Steps to Keeping Fitness Related Goals

What steps should a person take to have a better chance of sticking to their health and fitness-related resolutions?

When we make a resolution, we must make an action plan to define the steps to the resolution.  We cannot simply say I want this or that, we have to form a plan and stick with it through times of weakness.  Our discipline will guide use on the journey to our resolutions and ultimately, to the reaching of our goals. 

• Routine:  Our minds and bodies crave routine.  It is important that you set a routine for yourself and do everything in your power to stick to the routine.  If getting up early and exercising is your resolution, then have the will power not to roll-over and hit the snooze.  GET UP!  You will thank yourself later.  If saving money is your resolution, do not go to the Prada store on your lunch break, go for a walk or plan a lunch date with a friend or co-worker.  Resist the temptation to put yourself in a compromising situation and call on your will power to know what is good for you.  

• Plan Ahead:  If eating better is a new habit you want to practice in the new year, plan on taking your lunch three times per week that way you will not eat out which tends to be more calories than if you packed yourself a nutritious lunch.  Pack snacks for the office and avoid the vending machines and the sweets that everyone brought in after the holidays!  If quitting smoking is the habit you want to stop, plan some other activity for the times you would take a smoke break.  Plan on writing thank you notes to your friends or clients, pay a bill or check your stocks on-line.  Make a phone call to a loved one and tell them how much they mean to you or take a quick walk of the stairwells to improve your cardiovascular health!  You have the power to make good choices. 

• Tell People:  In order to reach your goals, you must have support!  Tell people what you are doing so they can support you and not temp you to join them for a smoke, a chili-cheese fries lunch date or a shopping splurge.  If you are doing something good for yourself your friends and family will support you and may even join you in your quest.  Tell them you need their help and that you are serious about your resolution.  They will respect your resolve and your discipline.  

• Hold Yourself Accountable:  If we hold ourselves accountable for our goals, we can only succeed.  We must realize that any excuse to cheat on our resolution is our own weakness or lack of discipline.  We tend to blame our environment for lapses in our will power, but if we always make our resolutions a priority we will always find time for them.   Holding ourselves accountable is the same as honoring our promises to ourselves as well as building our self-discipline.  

• Reward Yourself:  It is important that we reward ourselves with small mile stones.  This helps keep us on track and who does not like a reward for their work.  Being disciplined and honoring your promises is hard work and you deserve to be recognized for it.  You, however, have to recognize it in order to make it meaningful because no one else knows how hard you have been working except you.  So you have to find something positive to reward yourself that is not counterproductive to your resolution.  You have to be creative and make sure your reward is meaningful.  If you have resolved to exercise more and you lose 5 pounds, buy yourself a new pair of running shoes this will renew your promise because who does not like to run on new shoes!  If you have quit smoking and have not smoked in one month, take a half day off work and get some things done that you have wanted to do for a long time.  If you have resolved to save money, take a day and clean out your closets so you can see what you have, what you need and remove the clutter from your life.  You may find there is a little something economical you can buy yourself as a reward for not spending all month. 
  

How can people avoid ditching their gym memberships after only a few weeks or a month?

• I want to lose 5-8 pounds per month or I want to decrease my pant size by one size each month.
  
• I will not eat at fast food restaurants; I will cut back on sodas and caffeine to only one per day.
  
• I will not buy or eat processed foods.
  
• I will commit to having a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack. 
  
• I will commit to cooking a healthy meal at home at least 3 times per week.
  
• I vow to each smaller portions more often instead of eating huge portions only a few times per day. 
  
• I will eat only whole grain products
  
• I will workout at least 4 times per week for at least 45 minutes.
  
• I will get up early to workout.
  
• I will walk in the morning for 30 minutes and for 30 minutes in the evening at least 5 times per week.
  

It has to be doable and realistic for people to stick with.  It is also important that people do not take on too much at once so maybe they commit to the exercise program and them change their eating habits in February and do it a little at a time.  If we drastically change things in our lives we are less likely to stick with them.