Set a Goal:
Old Resolution: Somehow, I am going to lose all of this weight.
Makeover: Set a goal that is "specific, measurable, realistic, and trackable," Dr. Hensrud says. "Walk for 15 minutes three times a week after work, or add a serving of different fruits and vegetables," he suggests. You need to focus on creating changes that you will be able to sustain in the long haul, and that you can make part of your lifestyle easily.
"People often will just set a weight-loss goal, but they don't have a good plan on how to get there," says Donald Hensrud, MD, a preventitive medicine and nutrition specialist for MayoClinic.com. You are more likey to go back to your previous exersice and eating patterns if you do not create a detailed plan.
Start Working Out at Home:
Old Resolution: If my gym offers a lifetime membership plan, I am signing up right away.
Makeover: BEFORE the New Year, become a member at a gym you like or start working out at home. This way, when January 1 comes around and your resolution kicks you in the butt, you will have a plan in place. By planning ahead, you can look at your gym's offerings and you can structure your workout. "Pick some classes, find the best traingers, and have some friends join you," Ramona Braganza suggests," and it all falls into place."
Simply signing up for gym you really like won't help you lose weight, but it is a good start. "Like any plan you need to be specific," says Gold's Gym Fitness Institue expert Ramona Braganza. "If its very vague it leaves you too many laces to sabotage yourself."
Make Some Basic Alterations:
Old Resolution: By June, I am going to lose 40 pounds.
Makeover: Create some simple alterations to your lifestyle. "These changes don't all have to happen at once, but changes in what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you move your body will ultimately cause you to lose the wieght," says Diana Keuliain. "People who aren't willing to change their lifestyle will never be succuessful with weight loss."
"Drastic resolutions like this are simply not realistic," says Diana Kuelian, a California-bases personal trainer and author of Avoid the Freshman 15. You will ulitmately get discouraged, because you are not near reacheing your goal, and then you will give up.