How Are Those Resolutions Coming?

Okay folks... we're just a little over a month into the New Year and I know that MANY of you resolved to lose weight...No, I'm not some kind of genius...it's just a fact that is the MOST popular New Years resolution. Here's the part where I showcase my freaky genius though... I bet that very few people are actually adhering to their ambitious weight-loss goals. How many of you just went, "oh my god...has he been stalking me?!?!" The answer is no, well, mostly...SOME of you I have been. Just kidding. Maybe.
ANYway...what I want to do is to re-encourage you to take a look at whatever resolutions you made and see if we can't get you back on track. I have a few suggestions that hopefully will help...again, with ANY resolution, not just weight-loss specifically. Although that will be the primary focus here, the themes are very much transferrable.
Here we go!

1.Have A Plan

It's really sort of tricky to achieve anything without a plan in place. Saying you're going to lose weight is NOT a plan. In fact, I would suggest not even making that a GOAL but more on that later. Figure out HOW you are going to lose weight and stick with it! Plan out your diet and exercise routine and keep it somewhere that you can refer back to it and be accountable to it.

2. Be Realistic

One of the biggest reasons we give up on our goals is because of frustration. When we set unrealistic goals we are setting ourselves up for certain failure. You can't lose 100 lbs in a couple of months...it's not going to happen...it's not REALISTIC. Put the focus on losing 1 to 3 lbs a week. That's much more easily obtainable and your success every week will keep you motivated and striving towards your larger goal.

3. Make It Public

Let others know about the journey you are embarking upon! Let your friends and family help hold you accountable for your success. They can help with motivation or to talk you down from the ledge when you want to wash down 15 Twinkies with a 2 liter of Soda Pop and a Frappucino.

4. Reward Yourself

Treat yourself along the way towards your goals. Set some milestones and figure out what your reward will be. Maybe for every 10 lbs you lose buy yourself a new CD. When you hit the 20lb mark, maybe it's a new outfit. Some people call them bribes, I call them rewards...whatever you call them... I think they work.

5. Keep A Journal

Keeping a journal is extremely good for weight-loss. Include what you ate, track your progress and your moods and energy levels. Again, your journal is sort of like a friend or family member...it's something else for you to be accountable to. If you have to sit down every night and 'talk' to your journal...it's harder to eat poorly all day and to skip your workout!

6. Plan For Obstacles

Life Happens! There will ALWAYS be something that pops up unforeseen that can throw a wrench in your well laid out plans. But if you are aware of this from the beginning and have a PLAN to work around them...YOU are more in control of the situation instead of the situation being in control of YOU! Dinners out with people come up that have the potential to throw your diet into a tailspin, have a plan! This is something I have started doing... if you know in advance where you're going...go online and look up their menu! A lot of restaurant have their menus online now and that gives you a chance to see what they have BEFORE you get there and can give you a little more time to choose a healthy option!

7. COMMIT!

Don't half-ass your way through your weight-loss goal or WHATever it is you are doing. Make a list of the top 5 or 10 reasons WHY you are doing what you are doing and keep them where you can see them! And when I say make a list, I mean make a BRUTALLY HONEST list. The more HONEST and EMOTIONALLY charged it is...the more likely it will make you stick to it!

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!