1. Create a Weight-Loss Plan with Short- and Long-Term Goals.
Your goals should be realistic, specific, measurable, and attainable, and can be accomplished in a timely manner—nothing five years down the road. Keep a long-term goal in mind, maybe something like losing a certain number of pounds in six months. But definitely include short-term goals. The short-term goals could be daily, weekly, and even monthly.
For example, three short-term goals could be adding a
vegetable to your lunch, practicing portion control by
measuring out your food, and visiting NIFS to exercise every
day for an hour. These short-term goals will lead you to the
long-term goal.
Not everyone will have the same goals, so create the goals
based on your individual needs. If you know you tend to
overeat, make short-term goals related to cutting back on
certain foods and portion control.
2. Strive for Consistency in Your Weight-Loss Routine.
Time and time again I meet people who want to lose weight, but something gets in the way. Life happens; they regress or slip up. The secret to overcoming those hang-ups is to bounce back and keep moving forward. Don’t let a few bad days defeat or deflate you. Keep a motivated mindset. Don’t be a yo-yo exerciser who exercises, leaves, and comes back a few months later only to start the whole weight-loss process all over again. It is such a vicious cycle and not a good place to be.
One great way to get past this block is to find a good support system. Whether it’s your spouse, friend, co-worker, or a workout partner you meet at NIFS, you need someone to hold you accountable and call you to find out where you were or ask you about your progress.
3. Refuse to Choose a Defeated Mindset!
It takes hard work and you have to stay focused. Every day is a new day. Wake up with a fresh start and regroup. Don’t ever feel like you have failed. Learn to overcome your obstacles and keep pressing forward. Like the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Believe in yourself and you will be successful with your New Year’s resolution of losing weight!
Written by NIFS Health Fitness Specialist Christy Monday. For some extra motivation, learn how NIFS members have achieved their weight-loss and fitness goals here.
Give me a rack of dumbbells, some benches, a squat rack, and two hours and I’m in heaven. For some reason, this could be it, every day for the rest of my life and I would be fine. Then again, after roughly 15 years of pounding the weights, certain everyday tasks that require little things like flexibility and balance, which in our youth are taken for granted, become noticeably more and more challenging.
"Rome wasn’t built in a day.” An obvious observation that can transcend most of life’s challenges, I heard that somewhere. So, would that rule make any exceptions for your fitness goals? For “new to fitness” individuals, a major obstacle they must overcome is the reality that instant results are almost impossible to attain and that it takes a little more than six minutes of ab work to be ready for spring break (or your wedding, reunion, etc.).