Tips for Keeping Your Health/Fitness Resolutions
FromTrainer2You
Every year the holidays come faster and faster and without fail, our pants get tighter around this season. With the overwhelming joy, stress, laughter, and chaos the holidays may bring, it’s no surprise that come January 1 so many run to the nearest gym committing the New Year as “the year they finally stick to their resolutions". Anyone who has been to the gym in early January-February knows that this craze will die down by March so what is it that makes people so motivated at the start of the new year, but quickly let it fall to the waist side….literally.
The first step to keeping you resolutions for the New Year is to set attainable goals. Promise yourself to include exercise and fitness 3-5 days a week in your life, instead of focusing on creating a six-pack that you’ve never had. Promise to eat more vegetables instead of deciding to completely cut out foods that you do enjoy.
Avoid choosing a resolution that you have been unsuccessful at in previous years. This will only set you up for frustration and disappointment. Limit the number of promises you make for yourself so that you’re not flustered and can concentrate on those that are really important to you.
Recruit a solid support team of family and friends. If this is not available to you, put yourself in a situation that allows for it. Places like Weight Watchers offer great support for each member if you take the time to be a part of it. Ask those around you to hold you accountable. It is much easier to slip into old habits then it is to make the positive changes for the new ones.
Break down your goals even further to make it less intimidating for you. Set smaller goals to achieve on your way to your big picture. Be sure to reward yourself when you pass through these milestones. Celebrate your achievements, but be careful on how you do so. If you lose 10 lbs, it may not be appropriate to have a pizza party, but may be more rewarding to your mind and your body if you treat yourself to a massage.
Remember to give yourself time when you embark on the “new you.” Keep fitness in your life for at least 6 months so that it may be solidified as a lifestyle habit. Need be, sign yourself up for at least three months of personal training so that you have no choice but to hold yourself accountable for what you really want. Research studies have shown that assistance from a fitness professional greatly increases your chances of success.
Understand what your motivation is. Who are you doing this for? Why are you doing this? Don’t judge your motivation, just understand and allow it to help guide you through you game plan. Recognizing your motivation is one of the most important steps to help keep you focused and working towards your end result.
Plan for bumps in the road. As in any journey that involves change and growth (or shrinkage in your case) there are hard times. Life can get in the way of personal resolutions but it is important to persevere! If we all stopped when things got tough, we would never make it anywhere. Understand that in order for the body to change, it must be challenged and that involves hard work. Make sure you have someone in your corner that can coach you through the hard times even when you want to quit. Again, remember your motivation and keep the vision of the new you in your forefront.
Most importantly, enjoy your goal. Understand that changing your body can feel like a full-time job with benefits that are life-long. It’s ok to be selfish and reward yourself for hard work and for attaining milestones. This is one resolution that nobody can do for you. It’s a journey that builds character that can never be returned with a body that you’d never want to.
Dena is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Trainer2You, a company that sends personal training to your home. For more information, go to Trainer2YouNJ.com or contact Dena at Trainer2You@gmail.com.
