Looking for a Healthy Start to the New Year?

Although a New Year’s resolution can help you set the stage to lose weight, it takes work and commitment to shed unwanted pounds and keep them off. It is the next step that is most difficult, which is to create a successful plan. Adopting a short-term change in dietary habits can help you drop a few pounds, but those who are overweight or obese need to make a commitment to improving their health and wellness by eating healthy for the long haul. Remember, it is easy to set lofty resolutions during the holidays. If you bite off more than you can chew, establish some realistic short-term goals that can help you overcome any struggles you have with a lack of willpower. If you have made the resolution to lose weight this year, understand that you will likely gain the weight back unless you make a personal commitment to eating healthier and managing negative lifestyle issues. After all, you can still achieve your resolution in 2021.

• Start with Simple Activities - Eating healthy and exercising more are interconnected and both are important for healthy weight loss. However, performing strenuous exercise is not an excuse to eat more food.
• 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.
• Add Strength Training - Resistance training helps with excess fat loss by adding lean muscle mass and increasing calories burned after exercising and while you rest.
• Work Your Way Up - You can launch your resolution to exercise more by adopting a daily stretching routine. As your flexibility improves, you can unleash your inner wild child with fewer physical setbacks.
• Recruit an Exercise Buddy - A weight loss buddy can add immediate accountability for targeting your New Year’s resolutions, as well as make workouts more fun.

Throughout your weight loss journey, you need to understand why any failed action did not work to cultivate the new behaviors you had expected. Understanding the cause of each setback will provide valuable insight into the future. Whether you set a New Year’s resolution to do so or simply feel that now is the time to shed unwanted fat, establishing clear-cut, achievable goals will set yourself up to win. A solid weight loss plan means you understand why and what you need to do. Although you should never ignore your goals, it is crucial to focus on making healthy choices and developing those into habits and new patterns of behavior. If you reach a point where you feel that you have no idea as to what you should be doing, it may be time to consult with a weight loss specialist who can remotely, or in-person help you achieve your goal.