Every year people make new year’s resolutions. Resolutions are fairly personal and whatever it is, it’s a good one if it’s something that you want. But how long will it last? People strive to get fit or work out more, but they only make a few days or weeks. Make your new year’s resolutions last.
Come up with a specific outcome. (I don’t mean ‘I want to lose weight’. That’s not very specific.)
If your goal is to lose weight that’s a great start, but how much weight do you want to lose? Five pounds? Ten pounds? More? Give it a specific number. *I want to lose 10 pounds.*
Now that you’ve got the goal and the amount give it a time frame. Do you want to lose the weight before you go on that amazing vaccation this summer? By your birthday? By your graduation? By your cousins/daughters/nieces/sisters wedding? Give yourself a specific amount of time to reach your goal. *I want to lose 10 pounds by the time I graduate*
Ok, now you have your goal. Your New Year’s Resolution is…I want to lose 10 pounds by the time I graduate. That’s a great goal. But you’re not done yet.
Now that you’ve got your goal, how are you going to acheive it? Just putting it out there isn’t going to motivate you to do anything about it. Set daily or weekly goals that will help you reach you long term goal.
Start by making a list of things you can do to help you acheive your goal. Things like: weighing yourself, eating healthier, working out, and keeping track of what you eat. The list can be as long or as short as you want it to be.
Now that you have your list take each item on your list and make it into a “mini” goal that will help you reach your long term goal.
Our example goal is “I want to lose 10 pounds by the time I graduate.” To acheive that goal I’m going to: Weigh myself. (Not very specific.) I’m going to weigh myself on January first and once every 14 days following until I reach my goal.
Go through each item on your list until you’ve made them all into smaller goals that will help you achieve your big goal.
I am going to eat healthier everyday by eating a salad before I eat my lunch and dinner.
I am going to exercise for 30 minutes everyday and work out for at least 30 minutes a minimum of 3 times a week.
I am going to keep track of what I eat for the first week to see how I can improve my diet. (You can use sites like My Plate or My Pyramid or use a blog or hand written journal to help you keep track.) You can also track your excercise/workout progress with your eating habits. You may want to continue tracking what you eat to see how your diet changes (or if it doesn’t change).
If you get off track don’t panic or tell yourself that you can’t do it. Everyone has days that they slip, tell yourself it was one day, and get yourself back on track.
What are your New Years Resolutions?
