Turning that resolution into reality
Happy New Year, everyone!
Did you make a New Year's resolution this year? If so, you're in good company. Coming hard on the heels of the party-hearty holidays, January 1st seems to be a natural time to start fresh. But is there any point? Psychologists say that many resolutions are broken before the day is out. The fact that we seem to make the same resolutions every year suggests that few of them stick.
But even if you broke last year's (or every year's) resolutions, this year can be different. Here are four strategies that will help you turn your resolutions into reality.
1. Stay focused on your actions, not your progress.
According to researchers at Yale University, the trick to sticking to your resolutions is to stay focused on your commitment to a certain course of action (to eat healthier, to spend less, to exercise more, etc.) and not pay too much attention to your results or progress toward a specific goal.
2. Keep a log--especially at the beginning.
When you are trying to change habitual patterns, it can be very enlightening and helpful to keep a log of your daily activities. If you are trying to stop out-of-control spending, write down everything you spend for a couple of weeks. If you are trying to lose weight, keep a diary of what you eat. ND's pantry tool can help. If you want to get into the habit of exercising regularly, log your daily mileage or calories burned.
3. Find a support network
Research shows that support and encouragement from others with the same goals is a big help. Why not make the Nutrition Data community your partner in achieving a healthier lifestyle this year? Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase your fitness, lower your blood pressure or cholesterol, or simply to eat a healthier diet, you'll find thousands of others in the ND community who are committed to the same goals.
4. Go on record
There's something about making your resolution public that makes it just a little bit harder to abandon your resolution. To give your resolution a little extra staying power, why not put it on record? Use the 'Post a Comment' link below and tell us your New Year's Resolution and how you plan to attain it.
Here, by the way, are the ten most common New Year's Resolutions:
1. Lose weight
2. Stop smoking
3. Stick to a budget
4. Save more money
5. Find a better job
6. Become more organized
7. Exercise more
8. Be more patient at work / with others
9. Eat better
10. Become a better person
What's yours?
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Posted by: Victoria | Feb 12, 2007 5:42:30 PM
I'ts been very hard for me to lose those last ten pounds, as I've been yo-yoing them on and off for the past 4 years, I'm going to try the suggestion of recording everything, and to stick to it until I've kept the weight off. I hope the effort is worth it.
Posted by: Craig | Jan 18, 2007 11:02:10 AM
Last year, in April, I finally decided to actually track everything I consumed. It took 3 years of reading this from multiple sources, but I finally did it. I dropped 40 pounds last year by controlling my diet. My workouts (Martial arts 3x per week , weight training 3x per week) basically remained the same. The primary differene was recording the calories and nutriet percentages consumed (protein - carbs - fats). This site, was a great source for me to track the nutrient components. Again, it is not easy (read tedious) to record everything consumed, but it is a critical component to weight loss and fat loss. Great points, Craig
