What’s the secret to keeping a New Year’s resolution?

In January

• Track your progress by recording or charting your changed behavior.  Research indicates that such “self-monitoring” increases the probability of keeping the resolution.

• Reward your successes. Reinforce yourself for each step with a (healthy) treat or compliment.  Perhaps create a reward contract with a loved one.

• Build in a healthy behavior incompatible with your problem. For example, learn assertion if your resolution is to be less passive, or learn to relax if you are resolved to decrease stress.

• Arrange your environment to help, rather than hinder, you. Limit exposure to high-risk situations and create reminders for your resolutions. If you are limiting the sweets, don’t hang out in the bakery.

• Expect occasional slips in your resolutions. Most successful resolvers slip in January. But a slip need not be a fall; pick yourself up and recommit to your resolution after a slip. Don’t let one missed exercise class end the exercise program. One research study showed that 71% of successful resolvers said their first slip had actually strengthened their efforts.

• Avoid self-blame after a slip. Frequent self-blame predicts who will give up soon.

February and Beyond

• Cultivate social support. The buddy system works! And buddies can be coworkers, family members, friends, or fellow resolvers.

• Think of resolutions as marathons, not 100-yard dashes. Prepare for the long haul of a changed lifestyle.

• Prepare for slips associated with negative emotions and social pressures. Create a “slip plan” to deal with those situations once into February. Consider, for example, leaving the pressured situation, distracting yourself, and calling a friend, and remind yourself that a slip (lapse) need not be a fall (relapse).

• Avoid getting negative about yourself or your slips -- be positive about your successes!

• Remember that meaningful change takes time. It takes three to six months before a change becomes routine.

Many people begin the New Year with a resolution to improve their diet or exercise more. Or sometimes people set resolutions around other aspects of life that are important to them. Whatever the New Year’s resolution, the secret to keeping it is to make sure your goal is realistic and well planned. One way you can do this is by following the SMART model, which stands for Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-oriented.

Specific. What do you plan to do? For example, perhaps your New Year’s resolution is to walk more to improve your heart health. But be even more specific so the plan is clear. For example, you plan to walk 20 minutes at lunchtime Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Measureable. You need to be able to measure your goals to see your progress. If you can mark it on your calendar or a chart, you can measure it at the end of the week to see how successful you were.

Attainable. Don’t make your resolution a goal that is too hard to reach. Make your goal a series of small steps so that the end goal is easier to achieve.

Realistic. Only set goals you know you will be able to achieve. Instead of beginning as a new runner (or someone who is recovering from a medical event) with a resolution of running a marathon, you may want to start with one mile and set incremental goals from there.

Time-oriented. Pick a time frame for completing your goal. It helps to have an end in sight, and preferable a relatively short one. If your New Year’s resolution is a long-term goal, are there interim goals you can establish to give you successes along the way?

It can be tough to keep a New Year’s resolution, but you should not be too hard on yourself if you don’t entirely succeed. In some cases, having tried truly is better than not having tried at all. You may not run a marathon that year, but if you have gone from sedentary to being able to run three miles, is that really a failure? Aim for achieving your resolution, and congratulate yourself for any successes you achieve along the way.

“The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”- Lao-tzu 

Even the longest journey must begin where you stand, that first step is a big one and often the hardest step to take. January is the month to put your plans into action. Move past your fears. Conquer that first step.

Have a plan in place every day: know your workout, your meals, your snacks, and your plan for the day...everyday. It should be in your journal and will keep you on track. Be prepared in advance and stick to your plan. Enlist the help of a trainer or dietician if you need guidance.

Use your Journal: how it best fits you but be honest… if you can’t be honest with yourself you will never succeed. Use your journal to track your progress, record your food intake and workouts, as a reminder to drink enough water, to record your weight, body measurements, your mood and energy level, or to write down your feelings. If you have a bad day, it’s okay. Forgive yourself and use that setback to strengthen your commitment and continue to move forward.   

Change your environment: make it work for you. Remove the clothes hanging from your treadmill. Throw away your junk food. Fill your home with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and better food choices. Find your workout space within your home, get it ready to use and use it. I train people in their homes because it is a safe environment for them and it eliminates many of the common excuses that have contributed to their failures in the past.  

The Buddy System: It works. Your Accountability Buddy should be healthy and fit, encouraging, and accessible when you need them.  They should be there to reward your progress, celebrate your successes, and aid in the recovery from setbacks.   I am the Accountability Buddy for many people and truly enjoy my role in their lives.  Your Workout Buddy may not be the right person to use as your accountability buddy. 

DO NOT CHANGE EVERYTHING ON JANUARY 1.  You will only be setting yourself up for failure. You must choose what is most important to you and master that one thing before conquering others.  For example, if your main goal is to exercise more, spend this month working on that…once it has become part of your everyday routine, you can go on to your next goal which may be diet related. 

Reward your successes…within reason!!

You may prefer to accomplish your New Year's resolutions one by one. But here's an approach that might work better: Tackle them all at once.

That's right. When people in a study used this approach to achieve their health goals, it almost doubled the likelihood they'd check at least one of the goals off their need-to-do list.

Want to lose weight? Cut back on ice cream? Walk more? Cook healthier meals? We all know that making resolutions to change for the better is one thing, but keeping those resolutions is quite another. Here are a few more ways to help tip the scales in your favor:

• Get a diet/exercise buddy to help keep you on task.
• Look up healthier versions of your favorite foods.
• Spend more time in the sack.
• Work on relaxing more.

Take the RealAge Test!

Keeping your resolutions

Losing weight is simple; it is just not so easy. When this question arises it could be reframed to "How do I lose weight and keep it off"? I am certain that you have lost weight before and regained it; so here are tips to modify your THINKING for long-term success.

5 tips to insure you break your failure cycle to reach your goals:

Get Specific - avoid "vague" goals. Weight loss is a poor goal. It is too general and lacks focus. The more specific you are with your goals the more likely you will be to reach them. How much weight loss? What is your time frame for reaching these milestones? What are you absolutely willing to do to achieve these results?

Focus on what you are gaining, not on what you are giving up. If you are focused on restricting items from your life and view improving fitness levels as a chore, or, you are focused on eliminating foods from your life - how long do you think you will have the willpower to hold out?

A better strategy is to list out all of the things you will gain by making changes to your habits. Improved energy and self-confidence would most likely happen first. Self-pride and the ability to stick with your goals and plans would follow.

Get into the process and out of the outcome. Change takes time. Be patient. No one makes a decision and magically changes. Everyone makes mistakes and takes missteps. Understand that a mistake is not the end. Get right back on track and get going.

Improved Fitness and Reduced Weight of any substantial sum is most likely a 12-18 month process. There will be plateaus and setbacks. How you plan for and deal with these setbacks will make all of the difference in your success. You WILL NOT experience smooth sailing. And, if you do, you will not maintain it for long.

Focus on your schedule. If you schedule it, you will do it. For many people sticking to a schedule is difficult. The habit of procrastination sets in and "The Tomorrow Syndrome" becomes a rally cry. If you will always start tomorrow and justify your lack of commitment to your health and goals you will never reach the goals that you set. Schedule your exercise and stick to your schedule. Make Fitness a non-negotiable priority. If you do not- you will not achieve the desired results.

Avoid "All or None" thinking. Focus on Progress, not perfection. If you are moving more than you have been before and eating better than you have then you are making progress! Congratulate yourself. You are doing great.