Time to Set Your New Year’s Goal for Losing Weight

A resolution is a statement you made to yourself or others. To achieve weight loss success, be willing to make modifications in progress. That’s why it is helpful to start small and build up to bigger challenges. If you feel like you are already failing and ready to abandon your resolution, long-term goals are simple to state but may seem too difficult and too far away to attain. Break your processes down into smaller short-term goals to make lifestyle changes easier. It is important that you allow for setbacks. These are a natural occurrence when you are making behavioral changes. Moreover, if you expect that there will be obstacles and challenges, dealing with them will be much easier to do. Since losing as little as 10 pounds can restore your energy and boost your self-confidence, set realistic goals with measurable results, and simply track your journey from where you at to where you intend to be.

• Add Strength Training - Adding lean muscle mass increases physical strength, reduces your risk of injury, and offers numerous health benefits including fat loss and reduced risks of developing chronic diseases.
• Work Your Way Up - A pre-meal walk around the block before dinner is served is a great place to start and easy way to work your way up by adding more distance or other forms of exercise.
• Recruit an Exercise Buddy - You are far more likely to show up for your walk or workout session when you know someone else is depending on you to make smart choices and show up.
• Start with Simple Activities - When you choose activities that are fun, you won’t feel as pressured to set aside time for exercising. Picking physical activities that you hate will not help you shed weight.
• Add Low Impact Exercise - Walking is a very simple cardio exercise that helps you lose stored fat while improving your fitness. A brisk walk, in fresh air, can have a positive benefit on your metabolism and heart health.
• Break Up Physical Activities - Tending a new garden, volunteering for clean-up at your local park, or walking for a good cause is an engaging way to get the exercise you need.

Although it may seem you are off to a slow start for reaching your New Year’s resolution, be patient and start by making small incremental changes. It will make it easier to implement new healthy habits. Focus on implementing new healthy habits rather than being obsessed over the bad habits you adopted during the pandemic. Start by replacing your favorite less healthy food with a more nutritious option. To get on track, tackle each element of your weight loss plan individually. For example, cut out junk food or reduce your portion sizes or eat three helpings of vegetables a day. It doesn’t matter if you feel like you are off to slow a start, setting incremental goals makes it easier to stick with your resolution. The likelihood of long-term weight loss success increases with each success.