Fitness Topics

Keep Resolutions Reasonable
(As appeared in the Spa, 2006 issue of Healthwise magazine.)

New Year’s celebrations are long gone. Hopefully, your resolutions are not. Some of you may already have given up on them, while others may never have even gotten started. Although failed attempts from the past may have caused you to view resolutions as a waste of time, you will find that, through proper planning, success in fulfilling resolutions is not only feasible, but much easier to attain.

What resolutions really are.

It doesn’t have to be the New Year to establish resolutions. Any time of year is fine, as long as you are determined to make changes and are prepared to commit. Many people view resolutions as merely a wish list or a temporary burst of enthusiasm to try to improve an existing condition. A resolution actually is a decision, or a commitment, to make changes for the better. They are like goals. As with any goal, how you establish them, and how you plan to achieve them, are keys to being successful.

How to set resolutions.

It all begins in your mind and heart. First, honestly decide what areas in your life need improvement. Next, visualize – see with your mind, and feel with your heart – what it is like to successfully attain your goals. Once you know your resolutions, and you can visualize and feel them, write them down.

Resolutions must be concise, achievable, realistic, and believable. The most common of resolutions relate to health, particularly to losing weight. So, let’s use this as our working example. The resolution of simply “losing weight” is one that is doomed to failure. Vague resolutions, like this, are easily forgotten; the mind holds onto clear images only. Be more concise. Decide what is truly needed for you to feel and look great. Two examples are: lose ten pounds of fat over the next ten weeks; trim off three inches from the waistline over the next four months.

Only resolutions that are achievable and realistic will be believable. If you can’t believe in them, then there is no way you can accomplish them. If you need to lose thirty pounds, avoid planning to lose it over the next two weeks or, as some books may promise, in three days. This is a good long-term goal of four to seven months. Add to that the short-term resolution of losing, say, one pound of fat per week. After all, to remain healthy and fully functional, the human body should not lose more than two pounds per week.

Plan of action

Once your resolutions are established, then figure a plan of action that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. As with resolution-setting, make your plan of action concise, achievable, realistic, and believable.

For example, it is insufficient to resolve to merely go to the gym “more often” or eat “more healthfully.” Commit to going to the gym three times per week and walking at least twenty minutes every day. For diet, if you’ve been eating junk food every day, plan to eliminate them every other day.

After six or eight months, re-establish new plans to cut down the frequency even further. Avoid lofty, hard-to-achieve/believe plans like going to the gym for three hours per day or entirely eliminating all junk foods instantaneously.

Final tips

Create a mindset that is conducive to success. If a fitter, leaner body is what you want, then learn to enjoy all the steps that are needed to get you there. Also, be flexible. If you fall short of your goals, re-establish new ones. It’s okay to go off your plan from time to time.

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