Here are my suggested resolutions for 2010: Have more sex, get more sleep, and never let yourself feel hungry. Sound hedonistic? These three resolutions will save and lengthen your life, and they are very realistic and noble goals. New Year's resolutions were never so much fun -- it's all in how you see it. Let's think about it for a minute, shall we?
Like millions of others, you are waking up on New Year's Day with the best of intentions. It's a new year and time for a clean slate. Resolutions come in all shapes and sizes and they are as varied as the people who make them. I get very excited about New Year's resolutions -- not because I have a long list, but because New Year's is a teachable moment. Everyone is looking themselves in the mirror in a rare, private moment of honest reflection. I was being purposely provocative instructing you to have more sex in 2010, but the act of making a resolution isn't flippant or funny -- it's actually sacred. Unlike any other time of year, I can have a heart-to-heart with my family, my friends, my patients, my audience and most importantly myself (I am right there with you!) and decide what needs to be changed for the better. Like all of you, I make a list. And like all of you, each year I fail at a considerable portion of that list. But over time I have seen the success column grow longer than the failure column. You can too.
I believe resolutions are so important that I devoted my show for the entire first week of January to creatively incite a revolution in your resolutions. The first salvo is that changing your life doesn't have to be a painful effort leaving us demoralized and depressed. Food, sex and sleep, three critical components of a healthy life, are a solid starting point for any resolution list.
The most common intention that we wake up with on January first is to lose weight. That's appropriate since a whopping 60 percent of us need to! What if I told you the best way to lose weight is to make sure you never let yourself feel hungry? Sound counterintuitive? It is. But you have a hormone named Ghrelin made in our intestines and stomach that lets you know when it's time to eat. It's the nasty hormone that makes your stomach growl and overwhelms your willpower. If Grhelin starts growling, you are going to overeat and likely eat the wrong foods. You have to always keep your Grhelin levels in check by lightly snacking on nuts, apples or other sensible foods. Keep the lion in its cage by feeling full and you will lose weight because you don't have an uncontrolled urge to overeat.
On our January fourth episode we'll show you exactly how to lose weight, but we will also caution you that your waist size is the better indicator of your health. If you aren't sure whether you need to lose waist, here is an equation you can use: your waist must be half your height or roughly between 32.5 and 37 inches for a woman and between 35 and 40 inches for a man. For years I bet you have focused on the scale. Now, focus on the waist size - it's all in how you see it.
Now, instead of seeing your New Year's resolution as a diet, what if we broke it down into specific steps and played with the language a little bit? For instance: "My New Year's Resolution is to never have anything in the house with these five items listed as the first five ingredients on the label: simple sugars, syrups, enriched flours, saturated fats, or trans fats. If you make your resolution about dumping out the bad food and bringing in the great substitutions that we show you on January fourth, you'll feel you have a bit more control of the situation and you'll forget the D word (Diet! Ahem.) See it differently and it will feel different. For a list of tips, recipes and a 14-day-plan visit www.doctoroz.com.
Still want to hear about that resolution to have more sex? Let's save the best for last and talk about sleep first. I want you to go into your bathroom at home, shut the door and have a conversation with yourself in the mirror. Take a good look at that person staring back at you and tell her that she is worth nurturing with seven hours of sleep per night. I am adamant about this. Sleep is one of the most important and most overlooked health drivers. You simply must give your brain time to re-organize its files and your tissues time to repair themselves. I do understand the pressures of parenting and working - I have four children and I have worked many long hours in the hospital over the years. I empathize with the stress life brings -- and I feel infinitely more prepared to handle it when I am well rested. I have more energy. I think more clearly, my mood is better and my appetite stays in check. The benefits of sleep are too numerous to list and it comes down to a question you've heard me ask before: Are you willing to admit that your life is so far out of your control that you can't get enough sleep each night? If, after proper planning, you aren't able to fall asleep it could signify a serious illness that mandates a consult with your doctor. I want you to stop seeing sleep as a luxury where you can cut corners. It's all in how you see it -- so see it differently and put it on your resolution list!
Now for the other resolution that involves your bedroom: sex. Stop seeing sex as something that is only for younger people or budding romances or those with enough time. I really need you to see this one differently because it's a hugely important part of being healthy. I want you to make a New Year's resolution that you will have sex several times a week with your partner. Believe it or not, that's actually a lot of work for many people out there. It's a lot of work because right now we are in the middle of a sexual famine in America. We simply aren't having enough. Why is this an issue? Because a loving, healthy sexual relationship is an indicator that things are great all over, and a lack of one means the opposite. Sex is an indicator of many things, and if you aren't having it at least once (and ideally more) a week for 30 minutes, it could mean something is dangerously wrong. Physical issues that get in the way of a healthy sex life are depression, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity to name a few. All of these can pose grave threats to your overall health. If none of these factors apply to you but you and your mate still aren't wearing out the lock on the bedroom door then it's time to examine your relationship. Sex is an expression of intimacy and is often a valuable indicator of the health of your relationship. Looking at the reasons you are struck by a sexual famine can be painful, but they will be well worth it, and may just save your life or relationship. So make a resolution to have more sex, and embrace all the obstacles along the way - the outcome will be blissful.
So join me in the resolution revolution - I bet you didn't think that food, sleep and sex could make up such a great resolution list. It's up to you in what order you want to start, and it probably depends what time of day you read this. Tune in the week of January 4 and we can go over each one in more detail. Happy New Year. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a resolution to keep, and I am not saying which one....
Follow Mehmet Oz, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/droz.com
Lisa Turner: Food Cravings? Listen to Your Body
Keep up the good work. Happy new year!
Feel free to check out the New Year's Resolution series for tips to help succeed with your own resolutions. http://blog.drjudic.com
I like this post.
Surely we have reached a time in our history to understand how very important it is to reinforce our community by giving what we enjoy to others.
It was called "death by chocolate". He said the chocolate desserts were so decadent that it was better than sex......
SO....EAT CHOCOLATE ....that way you will be doing two things at once....having sex....and you won't be hungry after eating chocolate.
Then you will be ready for a good nite's sleep.
Am on borad.
Thanks.
Of course the hard part of all of this is when you start looking at all the underlying issues for why you are not sleeping well or having sex.
Is it because you have no idea how to deal with all of the emotional pain you are carrying around? Or is it because your relationship sucks?
A necessary ingredient at the core of good health and wellness is the bottom line belief that you are worthy. Worthy of being happy, worthy of taking the time to care for yourself.
There is so much self-loathing in this country, which shows itself as overeating, overconsuming and just plain negativity. The screwed up self-image (especially rampent among American women, but men are catching up) is fed by advertising, toxic programming, toxic work places and toxic people.
In order to really embrace the "resolution revolution" you have to commit to loving yourself more, and really believing (in spite of whatever "evidence" your self-loathing self talk can muster) that you are worthy.
I'm thirty and still a virgin. By choice, but this also happens to be one of my biggest regrets in life now. Reading Dr. Oz's blog made me realize what I'm doing (or rather not doing) is really not healthy, and I'm starting to wonder even normal. This has been bugging me since I turned 30. I keep waiting for Mr. Right, and my friends kept telling me there is no such thing. I didn't listen, holding on to some idea of love at first sight. Gawd, when I hear some of my friends who are getting married now talk about their sexual past and regrets at times, I think at least you have that life experience. It's a bigger regret holding unto some fantasy that finally went up in smoke last month.
It's really sad, now my friends are getting married, and I'll be the clueless thirty old virgin at the clubs. I did this whole thing wrong, very wrong. Not making those mistakes and having those life experiences are a bigger mistake. Reading the blog just brought home the fact how important sex is to living a happy life. Living this life holding onto an ideal has made me very resentment at all that I have missed out on. For me, 2010 means making up form mid-90's to 2000's. I feel sorry for the first guy, 10 plus years of pended up sexual needs.
Can't believe I'm posting this on HP.
If you eat ice cream thinking it's a meal, sure, you'll feel empty and dissatisfied. If you eat ice cream, thinking it's a nice little treat, it can actually be quite tasty.
Sex: You have to have someone for this. Going solo is an option, of course, but it lacks the intimacy and feeling of belonging that is part of actually being with someone you love. This may sound sexist, but facts are facts, if you are a guy, you have to have money in order to get a woman to notice you. Both sexes need money for grooming and nice clothing, but if the guy doesn't have a nice car, most women will not even notice him. Of course, most of the time, they meet without the car, but once she finds out he either has a clunker or no car at all, he's automatically out. Cars obviously cost money.
Sleep: With today's economy, lots of people are not getting enough sleep, due to worrying about bills and the future. So, this may not be an option for a lot of people, either.
Not being hungry: Again, there are a lot of people who cannot afford to eat well enough to not feel hungry. I'm not to that point myself, yet, but if the economy doesn't improve soon, I will be.
So, overall, in order to follow the advice from this article, you have to have a good job, paying good money, which are few and far between right now. So, this article is simply making fun of the poor and destitute again.
I used to be optimistic, but many years of learning how humanity actually works has taught me to not be optimistic. People don't want love anymore. They just want what they want at the moment. Most don't even think about tomorrow. Also, you have to have money to be able to do what you need to do to make more money. Education is overinflated, and rising all the time. Financial aid can take care of a lot, yes, but if you can't afford the remainder, then you still can't go to college to get the education you need to make more money.
He also had one of the highest levels of integrity I'd ever seen in anyone, and that hooked me for life.
I had dated rich, great-looking men before him, who couldn't hold a candle to my man. We've been married 17 years & have only just begun.
Maybe you're looking at the wrong women.