new year's resolutions Archives - Fran's Fitness Over 50

Have you made progress?

Turning the calendar page on your New Year's Resolution? It's not too late to make progress.

How’s your weight-loss New Year’s Resolution going? We’re a week into February – have you made progress? It’s hard! I know! I want to eat bagels for breakfast, and mac & cheese for dinner too. But I know that won’t get me closer to my goal. I don’t want to get all hot, tired and sweaty exercising every day. I know those first couple of minutes are torture – so why put myself through that?

Exactly – why! The why of our weight-loss goal will keep us on track.

I want to have less pain in my knees and hips. I want to play with my dogs. I want to compete in agility.

Why do you want to stay on course with your weight-loss goal? Go on walks with your loved ones? Shop for hours? Feel good about trying on clothes? Travel? Run around with the grandkids?

Think about your “why!”

That’s the key! Thinking about your why! Your “why” will keep you on track.

I know that if I lost a couple of pounds my knees wouldn’t hurt quite so much. So I’m changing my eating habits to make that a reality. I’m sticking to my exercise schedule.

Yes, it’s hard to stick to those goals. And practically impossible to do without some help along the way.

Accountability is key!

Accountability is key. If you’re not accountable to anyone, there’s no motivation to stick to your goals. No matter how lofty your ideals, and how solid your intentions, without accountability it’s very easy to say – “tomorrow!”

There are different kinds of accountability too – and you don’t have to choose just one. You can be accountable to a coach – one-on-one or group coaching is great. Knowing that you have to report your progress is incentive to actually make some progress toward your goal.

And you can be accountable to yourself, although that runs the risk of days slipping by even though you intend to report in. Tools to keep yourself on track can include keeping a journal every day to mark progress and problems. Making entries in your calendar for your shorter-term goals, and making appointments with yourself to actually do the tasks you’ve set.

Most importantly, if you get off-track, don’t get discouraged. It happens to everyone. Get right back on track and don’t beat yourself up about it.

Living Well Planner to schedule your happiness! You don't need to make New Year's Resolutions for that!

That’s my opinion, of course. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. If there’s something that needs doing, I don’t wait to resolve to get it done.

Why wait for a totally random day to start?

Yes, I know – the whole New Year, new start, new you thing. And there may be some validity to that sentiment.

But why wait? Will you keep your resolution more if you make it on January 1 than on December 27?

If the thing you’re resolving to do really matters to you – if it’s important enough to be called a “resolution,” then the date shouldn’t matter.

It you want to start keeping a scheduler or planner, I understand that most start on January 1. But you can take a blank sheet of paper and state your resolve – plan out your days – before then. Some planners, though, can start whenever you like because you write in the dates. Like the Living Well Planner (pictured).

To state, “I resolve to lose 25 pounds in 2019,” without truly committing to that goal – or any other – is setting yourself up for failure. In fact gyms and health clubs offer incredible deals for the New Year because they know that their resources will be stretched thing for just a few weeks. Most people who join a gym or health club at the start of a year drop off in a month or so.

Why? Because people just aren’t committed to the goal of getting fit. It really takes an effort to work out 3, 4 or 5 days a week – especially if you’re driving to a new place, pushing yourself in ways that it hasn’t been pushed before (or in a long time), showering and changing clothes in a locker room with strangers all around you. I give people loads of credit who actually follow through with that any time of year!

Even more difficult than working out at a gym or health club is the mind-shift required to make the change in your behavior. It’s hard to conceive of eating differently. Or acting differently. It’s too easy to do the same things we’ve always done than to commit to a change.

You have to really, really want something badly to actually make that change. And flipping the page on a calendar doesn’t usually qualify as motivation. Things have to get bad – so bad you can hardly bear to look at yourself in the mirror. You have to reach a point where the status quo is intolerable. And then you can start to discover the ways you can change to produce the results you want.

So don’t make resolutions this January 1. Instead, spend time with family and friends. Spend time reflecting on the various aspects of your life. Are you happy? What areas aren’t you happy about? Are you unhappy enough to want to change things?

Think about where you want to be and how you want to feel a year from now. Will the direction your life is pointing to take you to that place and feeling?

If not, think about how you want to change things.