New Year, New Resolutions... how to map your success

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's already 2012! As many of my clients have told me, they already got started on their resolutions for this year when they signed up to train with me. This is excellent news, but I wanted to go ahead and write a post for my blog readers or clients who want a little extra help when it comes to healthy resolutions.

First of all, many of the "TOP TEN blah blah blah" posts on New Year Resolutions are going to give similar info. I suggest you read them and take that info to heart. It's mostly good advice. I'm going to try to give you new advice that is also quite important for your New Years Resolution goals.

Caitlin's TOP 10 Rules to a Successful 2012 (Weight Loss) Resolution:

#1. Stop thinking of it as a resolution... you'll forget about it by February.
#2. Start thinking about what you want the rest of your life to look like. No diet is more successful than a diet you plan on following forever, so don't attempt to change your diet so drastically you head straight for the cookie isle the minute you fall off the wagon.
#3. Don't think that exercising makes up for a bad diet. I don't care how many squats, sprints, lunges, or crunches you do, if you eat an entire bag of Doritos, you are not going to work it off.. plus you'll probably be too sick to work it off. Gross.
#4. Learn to Recognize the Enablers in your life. If you're best friend keeps offering you margaritas and getting annoyed with your dietary restrictions, or you husband insists on keeping your favorite ice cream stock piled and continues offering it to you, they are not helping you. They're holding you back. Find a way to communicate how serious your goals are and make sure they're on the same page, or you will struggle 50x more than you have to to reach your goals. In my opinion, someone who does this is usually insecure about you changing yourself, especially if it is a spouse, sometimes serious changes like dietary and health changes may require some superb communication (i.e. a serious discussion) and possibly couples therapy.
#5. Quit Whining. Stop beating yourself up, complaining about how you look, complaining about how bad healthy food tastes, and suck it up. Use all that whiny energy on something useful, like a workout and making a healthy meal that tastes good. It is totally possible and it will be a much better use of your time. Whining only brings you down... find a way to look at yourself positively and harness that positive energy to succeed.
#6. Get a Physical. Get your hormones checked, your body checked, and make sure you're healthy and that you have no other medical conditions that could be holding you back.  Every once in a while it IS a thyroid problem, so make sure yours is OK.
#7. Don't be a Poor Sport. If you "mess up" on your diet, or you have a lazy few days... don't destroy everything you've worked for so far by just giving up. Suck it up (a common theme here) and get back to business.
#8. Understand what you are taking on. Weight loss is one of the most difficult things to achieve. It is not only difficult to take weight off, it's also difficult to keep it off. It is not easy. There is no magic pill, there are no magical fairies, and even the magical surgeries fail often. Why? Because people expect life to be easy. It's not. Weight loss requires discipline, hard work, and a solid willpower of steel. You have to decide for yourself, I WANT THIS, I am GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Repeat after me "I can do hard things!"
#9. Find something you love about it. Weight loss and healthier habits are meant to be good things. They are beneficial in so many ways. You'll be lighter, move easier, your joints will thank you, etc. Exercise can actually be fun, too. Find things to keep you active throughout the day. Go for nature walks, walk and talk with a friend or neighbor or spouse, learn a new sport, take up kickboxing (my favorite!).... there are many FUN ways to work out, and stay active, so find them and do them.
#10. Eliminate the Crap. Do some in-home cleaning. Get rid of all that tempts you. If the food lasts longer than a few months, it's probably not great for you. If it has chemicals in the ingredients list that you cannot pronounce, it's probably not good for you. Get it away from you, don't eat it. Just get it out and start over with healthy, clean foods that don't give you a guilt complex and make you feel amazing.

I hope these are helpful to you. Happy 2012!

~Caitlin