We all make new years resolutions but do they work or are you setting yourself up for failure? Whether it’s a resolution to stay fit or pay your bills on time, you should make resolutions that are well planned out and realistic. Here are some key points so your resolution stays with you all year round…..
* Plan out your goals. This means planning when you are going to work out and how frequently.
* Have the right attitude. Think positive! If you mess up don’t punish yourself by having another donut; refocus and stick with it.
“If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:
- Punishment for bad eating
- An obligation
- Painful
- Time consuming
- Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
- Boring
If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you’ll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory
Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you’ve been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:
- A break from a stressful workday
- A way to boost energy and mood
- The only time you’ll have to yourself all day
- A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
- A chance to reward your body working so hard for you all day
- A way to improve your quality of life immediately (credit)
* Be prepared. Start getting ready to be successful. Go buy workout clothes, get a gym membership, find buddy’s to workout with, join a online fitness support group, get a personal trainer, pack your food, have your gym clothes in your bag and ready the night before, and shop for food every week.
* Be realistic. You don’t have to look like the cover of “Muscle and Fitness.” Find a picture of yourself when you looked your best and place it in a spot that you see several times a day. This will keep you focused on how good YOU can look.
* Reward yourself. Every large goal should have smaller goals attached to it. Set small goals to reach your big goal. An example would be buying a new article of clothing for every 5 pounds you lose.
* Keep Track. Get a food journal/ workout journal and track what you are doing. This not only helps you to see your progress; it also helps you to analyse what you can change and make better. Journals are also infamous for keeping people from over eating because they actually have to admit they ate it when they write it down.
* Find A Program That Works. You don’t have to spend 3 hours in the gym to see changes. Start your program by just “getting through the front door” of the gym. The hardest thing to do is to get off the couch. Find a program that works for your time frame and goals. Once you have gotten a routine down and you are on a schedule then you can increase how much you do and how much time is spent doing it.
Remember that change is never easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that excess weight wasn’t put on over night. This is going to take time, so be realistic with your expectations of how fast you are going to lose. A healthy weight loss that will last is about 1-2 pounds per week (sometimes faster if you have a lot of weight to lose). The process is slow because you are exchanging fat out for muscle. Don’t worry you won’t get huge by putting on muscle, you will only look better, increase your metabolism and become leaner (who doesn’t want that?).
Leave a Reply