New Year's Resolutions - Eating Healthy and Getting in Shape

Happy New Year!!! So another year is in the books and here we are, as we do each year about this time, wondering how it is possible that yet another 365 days has already gone by. The fact remains that yes, another 365 days have come and gone and here you are left to decide what it is about this year, 2012, that will make it better than the last...Perhaps even the best ever??

You can't really even say "New Year" without concurrently thinking about "resolutions". With the New Year comes new beginnings and often times those beginnings are initiated by the well known, and oft anxiously awaited, New Year's resolutions. Year after year the masses proclaim those things that they will start doing or stop doing that will, in turn, make their lives improved. Interesting then that, according to WikiAnswers, "only 8% of Americans achieve their New Year's resolutions". Pretty sad isn't it? All the fuss about our impending resolutions, yet only 8% of us (if you are American...I don't readily have statistics for other places throughout the world) successfully achieve them.

I have a number of suggestions for achieving your resolutions and some of my previous posts can hopefully lend themselves to make doing so more reasonable:

• Create a healthy grocery list and put it to use! Surround yourself with good, nutritious food options.
• Create SMART goals. It is pointless setting goals that are unrealistic - Use this guide to help!
• Begin following a weightlifting routine. While diet / nutrition are key aspects to getting and staying in shape, a solid workout regimen is hugely important for facilitating a successful "flab to fab" transition.
• Be consistent! To create a new habit, it is said that one needs to repeatedly perform whatever it is they are looking to start or stop for 21 days straight. That is not to say one should be in the gym 21 days in a row, but that does mean one should strive to be consistent in their diet and mindset for as long (and longer).
• Follow my Top Five Nutrition Tips.

As we enter yet another new year, many of us will turn to the gym in an attempt to achieve are New Year's resolutions. I wish you all the best in making this the best year of your lives!

Health and Nutrition Tips - Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

How many times have you set a goal only to find yourself fall short of achieving it? Look at New Year's Resolutions for example...I would venture to guess that, more times than not, these resolutions, while well intentioned, are never actually met. Why is this? Not because the goals aren't important and not because the goal-setter isn't capable (because they are). Instead, I propose that the main reason people do not succeed at achieving many of the goals that they set is due to not adhering to the S.M.A.R.T. principle.

S - Specific: The goal that one sets needs to be precise and detailed. A goal to "Get fit" is too broad. Instead, a specific goal would be something along the lines of "I am going to join my local gym and workout four days each week".

M - Measurable: If one is to achieve the goal that they have set out for themselves, they will need to have a way of determining their progress toward doing so. A measurable goal would be something like "I am going to lose twenty pounds by summer" or "I am going to eat three servings of fruit each day". Keeping goals measurable allows one to celebrate small successes en route to achieving their larger goal (i.e. losing five pounds) and motivates them toward doing so.

A - Attainable: Goals should be those that one has (or can develop in relatively short order) the skills, knowledge, attitude and ability to achieve. Attainable goals encourage the goal-setter to push themselves in order to succeed.

R- Realistic: One should never set themselves up for failure; therefore, the goal set should be in the realm of "reasonable" or "achievable". This is not to say that they should be easy, but it does mean that goals need to be doable. "I will lose 15 pounds by tomorrow" is not a very realistic goal and does little more than set one up for failure (and experiencing all the negative feelings that it brings with it).

T - Timely: The goal should have a time table associated with it. Without beginning and end dates (deadlines), as well as possible checkpoints or milestones, goals have a tendency of dragging on and on until they fizzle away into nothing. These dates and milestones hold us accountable for progressing toward and ultimately achieving our goal. Example: "I am going to lose 20 pounds by May 1st".

Give it a shot. Try writing your own fitness and nutrition goals.