Patience and Commitment--Crucial Travel Partners

January 3, 2012! Wow, can you believe it? How are you all doing with those New Year’s resolutions you made? Statistics show that between 40 to 45% of American adults commit to make one or more resolutions each year. New Year’s resolutions inevitably include plans to lose weight, stop smoking and increase exercise. I was curious, though, how many were successful in their endeavors for the long term…75% maintained their resolution after one week; 71% after two weeks, 64% after one month and 46% after 6 months.

Armed with that information, I found an excellent article that gives practical and very manageable tips to jumpstart 2012’s resolutions of building a healthy lifestyle for the long term. Kathy Smith, a fitness professional since the 1980s, in her Laws to Living Lean, reminds us that it’s about progress and not perfection in our journey. It’s the incremental changes we make that affect an overall transformation. It takes time, though, so be patient, yet committed. Be honest in your efforts, if those results aren’t measureable, then reevaluate and make a bigger commitment.

Smith also says that part of your plan needs to include exercise…it’s a non negotiable item! Our bodies were designed to be worked out, so let’s get out there and move. No excuses. Make it a priority! My clients have heard me say this many times!

Make sure that you’re environment is supporting your healthy choices. Begin food journaling to discern those old habits and patterns in your eating. Determine those mood-food triggers and write them down. Never skip breakfast or you’ll be sabotaging your efforts for the rest of the day!

Finally, even though we may break resolutions we made, research shows that making them are constructive. People who are specific in their resolutions are 10 times more likely to be successful in reaching those goals than those who don’t specifically make resolutions. So, go for it and make 2012 a year in which you set, work and reach those goals.

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/12/30/kathy-smith-laws-lean-living.aspx

Press On!

Have you ever wanted to begin something new…a new fitness regimen or a change in a habit? The only thing that’s holding you back, though, is that it’s the middle of the week or only a quarter of the way through the month.

I know, some of you may be saying, “Ah, no.” But, there may be a few of you who can totally relate! For some reason, I like to begin my inaugural events on the first of the week or at the beginning of a new month. I think it’s a mindset thing—something like the proverbial clean slate or the freshness of the air after an extended rain. Or, dare I admit, the perfectionism aspect that everything has to be “just so”, that sometimes paralyzes me from completing a task or project!

So, it is with a wonderful sense of achievement and personal growth that my first blog post is posted on a Saturday! My prayer is that through my blog, you will be encouraged, inspired, and educated in the areas of healthy living choices whereby those choices will lead to permanent lifestyle changes that will make a difference in your life.

Let me leave you with a quote that I just happened upon as I was searching the online thesaurus. I really am a word and grammar geek, and that’s half my problem in completing my writing projects. But this quote motivated and empowered me and I hope it will do the same for you!

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’, has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge, 1932

Pressing On with Perseverance!