I get excited every year when January rolls around.  The whole month represents a new beginning.  Not only is it a time of reflection, it is also an opportunity to craft a new vision for the 365 days ahead.

Several years back, I made the conscious decision to shy away from the typical resolution list (exercise more, eat healthier, etc.).  I decided to take a more holistic approach, electing to improve my mind, body and spirit.  This approach meant I had to do more than set some loose guidelines (which I would probably loosen and all but forget by March).  It meant permanently shifting certain aspects of my life for a full calendar year.

For example, one year I committed to completing 2 marathons, biking from San Francisco to LA, reading at least 4 books, and (perhaps the most challenging of them all) integrating self-compassion and removing critical thoughts from my mind.  This set of yearly goals demanded dramatic changes in the way I lived.  It made the entire year an incredible and challenging journey.

Through this journey, I learned that all the things we want to achieve in life are possible with full commitment. This upcoming year, dare to do more with your resolutions.  Write down what you really, really want to do this year and do it. Commit and be courageous. You may find that the year long process is more rewarding than the year end results.

Happy New Year.

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With major holidays just around the corner it’s the time of year where our focus comes to helping others, spending time with family, making our deadlines and creating new goals for the New Year. It’s a lot of stress to put into such a short amount of time. The risk of failure is huge.

But if you take a few minutes to plan out your week ahead, it will be a lot easier to keep your head, weight and happiness in check.  Avoiding any possible mental meltdowns, weight gains and unnecessary tension at an already stressful time of year.

This is not the time of year to make any life changing goals.  Rather check in with yourself and see if you are achieving the health and happiness you need.  Make a list of small goals that you want to achieve or improve.  Anything from drinking more water,  adding 20 minutes to your workout routine, eating more fruits and vegetables, or adding positive affirmations to your day can go a long way in achieving your overall goal…of a healthy mind, body and soul.

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I was staring at a Frontier Airlines airplane the other day and on the tail there was a bunny with Frontier’s slogan “a whole different animal.”  I like Frontier’s thinking. Being creative rather than competitive has always been my approach to everything in life. Whether it’s a concept you have, how you implement something at work or how you structure your workouts- it’s best not to look around at what everyone else is doing. Be creative and the only one you should be competing with is you.

Keep this in mind the next time you hit the gym. Don’t just jump on a treadmill and try to keep up with the freak of nature next to you doing their 45^th minute at 10 MPH. Be creative in your thinking. Try new exercises, new classes, new rituals. Mix it up. Your fitness routine should be anything but routine. It should be new, exciting, and innovative. This approach will make your gym experience so much more rewarding, you’ll think it is a whole different animal all together.

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In roughly a decade of commercial distribution, Splenda® has taken the artificial sweetener industry by storm. Between 2000 and 2006, the percentage of U.S. households using Splenda® products jumped from 3 to 20 percent. It is presently the nation’s number one selling artificial sweetener. With the FDA having approved Splenda and the knowledge that it even starts off as real sugar, you might think there is nothing wrong with this rapid growth, but you’d be wrong. Here are some facts you need to know before you dump another one of those little yellow packets into your coffee.

The FDA only looked at 2 tests before approving Splenda®

As of 2005, only six human trials had been conducted on sucralose (Splenda®).  Of these six trials, only two were completed and published before the FDA approved sucralose for human consumption. To date, no studies have been done on children or pregnant women.

Most of the tests were performed on animals

McNeil Nutritionals stresses that over 100 studies have been conducted on Splenda. However, what the company neglects to mention is that most of the studies were performed on animals.

Sugar doesn’t think it’s just like sugar

The competition among sweeteners is anything but sweet. The sugar industry is currently suing McNeil Nutritionals for implying that Splenda® is a natural form of sugar with no calories.

No long-term testing

There have been no long-term human toxicity studies published until after the FDA approved sucralose for human consumption. The longest trial at the time Splenda® was approved lasted only four days and looked at sucralose in relation to tooth decay.

Sure it starts off as sugar, but…

There is no question that sucralose starts off as a sugar molecule, it is what goes on in the factory after that is concerning. Sucralose is cooked up using a five step patented process that includes adding chlorine (yup, the stuff in your pool). This process alters the sugar  molucule so much that it is turned into a fructo-galactose molecule, a type of molecule that does not occur in nature. As a result, your body doesn’t have the ability to properly digest or metabolize it, which allows McNeil Nutritionals to make the claim that Splenda® has zero calories.

The bottom line is that Splenda® has not been tested sufficiently and is anything but sugar.  In fact, it  bears more chemical similarity to DDT than it does to sugar.  Yes, that DDT. The synthetic pesticide that is suspected to cause cancer. So next time you decide your coffe is a bit too bitter, you might want to think twice before you sweeten it up with Splenda®.

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