New Year's Fitness Resolutions

After the over indulgence, and over stimulation of the holidays, we turn to January and the new year to get us back on track.  For many of us the resolution that tops our list involves losing weight, exercising more, or just getting healthier. Most people don't associate a library with losing weight, but we are the perfect place to start.  Libraries have books, videos, great selections of music, audio books, and we even occasionally offer library programs involving fitness or food.

If you are considering dieting or starting a new fitness regimen, our first piece of advice is to spread the word. In many diet books, and even on fitness videos, you will often see a warning to first consult your doctor. This is actually great advice for two reasons. First, your doctor will make sure that you won't be doing anything that could harm your health, and they may also have suggestions to help you get started. Secondly, the act of telling someone will commit you to your goal. You will often find that telling your doctor, your family, and your friends about your intentions will help you stay motivated further down the road. You have created an expectation and you won't want to let anyone down--including yourself.

Your next stop can be the library where you can check out our great collection of diet books and diet cookbooks. You can find a lot of diet books for whatever style diet you or your doctor have in mind.  Some of our most popular diet books include:

 

 

Believe me there are many more where those came from! Just ask a librarian and they can show you to our section of diet books. 

Sometime we don't need a full fledged "diet" to solve our weight and eating woes. Sometime all we need is a gentle reminder about what we are putting in our mouths. Some of these books include tips and studies on how mindfulness can help us with our goals.

While we are on the topics of diets, check out some of these healthy cookbooks. They can help you cook healthier meals for yourself and your family.

A couple of my favorites include the Hungry Girl cookbooks because they feature food you can find in our local stores and large portions for those of us who are always hungry on our diets.  She even has one that is all about desserts! YUM!

If we are looking to add more exercise to our lives, we have books and videos for that too! Just adding a little more movement to our day can help us achieve a healthier lifestyle. 

 

We also have DVDs and downloadable workouts on Hoopla! 

  

If you find yourself needing some new tunes to exercise to, be sure to check out our wonderful CD collection. If you are worried about getting them back on time, you can always choose to download some free tunes you get to keep from Freegal! (Free legal music downloads with Freegal--you can't beat that deal!)

 

Just remember we are here to help you with your New Year's Resolution. Stop by any of our locations and we would love to get you started.  

If you are interested in losing weight and living healthier, one of the best things you can do is to keep track of the food you eat and your exercise. This goes back to being mindful. Our new KHCPL Tech for You blog will give you some great suggestions for using your smart devices and apps to help you with these goals. Visit our Food and Fitness for the New Year:  Apps to Help You Track article on our new blog to find out what apps you can use to help you with your goals!