New Years Resolution Tips

It’s the beginning of a new year.  And with it comes the annual New Years Resolutions.  If you are like most of us, improving your personal health and fitness are near the top of the list.  I was thinking about this yesterday on my way to work and came to the conclusion that making the resolution is the easy part.  It’s the managing of the resolution that’s much more difficult.

As John Maxwell says, making a resolution isn’t a one-time event.  It’s like those old Ronco infomercials (you know, the ones with the rotisserie cookers).  We often just “set it, and forget it.”  But managing a resolution is a daily activity that takes conviction and consistentsy.  And keeping our resolution is always harder than we initially expected it to be because of the obstacles life always puts in our way.

I’ll be honest and say that I did take a few too many days off from working out combined with enjoying whatever I wanted to eat and drink from Thanksgiving on.  But that was then and this is now.  Before I know it Spring will be here with warmer weather.  So now is the time to get locked in and put in the discipline to reach my fitness goals.

Here are 6 of the New Years resolution tips I’ll be using to help me stay on track with my goals.  Feel free to use any and all of them to help you too.

Tip 1. Write down your goals and set a deadline.  

Speaking from experience, the more I remind myself of a goal the more I am likely to stick to it.  So writing it down makes perfect sense.  Once it’s written down it becomes tangible.  I post it in my bathroom so I can read it while brushing my teeth.  And I set reminders in my phone that show up throughout the day.  This way the goal doesn’t get the opportunity to fade away or be replaced by whatever else slips into my mind.

For 2016 I am also using an affirmation that I’ve created and built around my goal.  This helps give my goal more meaning because I get to remind myself of how my life will improve once my goal is reached.  My affirmation begins with the deadline for reaching my goal.  That way it also takes on a sense of urgency.

Tip 2. Follow a proven program.

Even though I have more knowledge on health and fitness than most, I still follow a proven fitness program that I know will help me achieve my desired results.  Insanity, P90X, and the 21 day fix are 3 that I have done in the past.  There is a difference between following a program and going to the gym.  In a program the workouts are to be done in sequence so they complement each other.  If you go to the gym or take a fitness class, generally the workout is done in isolation of what your past or future workouts emphasize. 

Following a proven program also gives me the confidence that my goals are attainable.  I’m not having to invent the wheel, but I’m following a path that others have gone down before and also seen great results.  Currently I’m following a new program called Hammer & Chisel.  My friend Doug has already done 2 60-day rounds of this program and seen great results.  And if he can do it, so can I!

Tip 3. Plan out my food in advance.

It’s true that you can’t outwork a bad diet.  I learned this the hard way over 15 years ago when I first tried to lose the weight that I had put on during my college years.  I went back to running, something I enjoy, but I was going crazy when I didn’t see results.  At this time I knew very little about nutrition and the fact that my burger and fries from Burger King had more calories that I just burned from running was going to make it impossible to shed the pounds.

Today my nutrition is much different.  With my workout programs come a simple to follow meal plan and I use these as my guide.  I determine how many servings of each type of food I’m going to eat each day (protein, veggies, fruits, starches, etc.) and then I build a menu for the week.  My meals become automatic and with a little bit of meal prep on the weekends, most of my food is ready to go.

Tip 4. Stay hydrated.

4 years ago I gave up soda when I began to see the effects it was having on my kids.  They were 6 and 5 and the results from their checkups was already revealing that they on the path to obesity.  So we made the choice to stop buying sodas and stop having them when we went out for the occasional family meal.  The results for myself and the rest of my family have been amazing.  And now instead of drinking soda, we have mainly water with the occasional unsweetened ice tea. 

One of the hardest parts of ditching soda is the lack of taste.  So I’ve been able to overcome this by flavoring my water.  At first I was using chemical powers but the more I looked into those the less I liked them.  Now days I infuse my water with lemons, cucumber, berries, and even mint that I grow in my garden.

Tip 5. Get plenty of rest.

I don’t know about you but the more fatigued I get, the weaker my will-power and conviction becomes.  This means that cravings for things that will hold me back from my goals are the strongest in the late afternoons and evenings, when I’m the most exhausted. The best way I have found to combat this is to try and rest more when I can.  Now I normally don’t get to take naps, and I wake up sometimes as early as 3:30 in the morning to exercise and invest time on my blog and business before going to work, so how do I rest?  I do something that relaxes me.  Sometimes it’s reading a few pages of a book.  I pick up my guitar and play for 20 minutes.  Sometimes it’s just seeing what show I’m behind watching on the DVR.  But these tend to get my mind to stop thinking about food and focus on something else.

Tip 6. Find an accountability partner.

For a long time I thought that I was alone in my fitness journey.  I would run or workout with headphones on.  I would workout at home before anyone else was up.  Basically, I’m pretty antisocial when it comes to exercise.  But that doesn’t mean I’m alone.  In fact I have a whole network of friends that mutually support each other.  We are there to pick each other up when we fall and congratulate each other when we hit our goals.  It’s this level of support that lead me to become a fitness coach in the first place.  I love helping people and this was a great way to do it.

If you are not sure where to start or if you need someone to hold you accountable, I’d be happy to help you too.  Just message me on my Facebook page or fill out the form on my “WORK WITH ME” page and let’s connect!

 

Here’s to achieving your New Years Resolutions in 2016 and beyond!

 

Mark