Resolution Results

Publication: Q Vegas
January 2009

Millions of Americans each New Year say almost the same thing: “I am going to start working out five days a week, watching what I eat, cut back on my drinking, quit smoking, and run a marathon, maybe even backwards, oh… and lose weight!” Then unfortunately by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around it seems that over half those motivated, determined, unstoppable “resolution season” gym members give up on their goals and retreat back to their sofas where they will comfortably remain until the clock strikes midnight on December 31 and the year rolls over to January... one more time.

But this year is going to be different. I am going to be here to assist you with turning your champagne-induced New Year’s health and fitness resolutions into a reality with the tried and true recommendations that follow.
The most critical step in ensuring that you are a success this year is to have the proper resolutions themselves. They are basically goals that you’re setting for yourself, and that means they need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Agreed-upon, Realistic, and Time-bound. Let’s start by using the “favorite” resolution of all as an example of how to use the SMART principle. First, avoid making a vague resolution such as “This year I am going to lose some weight.” As an alternative make it specific--how many pounds do you want to lose or what weight you would like to get down to? Make it measurable and deliverable (as long as you don’t have a phobia of scales). Having a goal that you internally agreed upon with yourself is extremely important because if you set a resolution based on what someone else thinks you should do your heart’s not going to be in it and your chances of success plummet as a result of it.

Second, when it comes to being realistic, base the goal on your own abilities. If you’re a 200-pound man with a full time job, don’t expect to lose those extra ten pounds in a week that your favorite contestant on The Biggest Loser did. The reality show that you live in day-to-day should realistically be the one where you lose one to two pounds a week (if you want to keep the sexy muscle you have and make the results last).
Our final requirement dictates that there needs to be a time frame on your goal so that you don’t procrastinate until the winter frost has thawed when you finally get your holiday-stuffed belly to the gym to start working on your resolution. Time is of the essence; mark a date on the calendar, and stick to it! So now we have properly made our resolutions and set ourselves up for a successful start to the New Year.

The best way to begin working towards your resolution is to establish some smaller goals or action steps to follow on a daily or weekly basis. Say for example you want to lose 25 pounds for your spring cruise on March 15. If you’re not already exercising on a regular basis you’d want to set a goal of working out three times per week for forty-five minutes at the gym. After two weeks on that schedule, increase the amount of exercise to either four times per week at forty-five minutes, or stay at three workouts but increase each session to an hour and a half. We want this to be as painless and achievable as possible, so set a plan to workout at the time of day when it’s easiest for you, whether it be morning or night. Look at it as an appointment with yourself just as you make an appointment for lunch. But don’t try to do it in the morning if you fight with your alarm clock every day just to get to work on time or in the evening if you need two cups of coffee just to make it through the last hour of the workday.
Once you get your time established, set a realistic goal with your eating habits by taking baby steps to work up to being a lean, mean, health food-eating machine. The first step might be to cut out soda (diet or regular) and desserts from your diet if those are a vice for you (I know, “Not my soda. I can’t live without my diet soda.” Yes you can!) or to cut back on the amount of alcohol you consume by at least half (especially now that the holiday parties are over). Then the next week, try cutting down on the amount of meals you eat out at restaurants and start eating fresh food that you’ve cooked yourself at home. I know, cooking at home is a novel idea, too. But really, the knobs do work on your stove and oven. More vegetables and fruit can be added into your diet the third week in place of bread, pasta, and other high calorie, gut-busting carbs. These “mini goals” can be used for any resolution, not just health- and fitness-related ones.

The next way to ensure resolution success is with positive reinforcement. So if you’ve made it to the gym three times for the week reward yourself with a treat, maybe a little dessert (not the entire cheesecake, just a small piece perhaps) on Saturday or get a relaxing massage Sunday afternoon to rest your hard working body. Each week try something different to keep you motivated along the way since some resolutions can take a while before you accomplish them and experience the fruits of all of your labor. Now, if you’re a bad one and aren’t following the action plan we’ve set up you have to punish yourself (just a little) for failing to follow the plan. You don’t have to dawn a scarlet “A” on your chest or anything that drastic, but maybe work out an extra thirty minutes if you got lost and found yourself at Taco Bell for lunch one day or restrict yourself from one hour of television if you didn’t make it to the gym after work (don’t worry, your reality TV shows will all still be there the next night). Regardless of your goals, make sure you’re rewarding yourself on a consistent basis for following your plan and not always doling out the punishment for bad behavior (unless you’re into that).

One final method for staying committed to accomplishing your resolutions is to hold yourself to the highest level of accountability possible. How do you do this, Dustin? Very easily: tell people. Let your friends, family, and co-workers know that you’re going to lose those three pant sizes, give up your fast food fetish, or finally quit smoking. Let others know that you’re going to accomplish it so that the pressure to perform will be that much higher this year. After all, there’s nothing more motivating than bragging to your friends and co-workers that you were successful this year even though they weren’t. Well, I guess there is one thing that’s more motivating than bragging rights, and that’s public embarrassment. Don’t let yourself join all the others who fall short of their objectives and have to give it another shot next year. Want a little more motivation? Hire a personal trainer, coach, psychologist, hypnotist, or nutritionist for some very valuable assistance. Whatever your goals may be, there are many qualified professionals available to help you design the best plan possible for reaching your finish line successfully. Not only will you have to answer to them every day, week, or month, but you’ll also have to invest a little money now as well. You paid a lot to get out of shape…It will cost you a little to get into shape too. It’s a fair trade. So cut out the bad foods, sodas, lattes, candy bars and fast foods, and invest in your health and waistline. These days no one wants to throw away their precious cash, so the only way to ensure your return on investment is to do what your hired help tells you to and ultimately achieve the results you were working towards.
So there you have it, all of the best techniques that professionals such as myself employ when helping our clients to achieve their resolutions when each New Year passes. Now that you have them, feel free to utilize them. You now have no excuse for falling short of your personal finish line. But just in case you fear that you won’t make it this year, I’m here to help you put the right program together and achieve your goals this year. Let’s get across your finish line and celebrate together!