Sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions to Get Healthy

“New Year’s resolutions” are almost synonymous to “better health.” Whether it’s to lose weight, stop smoking, drink less, eat healthier, many changes desired to be made are in reference to healthier living. To ensure you achieve your goal, there are a few things you should do 2 weeks before your start date to keep yourself in line.

Know your goals: While long-term goals are most important, you cannot neglect the short-term goals? People often dismiss short-term goals, but they are necessary accomplishing long-term goals. The plan to lose 20 pounds in four months is a good long-term goal, but the daily tasks to get to lose the weight can be rather daunting.

To help you lose those 20 pounds in for months, you may want to think about using short-term goals to help you get the job done. This can be something like eating more servings of fruit and vegetables per day for the first few weeks. After those three weeks, you can think about doing something like increasing cardio exercises by a specific amount of minutes each session for the next four weeks. By developing shorter goals you are able to chop your long-term goal into smaller more attainable goals. As a result you increase your chances of actually getting rid of those unwanted 20 pounds.

Know your weaknesses: Are there are any hindrances that are going to keep you from attaining your long-term goals, then you need to remove them. Get rid of it by relocating it to a friend or relative’s home, or if it a store or restaurant don’t drive by it. Don’t bother using your will power and tempting yourself. Admitting your weakness and staying as far away as possible is easier to do.

Substitute your weakness with something that will make you stronger. For example, buy some flowers, instead of your favorite fattening treat. Put them all around your house as a reminded of how good you are doing at reaching the long-term goal.

Get a support system: Having people who know your goals and who will expect you to report your actions will keep you motivated to not disappoint them. This support system can be members of your family, friends, or even an Internet health Website with daily posts accounting for your actions.

Keep a journal: A journal is a good way to gauge what you are doing through your journey towards accomplishing your long-term goals. Write down your feelings as you accomplished your day-to-day tasks. Ask yourself is you encountered any pitfalls and determine how you can avoid them in the future. Write down thoughts about your goals or life in general, being as upbeat as you can when recounting your experiences. As your week ends, read your journal from the page one to the most recent date to help you start the coming week inspired and ready to go.

To remind yourself of your goals, get a calendar for the New Year, two index cards, a marker, and a pencil. The first thing you need to do is write down your long-term goal on the index cards with the marker. Pin or tape one card next to the calendar on the wall and the other card on mirror in your bathroom.

On your calendar, write your long-term goal on the date you wish to accomplish it and circle the date with the marker. With your pencil, write the short-term goals on your calendar, circling those dates as well. Also, write down the specific day-to-day things you’re going to do (i.e. details of your workout session, meal plans, water amounts, etc.) that are the basic foundation for your long-term goal in your planner, Blackberry, or whatever you use daily to log in your important dates.

Consistently using these tips will help you reach that goal and live a healthier life! Remember to celebrate all your successes, big or small, and if you veer off course, it’s never too late to get back on again.