| Getting Ready for 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Making Your Resolutions Work All Year Long | ||||||||||||||||
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New
Year's resolutions are like bad Christmas presents. They look pretty
all wrapped up in a box but, when you open them, you know you'll be making a
trip to the mall for an exchange. It's easy to get excited about a shiny
new year, a clean slate for you to finally lose that weight or
get over that Ben & Jerry's obsession. But, many of us find our
resolution to be healthier fading come February. Use these tips to make your
resolutions work all year long.
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Tips for Reaching Your Goals 1. Make specific goals. Resolving to exercise is great but isn't it difficult to actually follow through? Instead of vague goals of weight loss, decide exactly what you want to accomplish and why. Have a reason for making your resolutions. Determine how much weight you want to lose and a deadline for losing it. Or why not have a resolution that is a bit more functional, like a strong back for picking up your kids or a healthy diet so you have energy all day long? 2. Educate yourself. You've decided you want to lose weight this year. Now what? Now you have to figure out how to do it. No, you don't need to go get a masters in exercise physiology, but you do need to get the skinny on how it's done. Educating yourself means you know exactly what it takes to reach your goals. Use the Internet, the library, the bookstore, whatever you can to help you make solid decisions about your health. 3. Make a plan. Now you have to figure out exactly how you're going to attain your goal. If it's weight loss, make a specific plan for how you'll do it. What kind of cardio will you do? How often? Where will you do it? And what about your weight training program? Where will you do it? What exercises will you do? Figure out how you'll put everything together into a program that works. 4. Prepare Yourself. Now that you've figured out what you want to do, you gotta get ready to actually do it. This may mean hitting the sporting goods store for some gear, heading out to the local gym for a membership or buying some exercise videos. Get everything you need and, more importantly, prepare yourself each day for your workout. Pack the bag for the gym the night before or lay out your clothes for an early morning jog. 5. Follow Through. You know, the excitement of making changes and taking action is motivating enough to keep you going throughout January and maybe even February. But, at some point, that excitement is going to wear off so you need to have a Plan B ready. Keep a list of your goals handy so that, when the enthusiasm fades, you can go back and remember why you started this in the first place. Write down why you're doing it and how it makes you feel each day, rather than the results you're getting. Staying in the moment will help you actually enjoy exercise without worrying about the numbers on a scale.
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