Happy New Year! As another year begins so do the many possibilities that come with life. For many of you, the past months brought forward many unknowns. The unknowns of breast cancer and the future of your health as well as other personal unknowns that always exist somewhere on the horizon. For many of us this is the time of the year that we make our New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions typically consist of things that we are going to do to improve ourselves. According to Franklin-Covey, the Top 5 New Year’s resolutions or goals were ranked as follows:

1. Get out of debt or save money
2. Lose weight
3. Develop a healthy habit (e.g., exercise or healthy eating)
4. Get organized
5. Develop a new skill or talent

The survey also found that 35% of respondents break their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January and only 23% of those surveyed don’t ever break them. Nearly 40% of those surveyed attribute breaking their resolutions to having too many other things to do, while 33% say they are not committed to the resolutions they set. According to Webster’s, resolutions is defined as; the act or process of resolving: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones; the act of answering: solving; the act of determining. No wonder we don’t get anywhere this way we resolve to make a change but no one makes a game plan.

As a personal trainer, I hear my clients make resolutions to lose weight and be healthier. I’m happy to hear that they want to make a change but the desire is only the first step. In order to achieve the goals we need a game plan or a roadmap. Together we write down the steps to accomplishing their goals and look both short and long term.

Here are a few suggestions.

§         If you exercise in the morning I suggest that you lay out your workout clothes in the evening. This simple step which will take only a minute or two and increases your chances of exercising in the morning. If you exercise during the day, pack your bag the night before when your intentions are good are you aren’t rushing out somewhere.

§         Write our your schedule and include your exercise time. Make an appointment with yourself and treat it as you would any other appointment.

§         Incentives! Reward yourself for accomplishments, if you stick to your plan for the first week or month. I typically suggest something other than food for a reward but a nice diner out can also be a wonderful treat.

§         Start today! It’s never too late to start your plan. Even if it’s the middle of your week or middle of the month-get started!

Even though our days may be full of unknowns, I do know one thing. Taking the steps to making yourself healthier will make a difference in every aspect of your life! Don’t just be a survivor, be a thriver!

Happy Healthy New Year to everyone!!