Tips on renewing New Year’s weight loss resolutions

Now that January is behind us, it’s time to think about those New Year’s resolutions. Have you been keeping up with your weight loss goals and plan to lose the holiday pounds? While most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past the second week, here are tips to renew your New Year’s weight loss promises after January has ended.

Be honest with yourself

Have you weighed yourself and lost any weight? Have you measured yourself and not lost inches either? If not, ask yourself if you’ve put in all effort to do so past the second week of January. Have you kept up with your exercise routine that went so well the first week of January? Have you found yourself skipping some workouts because they were too tiring or inconvenient or other things came up? Are those just excuses, or are they genuine reasons to skip the gym? Are you honestly making the time and effort to keep up with your fitness goals? What about your eating habits? Do you still find yourself sneaking in some chips or chocolates here and there? Are your slip-ups becoming habits?

We’re all human and will have slip-ups, but it’s how you deal with your slip-ups afterward that counts. This means not allowing occasional cheat days or slip-ups to become habits again. So don’t be hard on yourself; just be honest.

Look at your eating habits

If you’re not ready to eat fewer carbohydrates and find that decreasing your carbohydrate intake is leaving you grumpy and not satisfied, try something new. For example, I have a carbohydrate-rich breakfast and stick to leaner proteins and vegetables for the rest of the day and I have the rest of the day to use the calories from the carbohydrates. This not only keeps my carbohydrate cravings in check, but it also makes it easier to stick to proteins and vegetables for lunch and dinner. If you find you still crave sweets, try alternatives. Dark chocolate made with at least 65 per cent cocoa makes for a healthier alternative to dessert (in moderation, of course). Try eating fruit for a few days, and see if that controls your sugar cravings. Visit the yogourt section of your grocery store; you’ll find many brands that make delicious no-sugar-added yogourts that actually can satisfy a sweet tooth. If you really want cake, look up whole-wheat recipes. Ultimately, make this year about finding healthier alternatives to satisfy your cravings, and keep your mind and your jeans happy.

Find the right time

If you’re too tired to go to the gym after work and are really not enjoying your workouts because you just want to be home on your couch, find a different schedule. If you work next to a gym, squeeze in a workout on your one-hour lunch break. I do this to not only give me a real break from my desk, but because it actually feels good mentally to get back to work after a fun gym class or workout. This also means that when 5 o’clock hits, I’m going home. If you can’t go to the gym on your lunch break, wake up an hour earlier, and go before work. Or go once or twice during the week and then twice on the weekend.

Check in with your resolution buddy

If you and a friend had resolved to eat healthier and be more active, call this friend up to see how he or she is doing with their resolution. If they’ve given up, try to convince them to get back on track with you. If they really don’t want to, find another friend who has the same goals as you, and help each other meet them. This could simply mean talking once a week about each other’s progress and setbacks or going to the gym together a few times a week. Whatever and whoever you decide to call on, it might be the extra motivation you need to get back and stay on track.

Find a way that works

Whether it’s fitness or diet, find an eating plan, schedule and routine that work for you and allow you to enjoy your path to a healthier body and mind. It might be different from your friend’s or resolution buddy’s plan, but what distinctly works for you is what’s important. Don’t try to do something too extreme or not enjoyable only to become discouraged and to stop trying. If something doesn’t work for you — whether it’s a workout regime or an eating plan you despise and won’t put effort into — move on to the next plan, and give it your while all testing it out. You’ll know when you find what works for you, because your mind, body and jeans will all be happy at the same time. Believe me — in 2013, it’s possible.

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