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Lose weight, eat right, exercise, spend more time with family and friends,
get out of debt, do any of these resolutions sound familiar? Probably,
since they are several of the top 10 most popular New Year’s
Resolutions. With the holidays behind us, it’s that time again- time to
make your New Year’s resolutions. In fact, you might have already made
your resolutions and if you are like millions of other Americans many of
you have already put losing weight at the top of your list. Kudos to you
for making your health a top priority in the New Year!
The gym is bustling in January with people wearing their new workout
clothes and committed to getting healthy after their most recent visit
with the bathroom scale. By February the blame game is rearing its ugly
head. People start deciding it is just too much work and fall off the
exercise and eat right bandwagon and fall into the “I’ll start again
next week” trap. Next week turns into next month and before you know it
you will be swimsuit shopping at the same weight you are now. To learn how
to avoid this from happening to you this year read on.
Achieving your weight loss goals can
happen and the good news is that it’s completely up to you! Most
Americans want to lose weight but simply don’t want to put forth the
effort to exercise and eat better. Reality check- that rarely works! It
really comes down to one thing. That thing is making choices. Just as you
talk to your kids about making good choices, you also make dozens of
choices every single day which will affect your health, fitness and
fitting room experiences in the months to come. Delete your excuses and
avoid blaming, complaining or justifying why you are not doing something
and just do it. Save yourself the energy and put it into lifting weights
or going for a walk. I have heard it all and counseled some of the most
successful CEOs, CFOs, venture capitalists, professional athletes, working
moms and ultra-busy stay-at-home moms who do make their health a top
priority. So the “I’m too busy” just doesn’t fly. If Chiefs Coach
Herm Edwards can do his morning workout before most of our alarm clocks
aren’t even close to going off then you can wake up a little earlier
yourself.
So what else can you
do to avoid the common traps that prevent most people from sticking to
their resolutions? Simple, you can understand and apply the “just a
little bit” principle. In a nutshell, this means that if you
consistently do “just a little bit” day after day, month after month,
eventually you have created enough compound interest to feel and see very
noticeable improvements.
Here are some
additional tips to help you stay on track to achieve your weight loss
goals this year!
Write
Down Your Goals
If you are serious
about losing weight in 2008, write it down. This is such an important step
to successfully reach your weight loss goals. Just the act of writing down
your goals makes a thought three-dimensional. You can write your goals in
a journal or simply on a piece of paper. I prefer to always keep a
composition notebook with me and write my ideas, goals, and notes. It is
so nice to go back through and look at my goals, reflect and make new
ones. I also suggest writing your goals in several places so that you see
them on a daily basis which will make you more likely to take positive
steps towards your goals. Be very specific and set a specific date that
you want to achieve your goal. A sample goal could be: I want to lift
weights 4 days a week for thirty minutes by February 11, 2008 or On the 1st
of every month I am going to write family time into my calendar and on
those days I will not touch or even think about work.
Eat
Less and Move More
These four words are
pretty much the magic bullet for weight loss. Okay, so not really a magic
bullet, but believe me, it works.
Log
it
People who are most
successful at losing weight and maintaining write it all down. Start
writing down every morsel you put into your body on a daily basis. You
would be surprised at the number of clients who tell me “I just don’t
understand, I don’t eat that much and I’m not losing any weight”.
Bottom line- you can be unconsciously eating hundreds of calories everyday
and sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Let’s just say, eating the rest
of your kids mac and cheese and being the family garbage disposal to avoid
wasting food is the first habit to break. Writing it down makes it real
and helps you stay accountable.
Say
“Cheese”!
Okay, you might think
I’m crazy on this one but get out your digital camera, put on your
swimsuit and take a photo. Pictures don’t lie so you can get a reality
check and it will be a great way to follow your progress. Take a picture
each week and put it along with your food log and personal weight loss
goals. Avoid overreacting or letting a two-pound weight gain on the scale
discourage you. Lean muscle weighs more than fat and I’ve had many
clients lose weight in cycles. You might not lose weight for 2-3 weeks and
then in one week lose 4 pounds. A healthy goal for losing weight is aiming
to lose 1-2 pounds a week.
Create
a Successful Environment
Make it easier on
yourself by creating an environment which will help you to be less tempted
and make better choices.
-Keep fruits
available and visible on your kitchen counter
-Keep bite-sized
chocolate and a few other treats tucked away in the pantry and get rid of
the rest of your junk food
-Keep a case of
bottled water in your car and at home
-Have some healthy
snack foods on hand (non-fat cottage cheese, almonds, dried fruit)
-Fill your
refrigerator, freezer and pantry with nutrient-rich foods (fresh and
frozen fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains)
Start
Good Habits Early
Be mindful that you
are the best role model for your children and it is very important that
your children see you exercise and make healthy eating choices for your
family.
These tips should
give you a great start but more importantly help you to understand the key
to success is consistently doing “just a little bit”. Remember, this
is a marathon, not a sprint. You didn’t gain the weight overnight and as
Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said “The journey of a thousand miles
begins with one step”.
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