The new year is less than a month away, and for many people see that as a clean slate and the perfect time to make changes, including losing weight.
If you happen to be one of those folks, here are five things you can do to improve your chances of having, “Lose ‘X’ pounds,” be a successful New Year’s resolution.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention suggests you:
Make A Commitment. Decide upfront those things you want to accomplish like how much weight you wish to lose and by what date, what you’ll do to change your eating habits to help make that weight loss possible and what you’ll do to be active.
Take Stock of Where You Are. Take a careful look at yourself and maybe even ask your health care provider to do that with you. Look at what you eat and when and even why. And, take into consideration how your work as a driver will effect your efforts to lose weight and be more active.
Set Realistic Goals. You may wish to lose 50 lbs. but it helps to set smaller, short-term goals to make that possible. In an ideal world, you may want to run a 5 K race, but you may have to build up to it by walking 15 minutes a day. Being realistic can help you from being disappointed and possibly abandoning your healthy efforts.
Identify Resources for Information & Support. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, and you most likely will be surprised by the willingness of others – family, friends, co-workers – to help you ion your weight loss efforts. Because you are on the road, those folks may not be readily accessible, so consider finding an app for your iPhone to help keep you on track or join an online support community.
Continually Check In With Yourself to Monitor Your Progress. Review your goals and the progress you are making. Consider what’s working and what’s not. Adjust accordingly.
And, try to be patient with yourself. The excess weight you want to be rid of didn’t get put on all at once, and neither will it melt away quickly.
