It’s that time of year when we can get swept up into the excitement of setting resolutions for the New Year. Or, oftentimes we feel we “should” be setting resolutions, even though we really aren’t that into it.
Ask yourself these questions… Are you happy with your body? Do you feel strong? Is your body fat percentage in the healthy ranges? If you answered yes to all 3 questions, then keep doing what you are doing, because whatever you are doing is working.
If you don’t know your body fat percentage, then by all means find out. It’s a better predictor of health and disease risk versus your weight on the scale. Many of my clients who come to me know they are overweight, but are surprised to hear that their body fat is in the obese category.
Its also critical to get connected to your goals and why your goals matter to you. If you just “feel” like it, I promise you it won’t stick. You’ll head out of the gates strong in January, only to discover that by February end, you’ve abandoned all your glorious plans. So, discover why your goals are important to you. Talk about it, journal about it, and share it all with your coach.
Instead of making goals like… “I want to lose weight or I will exercise more”, find a coach to help you make an action plan to reach your goals or if you are already working with one, revisit your goals and make sure you know the specific parts of the plan to follow, and have them hold you accountable and help you to implement the plan.
A good coach will help you make changes by starting with small action steps, that repeat daily or weekly that over time will make big changes. You can’t lose all your weight at once, so trust that the process will take time. The best way to succeed is to make small changes that you continue throughout the entire year. Yes, the whole year. You don’t brush your teeth just one time and then they are clean for life, right? You gotta do it every day! Same with fitness & health.
Here are some examples to show what I mean.
Poorly written goal: I will eat healthier this year, eat less sugar and drink less alcohol.
Vague, vague, vague.
Well written goal: I will drink no more than 2 days per week, usually weekends or at special events, and at each occasion I will have no more than 1-2 drinks.
The next step is to track this on a calendar or chart to visually see your progress.
The person who follows the well written goal throughout the year will absolutely see a drop in body fat versus the person just setting out to drink less. Make sense? Notice that this goal isn’t about restriction to not drink at all. Cleanses and short term programs can absolutely work to lose weight in the short term, but its important to follow those programs up with realistic goals that you can stick to throughout the whole year.
Need to kickstart your year with a safe, balanced and healthy nutrition & exercise program? Check out my 21-day Fat Loss Bootcamp starting in January 2014. I’ve helped many clients lose up to 10 pounds of fat and you could be next! Click here to read personal stories of people just like YOU who have achieved excellent results!
Happy New Year, and may 2014 be your healthiest yet!
Sarah