Happy New Year to All!

And yes, with the New Year comes the usual resolutions.  Exercise regularly – Lose weight – Eat Healthy food…  Making these resolutions is easy and I am sure that when you are making the resolution, you are sincere in being successful.  The real challenge comes in trying to reach your resolution’s goal/objective.

It would be easy to think that this New Year’s Resolution idea is a waste of time, right?  But  many research agree that ” Making that resolution is the best way to kick start yourself toward your Healthier Goal!”  Studies do show that people who do make the resolution to change their behaviors do much better than non-resolvers who have the same habits that need to be changed.

So now that you know that “Making the Resolution” is the right thing to do.  You just need to know how to optimize your chances of success.

Change in behavior is often a difficult task. Here are some tips which will help you make your 2015 Resolution A Success Story:

• 1. PICK ONE RESOLUTION FOR 2015: “Fight one battle at the time”. Behaviors change experiments have proven that trying to change more than 1 behavior at the time rarely works.  So, choose the winning solution:  Pick the one thing you want to change the most and really work on it.

• 2. Make a Realistic Resolution: Be honest with yourself and set yourself a goal which you actually can achieve!  For example, if you do not exercise at the moment, setting up a goal to begin to exercise 2 hours per week is a very realistic goal.  Once you have reached that goal, you can always add more days…

• 3. Plan for Slip Ups and Deal with Them in a Constructive Manner: Slip ups and setbacks will happen.  It is up to you to quickly learn from them on how to avoid them in the future. ” Lose a battle but win the War!”

• 4. Set Mini-Goals: Maybe you do want to lose 30+ lbs but it will be much more productive to  make this your “Long Terms Goal” and then break it down into weekly – monthly short terms weight loss goals…

• 5. Hold Yourself Accountable for your Resolution. Tell Others and/or Write it Down:
  

  Studies show that the people around you can really be helpful.  Especially after the first few weeks when your original motivation will begin to weaken.  Look for support which will be there for you long-term:  trainer, exercise groups, online support groups… Best for you to figure out the kind of support which will help you during the tough times that are inevitable in any behavioral changement.

• 6. Positive Feedback and Rewards will Improve your Chance of Success: Do reward yourself when you will reach your first “Short Terms Goal” and be proud of yourself! These positive feedbacks will give you extra incentive to continue toward your longer terms goal.

  One last point is to mention that many research point to the fact that “Strong Will Power Needs to Be Developed”.   And so,  just like you can train your leg muscles to ride faster, you can improve your “Will Power” by following the above tips and making your 2015 Resolutions A SUCCESS STORY!

Best Wishes for 2015 and Train Smarter – Not Harder!

Michel & Svetlana