How are you doing so far this year? Its almost time for a new year? Have you stuck to those big resolutions you thought about back in late December?  

Or maybe you’re not the resolution-making type.  Maybe you’ve tried and failed one too many times to think you can psyche yourself up for making big changes.

If you’ve already slid back into the old routine, or if you have just plain given up on ever making big changes to your life, or if you have a lurking sense that these New Year’s habits might not last much more than a few days, you’ve got good reason to feel “stuck in a rut.”  

I read recently that only 8% of people will keep their New Year’s Resolutions.  Most people, it seems, fail to make big changes in their life this way, and odds are, you’re one of them.  

But if you have the mental capacity to read these words right now, and if you’re able to self-reflect and consider how well you’re doing (or not doing), I have good news for you.  You can change.  Big time.  

Those people in the 8% are not just lucky, or more highly motivated, or more disciplined.  They just had a moment when they made a fundamental, deep in their bones decision to be different.  Not do different, but be different.  

If you’re stuck in a rut, you can’t just decide to get out of the rut.  You need a new rut.  You need a new normal.  

I recently met a woman who lost over a hundred pounds through healthy lifestyle changes.  You could tell her transformation had been very, very meaningful to her.  I asked her, “Can you tell me what made you decide to make the change?  What was the moment that made you decide to get healthy?”  She looked me right in the eye and said, “Yeah, I can tell you the day I decided to change.  It was the day that I got on an airplane, but I couldn’t get the seatbelt around me and I had to ask for a seat belt extender.  That was the day I decided to change.”  

Your moment doesn’t have to be that dramatic.  It could be as simple as sitting right where you are, reading these words, and deciding, right now, to get a new rut.  Set a new normal for yourself.  Be different.  Be the you that you are longing to be.  Then go carve you out a new rut in life.  Why not?

A Not-So-Great Use for Coca-Cola 

Fill in the blank: Coca-Cola settles your ______________.  

Say it together everybody: “STOMACH!”  

According to whom?  Well everyone’s grandmother of course!

But is it true?  (No offense, grandma!)

It’s amazing how powerful the messages we have inherited about what’s “good for us” are.  We read about the dangers of soda, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, but we still keep ordering cokes in this country like they’re going out of style.  And deep down, many of us, when we’re sick, will actually reach back into the deep part of our psyche and want a coke to “make us feel better.”  And of course, if you’re a caffeine addict and coke or diet coke or coke zero is your beverage of choice, well then you probably o feel worse when you’re not getting your regular injection of your drug of choice!  

Whether you’re ready to question “age old wisdom” yet or not, here’s something to consider before you walk up to that soda fountain next time.  

Fill in the blank: Coca-Cola weakens your ________________.  

Answer: “Bone density.”  That’s right.  That coke you just drank is weakening your bones.

I like to imagine those fizzy bubbles, which grandma thought were  so good for my stomach, bubbling up like air bubbles inside my bones and making them just a bit more brittle each time I have a coke.  It’s 
not scientifically how it works, but it helps me remember that I like my bones and want them around a while.  I’d much prefer a lifetime of strong bones than getting to belch after downing a soda.  

“Hey Grandma!  Guess what I just heard about Coca-Cola!”

The other day I saw one of those e-cards people constantly share online that said, “My bathing suit told me to go to the gym, but my sweat pants were like, ‘nah girl, you good.’”  It’s worth a laugh, and I’m sure we can all relate to wanting to lose a few… or maybe more than a few pounds, especially this time of year as summer is approaching.  

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel your best, and this time of year a LOT of bad information gets tossed around about how to lose weight FAST and that sort of thing, playing on our fears of what people will think of us if we do hit the pool or the beach. 

But maybe you are ready to get in shape or get back in shape.  Maybe you’ve found that dusty pair of running shoes from years gone by, and you’re ready to go for a jog or even sign up for a gym membership. 

Does chiropractic have anything to offer if you just want to get into shape? 

WAY more than you might expect!  You see, chiropractic is about far more than just making sure your back is aligned so you don’t injure yourself so severely when you do finally go for a jog or to the gym (thought it can definitely help with that).  Chiropractic actually helps your central nervous system, which communicates with all the systems of the body.  So it helps your skeletal system, your muscular system, your endocrine system, your digestive system, your respiratory system… ALL of which function together to determine how much weight you carry, how you feel throughout the day, how much energy you have, how susceptible you are to illness, and more. 

So maybe you stumbled onto this website because you are wanting to get in shape but you have a nagging injury or chronic pain that is keeping you from doing the kind of exercising and let’s be honest the kind of living you’d like to be doing.  Would you consider coming by for an evaluation and discovering how much more than just skeletal health chiropractic has to offer you? 

When you begin to get ALL of the systems of the body in alignment, you would be amazed at how your body can perform (like it was designed to!). 

Heck, you might even feel like a kid again.  

To set up a complimentary consultation, with Pooler Chiropractor, Dr. Steve Ranicki, please call 912-748-1506 or email frontdesk@ranickichiropractic.com or visit our you tube page at http//:www.youtube.com/ranickichiropractic.