HEALTH AND FITNESS

The latest heath and fitness news and updates

Before bed don't reach for those carb rich snacks.

In keeping with tradition, many of you are no doubt starting the new year with a resolution to lose weight.

Also in keeping with tradition, chances are, your weight-loss resolution will fizzle out by February.

People often try to change too much, too quickly, then get discouraged when they can't stick with their lofty goals. The result: They give up on healthy habits altogether.

Illustration by Kenneth Harrison /
The Times-Picayune

I resolve.

It's a weighty promise, so weighty that the resolutions we make in January we break before February, research reveals.

Or as Mark Twain so aptly put it: "Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."

But what if we vowed to make just one positive change in our lives in the new year? Would our odds for success improve? We've asked local experts for the one change that could make a difference in specific aspects of our lives. Take a look and pick one. None of these ideas will expire in the new year.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-PicayuneKametra Matthews favors running to stay in shape.

KAMETRA MATTHEWS
30, lab supervisor

Favorite exercise: Running.
Days of exercise a week: Five or six.
Diet do: "Lots of fiber, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein, with emphasis on lentils. And lots of water."
Diet don't: "Red meat, pork and fatty foods."
Guilty pleasure: "Chocolate."
Exercise benefits: "I feel great. It keeps me toned and keeps my weight down; and it's a stress reliever and a morale booster, as well as a social outlet."
Exercise philosophy: "It's necessary to stay fit, sane and healthy."

Kathy Anderson / The Times-PicayuneKametra Matthews favors running to stay in shape.

KAMETRA MATTHEWS
30, lab supervisor

Favorite exercise: Running.
Days of exercise a week: Five or six.
Diet do: "Lots of fiber, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein, with emphasis on lentils. And lots of water."
Diet don't: "Red meat, pork and fatty foods."
Guilty pleasure: "Chocolate."
Exercise benefits: "I feel great. It keeps me toned and keeps my weight down; and it's a stress reliever and a morale booster, as well as a social outlet."
Exercise philosophy: "It's necessary to stay fit, sane and healthy."

David Zalubowski / AP Photo
Travelers queue up to pass through the security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. If you're traveling be sure to take some healthy snacks.

The holiday season's scrumptious eats can challenge the will power of even the most devoted health enthusiast. But as tough as those holiday temptations are at home, they can be exponentially more challenging when traveling.

Whether you go by plane or car, stay at a hotel or with friends or family, your healthy eating regime quickly can get out of whack on the road.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox In "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who" Morton was the Mouse of reason. Writer Chris Bynum blames such cute animated characters for her inability to set a mouse trap in her house.

It's 2 a.m. Rustling sounds are coming from my kitchen. I bolt upright in my bed. The offending critter doesn't have the common decency to shush, letting me think the noise is in my head.

Silently I ease off the bed, assuming Crouching-Tiger-Hidden-Dragon position, tiptoeing into the kitchen to nab the invader.

Using my ears like military radar, I rotate my head slowly to pinpoint the source of the sound. I squelch the reflex to jump onto a chair as I flip on the light.

There on the top shelf of the pantry is unmistakable movement inside a plastic bag.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-Picayune
Melissa Gibbs hopes to maintain her weight loss in 2009.

Melissa Gibbs
Age: 39
2009 resolution: "To maintain my weight loss. Since February, I have lost 25 pounds. I know from past experience that maintaining weight loss is actually more difficult than losing the weight in the first place. I know what it is like to lose and then gain it back. I have learned that setbacks and failures are very valuable and actually should be prized as learning experiences. So I feel good about the success of this resolution."

When Gayle Dellinger put out the call last year for the first New Orleans firefighters calendar, she easily found a dozen firemen to strike a pose with less than a week's notice.

This year was even easier.

"They started working out last year after the calendar went out," says Dellinger, a New Orleans Rotary Club member and the marketing force behind the "Fire Fighters Look Hot" calendar that raises money for a mobile command van for the department.

"It's not a sexual thing," Dellinger says. "It's a health and fitness thing."

As if to prove the point, this year the firefighters staged a secondary fundraiser: the Firefighter Workout Challenge. In conjunction with Salvation Studio, a health and fitness center right across the street from Engine 1 fire station on Magazine Street, the firefighters put regular folks through a boot-camp-style workout using the tools of the lifesaving trade.

Jennifer Zdon / The Times-PicayuneThink twice before you grab that glass of whiskey -- it'll cost you in calories.

From celebratory toasts at parties to sipping Old Fashioneds on Christmas Day, alcohol is practically synonymous with the holiday season in south Louisiana.

Considering that traditional holiday cooking isn't what anyone would call "figure friendly," you would be wise to factor in cocktail calories the next couple of weeks or you may be starting the New Year with unwanted extra pounds.

A single serving of liquor (1.5 ounces), wine (5 ounces, red or white) or light beer (12 ounces) has a relatively low count of 100 to 125 calories. But are you really pouring just 1.5 ounces of liquor or 5 ounces of wine into your glass? Are you really having just one 12-ounce bottle or can of beer? And are you adding mixers such as juices, simple syrups and soft drinks? If so, you can double or triple the calories of your seemingly innocuous low-cal cocktail.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-PicayuneRobert Russell enjoys running.

ROBERT RUSSELL
58, payroll technician

Favorite exercise: Running.
Days of exercise a week: Five to seven.
Diet do: "Well-rounded diet with emphasis on low-fat foods."
Diet don't: "Fatty foods."
Guilty pleasure: Ice cream.
Exercise benefits: "When it comes to health, it keeps everything under control -- blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, sugar levels."
Exercise philosophy: "Consistency. Make it a part of your life, just like getting up and going to work Monday through Friday."

Illustration by Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune But there's one way to guarantee that seasonal indulgences don't sabotage a healthy life: Maintain the "daily fix."

It's that time of year when the diet Scrooges sweep in to slap your hand away from the holiday buffet table. But there's one way to guarantee that seasonal indulgences don't sabotage a healthy life: Maintain the "daily fix."

"It is our daily habits that add up over time and have an impact on our weight and health -- not the indulgences that come with special occasions or even on the weekend," says Manhattan-based nutritionist Alexa Fishback.

Her book, "The Daily Fix" (Rodale, $17.95), is geared toward working women in particular, using the workday as the framework by which all good habits are made.

Illustration by Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune

Even when we try to fight it, the holiday season can be a time filled with caloric indulgence. The entire month of December is a continuous barrage of parties, dinners and gifts, all centered on seemingly limitless quantities of food. Yet without fail, people still seem compelled to bestow calorie-laden gifts of cheese straws, cookies and fudge upon their loved ones.

An interesting tradition, since just one month later nearly everyone is unified in a struggle to shed extra holiday pounds.

So this year, instead of showering family and friends with tins of temptation and baskets of decadence, consider giving the gift of health, a gift that'll really show how much you care.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-PicayuneWendy Farrelly loves indulging in dark chocolate on occassion.

WENDY FARRELLY
50, certified public accountant

Favorite exercises: Running and spinning.

Days of exercise a week: Five or six.

Diet do: "Everything in moderation."

Diet don't: "Fried food and fast food."

Guilty pleasure: "Dark chocolate -- and any dessert with dark chocolate in it."

Exercise benefits: "Living in New Orleans and eating whatever I want."

Favorite exercise: Running.
Days of exercise a week: Six or seven.
Diet do: "Lean protein, vegetables."
Diet don't: "An excess of starches."
Guilty pleasure: "Sweets, pancakes, doughnuts, desserts, cookies, candies."
Exercise benefits: "Good health, strength and stamina, flexibility, confidence, energy and a good night's sleep."
Exercise philosophy: "Our bodies were meant to work, and when you ask your body to work, it rewards you with all these benefits."

Consider tradition with a twist. Look at family traditions and adapt them to your own family's lifestyle. If you focus on doing it exactly the way your grandmother did it, you will get lost in the stress of it.

Avoid all-or-nothing thinking. Eating and exercise habits will be challenged during the holidays. Give yourself permission to have some flexibility in your routine.

Delegate and communicate. Women enjoy positive feedback from interaction. Include other family members in holiday duties, and be clear about your needs. Pick a wise friend to be your reality check when things seem overwhelming.

Shift to a spiritual focus. Embrace and accept the free gifts the season brings. Rely on your senses -- look at the sky, feel the air, smell the aroma of holiday cooking -- to enjoy the many nonmaterial holiday blessings.

Give Superwoman a holiday, too. Set boundaries. Knowing your limits is a major tool in reducing stress. Be realistic about how much you can do in the time you have. And remember that this is a holiday -- meaning a time to relax -- for everyone.

Rethink your role in the happiness of others. Just as you can't season every recipe to suit each person at the table, you can't control the happiness quotient in every family member's life. The less stressed you are, the more likely those around you will feel welcome and relaxed.

Pay heed to the budget. This year more than ever it's important to watch holiday spending. If you overspend, not only will you have seasonal stress, but, in the long run, the consequences of those poor decisions will have a ripple effect on your stress levels. Let some things go, and substitute them with a calmer sense of self.

Sources: Dr. Renee M. Bruno, critical professor of psychiatry, Tulane University School of Medicine; and Leonard Jack, Jr.,professor of behavioral and community health sciences, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.