Happy New Year!
The new year brings out the best in us! A fresh start, a new chance, a new year! Along with the New Year we have New Year's resolutions!
What is a resolution?
res·o·lu·tion:
1.
a firm decision to do or not to do something.
We almost all have them! They are almost always about self improvement
and a good portion of them are to lose weight and get healthy!
But what happens along the road?? Why have most given up our resolutions by February??
Today I want to share my top FIVE reasons why I believe our New Year' resolutions don't get met.
1:
We take on too many resolutions.
Instead of a single resolution, we have many, many resolutions... I want to lose weight, get fit, eat healthy, stop smoking, get organized, be a morning person, stop drinking coffee, make partner, get a raise, get married, have a baby, win a Grammy, become a movie star, save money and look 10 years younger in 2015.
WHAT??
YES, having goals is SUPER healthy, but putting too any things on your shoulders all at once can lead to feeling inadequate and make you hide from the things you are trying to achieve, rather than look forward to tackling them.
Try focusing on achieving one or two goals at a time. That way, you can truly master those things you are actively working on. Making it a pleasurable experience versus a failure.
Again, I am NOT saying having dreams and goals are a bad thing but the MORE you tackle at one time the LESS time you have to devote to each of your goals and have LESS time for a balanced life.
2:
We want instant results.
Let's take a moment to admit that we, for the most part, as a society, have VERY LITTLE PATIENCE... We want it NOW... I want my coffee now, I want my food fast, I want my Facebook page to load in less than a second, I want to my waist line shrink by tomorrow, let's stream that movie instantly.
We want it NOW! Right NOW!
We especially want it with weight loss. Funny, it takes us, months, years, life times to put ON weight but we magically expect it to FALL off. And so we get discouraged, when the weight is slow to come off, and when the progress takes time to see, so we stop trying. Because for whatever reason, slow progress is not better than NO progress in our eyes.
We have to learn to be patient with our weight loss journey. SLOW progress is better than NO progress any day of the week! The time will pass regardless! So why not just KEEP GOING?
3:
We aren't really committed.
This is a hard one to admit to our selves. We aren't really committed. We DO want to lose weight, we DO want to look better, we DO want to feel better, but we DON'T really want to do the work. We AREN'T really ready to commit. We aren't ready to change our lifestyle.
I am NOT trying to discourage you, but rather get you to realize, WHY are you wanting to lose weight? Is it because you REALLY feel like now is the time?? And if you do feel like NOW is the time, are you really wanting to COMMIT to this change??? That my friends is the first step. You need to commit to this change and realize it is going to be hard but you are willing to do it for your self anyway!
4:
We put too much pressure on JANUARY 1st.
I get it, New year, New you! And in theory, that's a great attitude to have! But stop putting so much pressure on January 1st! It is just another day! Yes, it is the beginning of the year! And yes there is something renewing about a new year and a new start but if you fail on January 2nd, you don't have to wait until January 1st of 2016 to restart! YOU have the ability to change your life any day of the year! And trust me, a year from the date you didn't start you'd be wishing you started then!
Do you know that if you were JUST to lose ONE pound a week.... You would lose 52 pounds in ONE YEAR! I know, you are thinking, "Wow, thanks for stating the obvious". But IS it that obvious??? Then why are you sad when you lose a pound a week? Why do you feel it's not enough?
Let's stop putting so much pressure on January 1st and our selves to have instant life changes. Life takes work! Let's move forward regardless what day it is! And be able to truly live our lives moving forward!
5:
Be Prepared!
Ok, you are pumped up! You plan to go to the gym and eat healthy, and weigh your self and measure your inches and track your calories every day. But then life happens! You skipped a work out, forgot your lunch and had to eat something unexpected, you didn't bring your phone to track your calories.
Listen, I know so many of these ads on TV, online, in magazines, make us feel so awful by posting,
"What's your excuse??????" LIFE, That is my excuse!
Things happen. You get sick, your car breaks, it rains, you run out of money, your phone dies, your scale breaks, etc. Life happens. And that's the point!
Life DOES happen... so don't let it discourage you! Have a back up plan! Be prepared! Be prepared that life is going to happen, but how are you going to REACT to those things? That is what is going to determine if you find success in weight loss and healthy living. How do you deal with over eating on Monday? Do you over eat on Tuesday or a choose a longer workout? Forgetting your phone so you can't track your calories one day doesn't mean you have to stop calculating them the rest of the week. Find ways around the things that tend to derail you from your goals.
Be prepared for life, because things happen! It is how you react that determines your success!
Now that it is almost Febuary, ask your self, "Have I given up on my New Year's resolution?" If the answer is yes, then take a step back to realize, your goals, they can be met, any minute of any day. Chose today to be the day you take back your life from your problems, from your high weight, from your poor health habits.
Thank you for reading!
FATFREEVEE
2011 2014
