MAKING YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION HAPPEN

Making a New Year’s resolution is a common practice and relatively easy. The hard part is to keep the resolution active and live up to it. How do you make it part of your lifestyle? Here are some of the most commonly made resolutions each year with suggestions as to how to maintain the resolution as part of your lifestyle.

Lose Weight – Stay focused on moderate lifestyle changes in your eating habits. Avoid fad diets. While these usually produce drastic results in a short period of time, the severe alteration in your diet is very difficult to maintain. Most people end up “falling off the wagon” and gaining more weight than they lost.

Get in Shape – Increasing fitness levels has been linked to many positive health outcomes. Improved fitness has also been associated with reduced stress levels, decreased the onset of some forms of cancer, enhanced mood, helps to maintain the desired body weight and reduce the effects of osteoarthritis. You should incorporate both cardiovascular and strength training exercises into your fitness program. Seek the advice of a Physical Therapist or personal trainer regarding a proper regimen to accomplish your fitness goals.

Quit Smoking – If you’re still smoking, this is a perfect time to quit. Smoking damages your body on many levels. There are carcinogens in cigarettes and cigar smoke. The carbon monoxide that is found in the smoke “steals” vital oxygen from the red blood cells, and oxygen is needed for every bodily function.

Reduce Stresses in your life – The non-stop pace of our contemporary culture is full of stress. Money, work, relationships and family can cause your “blood to boil.” This kind of stress can be devastating to your body, causing the body to release the hormone cortisol. While this hormone can save your life in an emergency by stimulating the “fight or flight” reaction of the nervous system, it can be detrimental to all bodily functions when it is too high. High levels of stress have also been linked to some forms of cancer, depression, chronic fatigue and other illnesses. Start reducing stress by managing your finances, improving your relationships, and starting an exercise regimen. Regular exercise can help reduce cortisol levels over time.

There’s no single reason that most people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions. A big part of it is that many people take on too much, too fast. One study had results that indicate that the biggest predictor that people would keep to their long-term goals was whether they received an immediate reward. Delayed success did not motivate them to continue their pursuit of the goals set in their resolution. Some suggestions that might help you accomplish your goals are:

Be Specific: Don’t generalize what you want the results of your exercise efforts to be and set measurable goals. Most goals that are set in a fitness setting can be measured quite easily. Be sure to get your baseline and record your progress as you go.

Set Achievable Goals: Goals have to be set and the “bar” should be high enough to make you work for a positive outcome, but not so high that you fail to achieve it. You should work with a personal trainer initially to learn the proper techniques and form needed during the routine that will produce the best results and prevent injuries.

Relevance: Your exercise routine and goals need to be relevant to you. A personal trainer can help you formulate your plan but you are the ultimate decision maker. You have to decide the most important aspect of the exercise routine that you are going to begin and then have your trainer develop a program to help you achieve your goals.

Resolutions are a great way to make a positive change in your life. Make resolutions that have relevance and are reasonable to attain. Stick to your changes and experience a higher quality of life.