        I drank water instead of fruit drinks.

·        I have used no sports drinks or anything of that nature.

·        I have still followed the 3-2-1- rules with regards to meal balance (see the rules for that here http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html

·        I still drink black coffee.

How was it eating like this?

I found this exceptionally hard. Harder than I thought. I really miss and crave sweet things. I found myself rationalising the fact that I could eat biscuits, for example, because they had no fructose! In cafes, where I would normally choose a banana or an apple for example, I would be very tempted to choose a less healthy option because I craved the sweet taste. Savoury snacks just simply don’t cut it in my opinion!! If I was to stay on a no fruit diet long term, I know that the detrimental effects of eating more cr@p because I am avoiding fruit sugar would be something that would need real consideration.

At times, I also found that exercise was harder. I was trying to rationalise this by telling myself that it was all in my head. I drank water instead of the usual energy drink, used red bull (which I hated, because its fizzy!) but found myself more fatigued, and more muscle aches when usually I wouldn’t have this problem.

The results after 7 days?

Weight difference: -2.5lbs

BMI difference: -0.1

Body fat % difference: no change

Water content difference: no change

What does this mean?

Hubby’s first reaction was that maybe because the conversion happens in my liver, the liver is skinnier, but that is all! Who knows!

Personally, I think big changes would be seen more in people who previously had a high fructose diet, (e.g. corn syrup, etc) or an unbalanced diet that contained TONS of fruit. There is clearly research to support this, but the research I have read tends to be on people with a much higher body fat % in the first place.

Further research:

After someone sending me some more research that was another challenge to this theory, I wondered why is fructose was so bad, did energy drinks contain it.

This article is an interesting read, and says that fat is a poor fuel that makes you go slower, but also talks about fat burning and weigh management, embracing the train before breakfast idea that I already do http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article3.pdf. He says that training in this way will not yield results but is a weight management tool.

This one, however, talks about fuel for performance, and suggests that despite fruit sugar being bad, a glucose/fructose combination is actually good for you with regards to sports performance: http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article4.pdf

Here’s more on this topic:

‘Jeukendrup and his colleagues believe that the glucose-fructose combination works better than glucose alone because having multiple carbohydrate sources allows more carbohydrate to be absorbed from the digestive tract. Research indicates that glucose and fructose have their own separate transport systems in the digestive tract. These transporters help carry ingested glucose and fructose from the digestive tract into cells. However, the glucose transporter can only carry glucose, and once it’s filled, it can’t carry any more. But the revelation is that fructose has its own separate transportation system. So even though the glucose transporter is filled to capacity, the fructose transporter can deliver even more fuel to working muscles. Thus, by providing both glucose and fructose, and taking advantage of both transportation systems, you too can deliver more fuel to your muscles and extend endurance even further.’ http://www.powerbar.com/articles/18/latest-research-on-carbohydrate-recommendations-during-exercise.aspx

My conclusion so far: Fructose may scientifically be proven to contribute to body fat, but it also contributes in part to sports performance, so where you gain in one area, you might lose in the other.

So far, avoiding fruit has in fact made NO DIFFERENCE at all to my body fat %.

What now?

I will try and persevere for another week, this time, including fructose during training, but not as a snack at other times.

Is Fruit sugar (fructose) bad for you?

This was a question someone asked me on twitter – they had read that fruit sugar is stored as fat, was this true? Fruit sugar is mainly fructose. So I asked a Nutritionist, and they said yes possibly, did I want to try a no fruit diet experiment? Jeeeeez not ANOTHER diet!!??

As always, I needed to see what the experts were saying.

A crude search will provide you with this explanation:

‘One thing you may fail to realize is that fruit contains a lot sugar. Even though it's natural sugar it can still cause weight gain if you eat too much and do not burn it off.’http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/forgotten-weight-loss-tips.html

And more scholarly articles that in places refer specifically to science and research:

Fructose is transported into cells via a different transporter than glucose

Once fructose is in the liver, it can provide glycerol, the backbone of fat, and increase fat

formation. (http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf(

Our liver is the major site of fructose metabolism. In the liver, fructose can be converted to glucose derivatives and stored as liver glycogen. The liver can only use and store so much fructose as glycogen at one time. The remainder will be stored as fat; thus, a very high single-serving dose of fructose is much more likely to find a home around your middle (http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf)

Glucose can be processed by all cells in the body, by fructose can’t. It bypasses an important step due to its molecular structure, and therefore goes straight to the liver, and is more likely to be stored as fat (http://www.parrillo.com/articles/52.pdf )

But, there is some contradiction:

Relax. Experts have concluded: “The intake of naturally occurring fructose from an unprocessed, whole food diet is low and unlikely to contribute to any negative metabolic consequences.”

(http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf)

Further reading:

http://www.anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/articles/fructose10-4.pdf

http://www.whatsyoureden.com/pdf/8_Fructose_Ideal_carb_for_gaining_fat.pdf

Although I am still not completely convinced, there is some suggestion that fructose could be more likely to store as fat. BUT, is that just if you eat TONS of fruit? Who knows?!? So there’s only one way to find out!

WHAT I PLAN TO DO:

·       Try the new no fruit diet for 3 weeks (hopefully,if it doesn’t drive me insane before then!)

·       Continue with the 3-2-1 diet http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html

·       Cut out all fruit consumption,

·       Cut out fruit juice

·       Only eat fruit first thing in the morning (if at all) directly before exercise

·       Change all snack options from fruit to something else (like rice cakes, carrots, baby tomatoes, for example)

I measured my weight and body fat % this morning, first thing. I will do so again at the end of the experiment, and see what results I get. Watch this space!

Do YOU believe in New Year’s Resolutions? I DO!!

Why not visit my most recent 2011-2012 blog that show you how to set effective New Years Resolutions that WILL WORK

I always set New Year’s resolutions. The difference for me is in recent years they have been short, simple, easy to achieve, and I leave them written on the write on-wipe off notice board above my computer ALL YEAR!

My 2010 resolutions were:

Laugh once each day!

Be more decisive!

I usually make my new year’s resolutions something I need reminding to do, something I don’t do enough, or something I need to learn to do more. With this in mind:

My 2011 resolutions are:

Spend more time with my husband

Always remember to look at the BIGGER picture

Why these? Because, I confess that sometimes I do spend a lot of time training and not a lot relaxing, so I need to remember that more, and hubby gets ‘left out’ some times, unintentionally I guarantee you. Also, my big problem is when I come upon an obstacle, I tend to think ‘catastrophe’ rather than remembering there is more to everything than what is happening in just that moment.

You think it’s a waste of time? Don’t know where to start? I surfed the net and found a selection of ‘popular’ New Year’s resolutions. A selection of the best (in my opinion!) is here:

1.     Learn something new

2.     Manage weight

3.     Save money

4.     Get into shape – one of the top 3 most popular new year’s resolutions people fail to keep!

5.     Read a new book a month

6.     Eat more fruits and vegetables every day. Make it a goal to add at least three

7.     Join a health club and go at least 3 times a week

8.     Build muscle. Remember, each pound of muscle burns an extra 40 calories a day while at rest!

9.     Take the stairs instead of the elevator

10.  Park further away

11.  Cycle to work / walk to work

12.  Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night

13.  Limit your sugar and fatty food intake

14.  Take a few vacations and weekend trips

15.  Take up a new hobby

16.  Take time for yourself

17.  Smile more often (it really is contagious)

18.  Have spa days

19.  Recycle more

20.  Be a more attentive parent, spouse, or friend

21.  Spend more time with your loved ones

22.  Make people laugh

23.  Bond with a family member that you don't see often

24.  Have family night at least once a week

25.  Have date night with your partner or spouse at least once a week

Tips for making resolutions:

1. Gather support from everyone around you.

2. Set realistic goals.

3. Keep it simple.

4. Distance yourself from places where temptation exists.

5. Focus on the rewards, not the punishment.

6. Set a target date.

7. Develop a plan.

8. Take the first step.

IF GETTING INTO SHAPE IS ONE OF YOUR RESOLUTIONS then read these: (some may require flash player)

http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/#/exercise-getting-started/4542940021 for simple ideas to get started from scratch with exercise

http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html an easy non counting way to lose weight (I still follow this plan)

http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/#/easy-core-training-at-home/4543153895 easy ways to do core training at home

http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/#/30-no-excuses-home-exercises/4546871346 30 no excuses home exercises (web version)

http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/30-no-excuses-home-exercises-for.html 30 no excuses home exercises (mobile friendly version)

http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/11/resistance-workout-at-home.html resistance work from home (mobile friendly version)

http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/#/articles-home-page/4546649014 more articles that may be of interest

Becky White’s blog is worth a read if you need help with planning New Year’s resolutions: http://www.onesixeightfitness.com/blog/6-steps-achieving-your-new-year-fitness-resolutions

So, now you can tell me, what will your new year’s resolution be?