7 Helpful Tips to Make Your New Year's Resolution Stick!

I absolutely love this time of year.
A time when we can reflect on the days behind us and to make plans for a brand New Year.

It's a time we set new goals for ourselves. 

Because after all, if we aren't here to grow, to be more, to have more, to do more--- to improve ourselves, then what's the point?

Hopefully you have one or more thoughts on what you are going to do in 2015.

If you're ready to make some real progress on improving your life, I'd like to suggest a few tips to help make your New Year's Resolutions stick, so they become a permanent part of your life this year. 

1. Don't begin on January 1st
   That may sound strange...a New Year resolution always starts on the first day of the year, right? But since it's on a Thursday this year, it might be more strategic to begin the following week. Give yourself the weekend to prepare and start fresh on Monday.  Also, beginning on any day other than the 1st will help to stop the pattern of failure you may have experienced in the past.  There's way too much anticipation attached to that day and your past experience (aka failures) will be associated with it. Let's break that pattern.
2. Make a determined decision
   What do you think of when you hear "New Year's Resolution"?
   
   Some people think that resolutions are made to be broken.  Or that a resolution is something to dread...something you are forcing upon yourself to do and therefor causes anxiety and ultimate failure.
   Try looking at your resolution this year is a determined decision.
   That's powerful stuff right there.
   A determined DECISION. You are deciding that this is exactly what you want for yourself and you are going to succeed--no matter what. That this is going to become who you are. 
3. Share with others
   Tell people about your goal. Put it out there.  Let them know how much it would mean to you to achieve that goal and how much it would mean to you if they would support your efforts. That's not always easy, as sometimes the ones closest to us are not necessarily the ones who will be on board with change, so choose wisely.  Simply declaring your intent makes it real. It makes you accountable... so share on Facebook, talk to your best friend, whatever. Just get it out there--in public.  But no matter what, don't let anyone stop you from accomplishing your goal. Don't give anyone that much power. This is your life.
4. One day at a time 
   Your goal won't feel so daunting or unattainable if you chuck it down to completing it just one day at a time. Deliberately plan your day.  Set yourself up for success by eliminating anything that might tempt you to return to your old (bad) habit.
5. Change your mindset 
   This is a biggie.  Don't look back longingly on that unhealthy habit.  See it as the enemy. As something to despise.  Something that was robbing you of your health and shortening your life. Heck, if some ONE was doing that to you, you'd be ticked off, right? That's the attitude you want to maintain every time that 'urge' hits you. Most of the lifestyle resolutions we make are to break free from some addictive habit we've allowed ourselves to develop...so just know that it will be a battle.  Your greatest weapon is to control your own thoughts---don't let that little voice in your head (which is controlled by that addiction) creep in to sabotage you. And it will try, you can be sure of that. But being aware gives it less control over you.
6. Visualize your success 
   
   If you make this a daily habit, you'll be amazed at how effective this willbe. Every single day, begin and/or end your day visualizing your success. Close your eyes. Relax and breathe deeply.  Think about how you will feel next year when you have succeeded with your goal.  Think of how proud you will be. Imagine how good you will feel and look. Allow yourself to get emotional about it. (That means you too, guys!)
   I'm serious.  The thoughts we intentionally put in our minds are powerful. And when we attach an emotion to that thought, it becomes 100x more powerful. Our brain does not distinguish between real and the imagined.It recognized and reacts to both and that can be a very powerful tool.
   So take control of those thoughts. Just make sure YOU are the one controlling those thoughts and not that stinky little voice in we all have in our head which always likes to remind us of all of our past failures.  The more you are the one in control of your subconscious thoughts, the less that little voice will creep in to undermine your efforts.
   I promise.
7. Don't give up on yourself
   Anticipate roadblocks and be ready to remove them. You might experience weak moments, times when you are absentmindedly allowing that habit to creep back into your life. You are human, not perfect, and bad habits don't die easy. So be gentle with yourself. Don't view that one moment as a failure and a reason to quit. Become aware of how it happened, learn from it and move forward even stronger and more resolved to succeed because of that experience.

Let's make 2015 an epic year! You can do this! 

You are stronger than you think. Just give yourself a chance to prove it. 

Cheers! To Your Thriving Life,
~Anne

Make this Your New Year Resolution> No. More. Dieting .

A bright and shiny New Year is fast approaching and many people are planning their resolutions.

Do yourself a favor. 

Don't make 'go on a diet' one of yours.

That may sound funny coming from someone who is all about health and wellness, so let me ask you a few questions before I begin to explain myself.

• Question 1:  Have you ever made a weight loss New Year's resolution in the past?

• Question 2:  Have you ever cheated within the first month of starting a diet?  
                     I'm not judging. Just asking.  :-)

• Question 2:  Have you tried more than one diet plan in a year?

• Question 3:  Did you end those diets because you just couldn't
                     stand feeling deprived, miserable, or hungry any longer?

• Question 4:  Did you lose weight-- but then gained it all back within a year?

• Question 5:  Do you weigh just a little more at the end of the
                     year than you did at the beginning of the year?

If you answered 'yes' to any (or all) of the above,
then you’ve probably figured out by now that you'll never get ahead of the game if you continue this behavior.

I mean year after year, you starve yourself; 

watch your calories closely; you count all your points, or you take some magic pill (promising to burn fat while you sleep or some such nonsense); and ok, you lose some weight. 

Then you stop and ALL that weight you worked so hard to lose comes back to find you  --- and how fast it comes back is scary, isn't it?! 

Even worse, sometimes you even end up weighing more than when you started. UGH! 

Honestly, diets don’t work and they are detrimental to your health.
It's time to give it a rest and to give yourself a real chance at reaching your health goal this year.

And it won’t be with any stinky diet.

Sure, we all want to look good in jeans or a cute little dress,
but we shouldn't make ourselves sick in the process.
And that's what almost always what happens when you diet.

When you go on a calorie restrictive diet, you don't consume enough quality food or enough healthy nutrition, so your body reacts as if it is being starved--and it begins to conserve energy for future use--- in the form of fat.
That's right. Your body starts storing fat--and will not readily release it.
Instead, it sacrifices your muscle. And that's not good. Not at all.
The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism--and the more efficiently you are able to lose weight/fat.

So... since you have even less muscle when you end a diet, the next time you try another diet, you would need to eat even less than you did before to experience any significant weight loss.  Crazy, right?
And what's that saying about definition of insanity?
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
In this case, that totally fits.

And, not only do diets eat away at your muscle which slows your metabolism, but some diets plans and products contain dangerous ingredients.
Or they seriously lack nutrition.
Or they contain artificial ingredients.
Each of which could cause some major health issues in your body. 

I set a Google alert for any diet recalls or FDA warnings on all diet-related products, and I get notices sent to me every single day.  

The Diet/Weight Loss business a huge, largely unregulated market and there are many companies just out to get a piece of the action.

Heck, here's a newscast describing how buying weight loss supplements is not only a waste of money, but also dangerous.  Take a look.

Oh, and please don't be fooled by those highly marketed, 'physician recommended' diet programs.   Read the ingredients and the label.  Usually that's enough to give you some good clue as to if it is a healthy program or some slick marketing masking as a 'healthy weight loss program'.

Hint: If there are any artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and/or lots of sugar

...Well, does that sound like a healthy plan to you??

Also, check out the company behind the product.
 If it's a 'processed food company',  it's probably not something you'll want to try.  There is one such diet program that has been so detrimental to so many people, including some close friends of mine, that I use it as an example of what NOT to do for those I coach. 

(I won't name names here, but I will give you a clue.
The company behind it is Nestle. They have excellent marketing but extremely poor nutrition, so you can see where they spend their money. The consumer is the one who pays the ultimate price with poor health.)

So, my suggestion for 2015?  NO MORE DIETING!
Instead, make positive changes. Make wiser choices and keep them as part of a permanent, healthier lifestyle.

But I'm not going to leave you hanging if you are serious about achieving a healthy and sustainable weight loss goal this year.

If that's on your 'to do' list for 2015, then keep an eye out for my next few posts.
Psst: I'm will not you to begin on January 1^st.
We'll start the Monday AFTER the New Year, so you have time to prepare.  And I’ll share reason why in the next post.

I will also teach you what I look for in a healthy weight loss program and I'll share what specific program I am comfortable recommending to my friends and family.   Why?  People get great results, they don't feel like they're dieting, they love it and they get healthier as a side benefit.  

(And I love that!!!)

In January of 2012, my own husband (finally!) made the decision to make this program part of his healthy lifestyle too. The result?
He has lost 45 pounds and has kept it off.  It most likely saved his life.
I'm not exaggerating.  He was headed down a very unhealthy path and he totally turned his health around. That's a huge testament to this program. Especially since he was the typical 'all you can eat meat and potatoes' type of guy.  If he can do it (and love it) so can you.  
No joke.

He is now so proud of the way he looks.
He feels wonderful and he will never go back. Never.
After all, that's really the key, isn't it?

Losing that weight and then keeping it off---for good?

Be well, my friends!
~Anne