Are you your own worst enemy?  As a fresh new year stands poised to bloom, are you pricked by the thorns of missed goals and critical of where you went wrong?  Maybe even harboring the fear of failing in this new year before you even start?

Instead of grabbing the thorny stem of shortcomings, kiss the blossom of opportunity and focus on what’s right and what’s possible.

The thing about critics is that they review the good and the bad.  So the trick is to not dwell on the bad…take it in stride, recognize improvements to be made, realize that’s part of the deal of being human, and get on with it.

Don’t resist the nagging voice…listen to it.  Don’t bash the critic, embrace her, because she’s also telling you all that you’re doing right.  She admires the strengths of others and offers them to you as examples, and reminds you of your strengths when you’re so blinded by your faults and feelings of inadequacy that you forget that you have them.

So, don’t let the inner critic beat you down.  Instead, kiss her.  Hug her.  Be grateful that she’s there and in her maternal voice, helping to keep you on track.  She is your alter ego…the good twin holding you accountable to your promises, chiding when you’re off track and cheering when you’ve done well.  Where would you be without her?  Our inner critic is our personal trainer for life.  Listen to her.

TOOL:  Post this on your mirror and review each a.m. and p.m., perhaps while brushing your teeth.

• I feel good about _____________

• I am grateful for _____________

• I will do, change or improve this (am’s) Today:  (pm’s) Tomorrow: _____________

First:  Feed the Baby

The New Year is often depicted as a fresh new baby, replacing the crusty old geezer of an old year.  In much the way parents place their hopes and dreams on their children, so too we often swath baby New Year in the garments of hope.

January 1, all of the potential for this year is born.  All that’s needed is for you to feed it healthy food and water (nourishment), provide daily exercise (action), teach it well (learn everyday) surround with friends and family (love) and to swath it in layers of optimism (hope).

Resolutions can be heavy and burdensome. But possibilities?  They are light as air and bright as sun…they are fresh as new snow and crisp as a blue winter sky.

So rather than laden the new child with old baggage…encourage it by focusing on “can do” not “can’t”.  When your inner child fails, looking up instead of down, celebrate the lesson learned by the grace of failure, and when the tender you is discouraged, recharge by counting your many blessings and lending a hand to a friend in need.

For parents, the nurturing of a child comes naturally.  Nurture your year, one day at a time and come 12/31 of next year, your “old geezer”, may sprint to the finish-line in it’s best fitness attire, to pass the baton (rather than the pacifier), to a stronger, new you, ready for another fantastic year’s adventure.

The Sour on Sweet
Most of us like a little “sweet” in our day, whether it’s in a cup of coffee or that favorite baked treat. But, if we’re watching our waistline, we’ll be watching it grow, which can turn the sweet into sour!  That’s when many turn to sugar substitutes to keep off extra pounds and the sugar rollercoaster.

FDA Approved Artificial Sweeteners include:

• Acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One)
• Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)
• Neotame
• Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low)
• Sucralose (Splenda)

Accidentally Sweet
Artificial sweeteners were an accident!

The first discovery of artificial sweeteners (saccharin) can be traced back to 1879 when Constantine Fahlberg spilled a chemical on his hand in the lab he was working in. While eating dinner later that evening he noticed more sweetness on the bread he was eating and traced it back to the chemical he was testing in the lab earlier. Not necessarily the most sanitary method of food-related discoveries!

In the 1950’s chemicals were being developed for something entirely different when a foreign grad student misread classroom instructions and read “testing” as “tasting”.  Sucralose was discovered  when he obligingly sampled the chemical he was working with. Similarly, Aspartame was discovered when scientist Jim Schlatter licked his finger to turn a page and discovered his finger tasted sweet after working on a lab experiment.

Low Cal for More Fat
Many times sweeter than sugar, but WITHOUT the calories, artificial sweeteners are found in so many products now, because it costs less and the calorie count looks better.  It’s ironic that the very products people are turning to for reduced calories and weight loss may actually be making them fat!  When your body “recognizes” sugar, but doesn’t get the real thing, it increases cravings and appetite.  1

Sandra Cabot, M.D., states, “After having been consulted by thousands of overweight people suffering with problems concerning the liver and/or metabolism, I can assure you that aspartame will not help you in any way, indeed it will help you to gain unwanted weight.”  According to Dr. Cabot, when you ingest aspartame, your liver cells have less energy available for fat burning and metabolism, which results in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside your liver cells causing “fatty liver” and making it extremely difficult to lose weight.” 2

More studies are needed, but who will pay for them?  Herein lies the problem in every industry:  naturally, those who stand to benefit fund most studies, and as such, cannot be counted on to study the bad stuff.  This is normal and logical, but it explains why more objective research into the foods we consume is harder to come by.

So, do your homework, use logic, eat close to nature, exercise and life will be sweeter without these unhealthy additives!

1. Fowler SP, Williams K, Resendez RG, Hunt KJ, Hazuda HP, Stern MP. Fueling the obesity epidemic? Artificially sweetened beverage use and long-term weight gain. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 2008;16:1894–1900.
2. http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0408/science_shows_diet_sweeteners_increase_hunger.php