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Sitting All day is Terrible for your Health – Now, a New Study finds a Relatively Easy way to Counteract it

Five takeaways:

  1. A Recent study set out to determine the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting for long periods of time, as we often do at work.
  2. The findings suggest that breaking up the day with short walks was the best means of reducing blood sugar levels substantially. The optimal tactic is doing five-minute walks every half hour, which was shown to reduce blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60%.
  3. Study participants also said that the walking breaks had mental health benefits, making them feel more energized, sharper, and happier compared to those who stayed stationary for long periods of time.
  4. This matters because it further confirms how walking can counteract the negative effects of lifelong/long term sitting, which include chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and getting several types of cancer at much higher rates.
  5. Implementing techniques and guidelines in your workplace for more walking breaks could lead to a happier, healthier workplace. On a personal level, it can increase the quality of your work and guarantee better long-term health.

by Keith Diaz for The Conversation
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Setting Your New Year’s Resolutions

Takeaways:

While the idea of a New Year’s Resolution is based on a healthy impulse– the need for self-improvement– setting them irresponsibly can also set you up for deflating failure. This article details seven common mistakes people make when setting their resolutions. These mistakes are:

  1. Setting a non-specific goal: To increase the likelihood of success in a new year’s resolution, it is important to define specific and achievable goals. Start with small steps rather than trying to make huge leaps.
  2. Failing to consider why you’re making a resolution: It is important to have a clear and concrete reason for making a New Year’s resolution, so that it is easier to stay motivated and avoid making resolutions just for the sake of it. Writing down the goal will make it more concrete– and achievable.
  3. Making goals too restrictive: Attempts at self-restriction are difficult to maintain because people often see them as a loss of freedom, which can be overcome by indulging in the behavior that is being prohibited. Using positive language when setting resolutions, such as specifying actions to take rather than actions to avoid, may be more successful in achieving the desired goal.
  4. Not changing your environment: Success can be increased by making changes to one’s environment that support the desired behavior. For example, replacing unhealthy food with healthy options and surrounding oneself with people who engage in healthy behaviors can make it easier to adopt healthy habits.
  5. Setting a HUGE goal: While it may be thrilling to say, “On Jan 1, I’m never eating fast food AGAIN!” It is not realistic. It is more effective to focus on making small, incremental changes towards a single goal rather than trying to overhaul one’s entire life. It is better to make progress towards a goal, even if it is a small amount, than to set ambitious goals that are difficult to achieve and potentially lead to feelings of failure.
  6. Not using your support network: It can be especially beneficial to let trusted people know about one’s goals and plans and to enlist their help in staying accountable. Having accountability partners or friends working towards similar goals can also make it easier to stay motivated and achieve success.
  7. Feeling Guilty for Failing: Setbacks and challenges are a normal part of the process of working towards a goal and should not be seen as a reason to give up entirely. It is important to be kind to oneself and recognize that achieving a goal can be difficult!

From Stephen Johnson for Lifehacker:
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

Does Overindulgence Make You Happy? – Why We Binge as a Way of Celebrating

Five takeaways:

  1. Overindulging in food can make people happy, especially if they do it with loved ones. The long-term effects of overindulging, such as weight gain, may not be as detrimental to happiness as commonly believed.
  2. While the health effects of overeating habitually are not up for debate, Brooks argues that fitness influencers and the dieting industry make us believe that any overeating is a cardinal sin. It is not!
  3. A study of 23,000 Dutch citizens found that moderately overweight people were just as happy and satisfied with their lives as people with a normal weight.
  4. Brooks suggests that rather than worrying about weight gain, people should focus on the pleasure and enjoyment that comes from eating and socializing with loved ones during the holiday season.
  5. Brooks offers three final tips for enjoying festive dining– and avoiding negative physical or emotional effects when it comes to holiday overeating:
    • Confine the feast to the day of the celebration: Eat heartily on the day, but don’t overindulge in leftovers.
    • Remember to pause and be grateful: be mindful of not just the food, but the atmosphere and loved ones nearby. It will create a stronger lasting memory than any meal might on its own.
    • Don’t beat yourself up: Feeling guilty won’t help you recover, and will only make your holiday that much less enjoyable. Enjoy the holiday as much as you can and be ready to revert to better habits in the days that follow.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

9 Financial Moves to Make Before You Ring in 2023

Nine takeaways:

Amid a great deal of uncertainty, we should all be looking for ways to prepare our finances for the year ahead. This article provides 9 tactics you can take to do so:

  1. Update Your Budget – New market conditions call for a new, and possibly more conservative, budget. A disciplined approach to spending can alleviate the burden of stress that comes from spending more than you earn.
  2. Make a Plan for Your Student Loans – For those with student debt, note that federal student loan payments are still paused. That said, do not anticipate that pause being indefinite; be careful with any money saved. Be ready for the payment pause to come to an end. MAP suggests continuing paying down any student debt that you may have as deferred interest will offer advantageous benefits to pay down principal faster.
  3. Open a high-yield savings account – Banks like Capital One are offering yields as high as 3% (be weary of fees). MAP encourages buying low-risk fixed income investments with cash reserves to enhance yield on your cash.
  4. Prioritize paying down high-interest debt – Rising interest rates are good for savers but can make your debt more expensive. If interest rates keep rising, consider consolidating CC debt with a personal loan, which can be more cost-effective if the loan has a lower APR. Analyze your debt, and find a deal that best aligns with your goals.
  5. Save a little extra in retirement accounts – In 2023, the contribution limit for 401(k)s increases to $22,500 (and to $30,000 for those over 50 years of age). Even if you can’t max out retirement contributions, try increasing them slightly. Even a small amount can add up generously over time. In lieu of employer-sponsored retirement accounts don’t forget about your Traditional and Roth IRA accounts which have contribution limits up to $6,000.
  6. Spend down your FSA – If you have a Flexible Spending Account through your health insurance, you likely lose unspent money when midnight strikes on December 31st. Check out FSAstore.com or Amazon’s FSA store to easily find products and services eligible for your remaining funds.
  7. Check Your credit report – Now is the time for a check of your credit report for inaccuracies or possible fraud, or just to see what adjustments are needed to bring up your score. Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ where you can access Equifax, Transunion, and Experian for free.
  8. Evaluate tax loss harvesting opportunities – It has been a turbulent year in the markets. Tax loss harvesting is a strategy that reduces capital gains taxes. It may be worth asking your financial advisor about this strategy.
  9. Consider a Roth Conversion – A down market can be favorable when converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA as it can potentially result in a lower tax bill at conversion. Also, any market rebound that might occur will grow tax-free in a Roth Account. While this strategy sounds attractive and is potentially viable for some, it warrants further conversation with your advisor and/or CPA.

From Alicia Adamczyk for Fortune
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Note: At the time of this posting Fortune requires subscription to view their articles.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.
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