Have you recently made a resolution to eat healthier? Lose weight? Start exercising? Have you already broken that resolution? Don’t despair, it’s not too late. You can start right now.
The first thing you need to do is to have a plan. I am always amazed at the people who say, “Next week I will start eating healthier” or “Next week I will start to exercise” but they have no plan. I want to ask them, “What does that mean?” Be specific with your goals and create a plan to achieve them. Instead of saying you will start to exercise, figure out how many days a week you will exercise, where you will exercise, and what activities you will do. Join a gym, buy some equipment for your home, write your workout times on your calendar and get started. Instead of saying you will eat healthier, figure out what it is that you need to cut from your diet and what it is you need to add. Again, be specific. Do you need to stop eating fast food, cut out potato chips, stop the sweets? Make specific goals such as trying one new vegetable each week, or eating vegetables instead of pasta.
Once you have made a plan, write it down and share it with someone. You are much more accountable (and more likely to stick with it!) if someone else knows about it. Pick someone who you think will support your efforts, rather than sabotage them! Do you have a friend or relative who is already living a more healthy lifestyle? That just might be the perfect person to enlist! Get rid of any obstacles to your goal. Throw out the junk food, buy some new exercise clothes or shoes, whatever it takes to help you stick with it.
Finally, be realistic. If your goal is to lose weight, realize that the ideal rate of weight loss is about 2 pounds per week. I have seen so many people who expect to lose 10 or 15 pounds right away, and when they don’t, they give up. Or, if you are trying to eat healthier, don’t beat yourself up and obsess when you don’t. Simply move on. Missed a workout? All is not lost – just work a little harder the next day. Don’t give up because of one little slip-up, or think that because the results are slow in coming you will never get there.
