When was the last time you made a New Year's Resolution? How did it go? Did you stick to it? Does anyone stick to them?
There are plenty of statistics out there and none of them are particularly encouraging. Very people who make New Year's Resolutions feel any kind of success by the end of the year. Many go into it feeling confident and maybe even by the end of January they still feel on track but as the months go on, everything falls by the wayside.
Sounds pretty hopeless BUT you CAN be one of the success stories. I can almost guarantee it. It will require some work on your part though, and it all comes down to the planning and tracking stages.
S.M.A.R.T. GOALS
It really is important that you hit on each of those letters.
I could say that I want to be fit and healthy, which I do, but that is way to vague. I could say that I want to be the fittest and healthiest I've ever been, which is also true, but that is also vague, not particularly measurable and probably not that realistic as I get older.
How about this then: I want to lose 10 pounds by my next birthday on April 16th. It's very specific, easily measurable, definitely attainable and by making it time-bound, I have set the expectation and can start formulating a plan for success. Of course your goals may be more detailed than this but for the sake of brevity in my explanation, I will keep it simple and assure you that this system can work for anything.
I cannot stress enough how important SMART Goals are. It is not just one of those catchy acronyms. Most people fail because they don't understand this part. Common resolutions like, "Lose weight" or "Eat better" or "Get to bed earlier" are not an actionable goals. Certainly all good things but without those specific, SMART details, they are pretty much just wishes, not goals.
YOU NEED A PLAN!
So the next step is to figure out that plan for success. How am I going to accomplish this SMART goal and lose 10 pounds by April? Well, according to the calendar, there are 106 days between January 1st and my birthday. That's about 15 weeks, let's say. So I just need to lose a pound a week. What's that, you say? That my goal was for 10 pounds and if I lose pound a week for 15 weeks, that would be 15 pounds. True, but I believe in giving myself some slack. A week is a pretty short interval of time and the pounds may not come off in lockstep like that. I may lose 2 in one week, then not lose any for 2 weeks. I want to give myself a little more aggressive of a mini-goal to stay on track for the macro-goal and this is a pretty good cushion. Plus, that way, I don't freak out if I don't lose a pound in a week and feel like I am never going to hit my goal. This is another big reason people don't make it. There plan quickly seems unattainable and they give up. By allowing myself some extra slack, I can better stay composed throughout the process.
The harder part comes next. How am I going to lose a pound a week? Then very general rule-of-thumb is that 3500 calories equals a pound so using that, I need to create a 500-calorie deficit per day.
So how can I create such a deficit? Diet and exercise! But again, that is too vague. I need to figure out how many calories I am taking in a day, on a regular day, and how many I generally burn through exercise. The exercise part is harder to track accurately but there are plenty of ways to get a decent approximation. Once I have the baseline figured out, I can start to think of ways of cutting down calories in and increasing calories out to hit that 500 number per day. I could go on and on about the different ways to do this - how much should come from eating and how much should come from exercise - but I will save that for another time. For now I will just say that whatever way I pick, it just needs to be sustainable and the one thing I would NOT recommend doing is cutting out breakfast. A lot of people do this but there are many statistics out there to show that skipping breakfast and weight loss do not work as well together as they might seem.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT
Okay! So I have my SMART Goal, I have a reasonable plan to achieve said goal so now I just need a way to track it, to stay accountable, and to get the support I need to help ensure success.
Tracking my particular goal of losing 10 pounds by my next birthday isn't too tough. I can use an app like MyFitnessPal to track all the meals I eat as well as exercise sessions I am doing to see if I'm hitting that 500/day mark. I can also use a scale to see that those calories are turning into pounds. The only tricky part with scales in particular is that weight is not necessarily lost in consistent chunks and the number can be very determined by when I weight myself. In this case, I will just plan to do it every Monday, first thing in the morning. But again, when it comes to weight loss, it is important that I don't get too bogged down by the numbers I am seeing on the scale. The weight may not come off at all for a few weeks but as long as I'm sticking to my calorie plan, I should be good.
Oftentimes though, it really pays to be accountable to not just yourself. I should tell other people about my goal. Why? Because that makes the whole thing more real. Now I feel a little bit of pressure, good pressure, to really stay on task. I don't want to ever have to tell them that I completely failed! Plus, by telling a spouse or roommate, they may not bring as many snacks into the house or maybe be encouraged to try and get healthier too.
Because there is also the good kind of support and accountability. You want your friends, family, co-workers etc. to encourage you. It really can help. Maybe they'll have some good advice for you too. Teamwork indeed does make the dream work.
ANTICIPATE ROAD BLOCKS AND CELEBRATE SUCCESS
If things like weather and illness and just general lifetime events will prevent you from sticking to your plan, make alternate plans for situations that you cannot avoid. Like if I know I have a wedding to go to in March and plan to eat and drink a lot, I should build this excess into my plan and tweak the days around it to compensate. Most importantly, do not let a missed day or two throw you completely off target. Once again, this is what happens to so many people, New Year's Resolutions or not. They get off to a good start, feel good, feel committed and the instant life gets in the way and messes with their schedule/plan, they can't recover. Instead, do your best to get back on track as quickly as possible, which should not be extremely difficult if you have set appropriate goals.
It is easier to stick to your plan when you feel good and successful. Try to find a new way to reward yourself when you meet your smaller goals. Maybe each month I stay on track, I give myself a little gift/reward of some kind. If the goal is fitness-related, get yourself a new clothing item or piece of equipment (like boxing gloves). Something that makes exercise feel better, more appealing. Even just feeling like you look better when you exercise will help. It makes the whole thing feel more serious, more committed.
Then finally, the only way your goals/resolutions are going to become reality is if you believe in them and most of all, believe in yourself. You can do this! Maybe you haven't had success in the past but you can always take control and turn it around. If you aren't sure how to do it, seek out professional help. The internet can be a great resource (like right now as you read this!) but every body really is different and you may need some more personal attention. As I've said many times before, you are worth it!!
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