You are sitting there feeling stuffed, rubbing your tummy, feeling guilty about what you have been consuming over the past week, and you are saying to yourself right now, “I’ll be better in the New Year.”  This thought will help you sleep tonight becasue you will be good in the new year.  Poof! Just like that!  January 1st is going to arrive and all of your bad habits are going to go out the window and you are going to be good at EVERYTHING.  Trust me I am just as guilty.  We can all share in the laughter that all of this right now is relating to us.  You’re in fact reading this right now as you rub your full belly.  Am I right?

We are all so worried about all that we eat between the holidays and the new year, but what about what we eat between the new year and the holidays?  We all worry about how much we have fallen off of our workout routine during this time too, but what about our workout routine all year long?  So what do we do?  We come up with 10 different new year’s resolutions and we expect ourselves to get them done overnight.  We decide that we will give up chocolate, go to boot camp everyday, give up soda, fit in to our skinny jeans by Valentine’s Day, learn fluent Japanese, land that job promotion, love thy neighbor, forgive all enemies, read one new book every month and become a professional snowboarder all in the new year.  We truly asssume that overnight when this year leaves us and the new year enters, that all bad habits will go out the window and we will all be left super hero’s ready to save ourselves from all the evil temptations that this world has to offer.

Well do I have news for you!  We are human.  This is not how life works.  It is okay to mess up.  It is okay to let things take time.  And it is okay if you never love thy neighbor.  I am not saying to not set goals or avoid coming up with a plan in the new year, but what I am saying is make it realistic.  Set up resolutions that are attainable and will therefore leave you feeling accomplished and proud of yourself, rather than make you feel like you will NEVER change.

So what’s the answer to the new year’s resolution successs.  Well,

1.  Limit your resolutions.  Don’t pick so many that you will not be able to focus on any, therefore achieving none.

2.  Let your resolutions take time.  It is about the journey and not the destination so give your resolutions steps.

3.  Pick resolutions that have meaning.  Creating a resolution only because it is a new year may not be enough of a foundation to keep you dedicated.  Pull from your heart strings when deciding what your new year’s resolutions will be.

4.  Focus on realistic resolutions.  Pick resolutions that you are capable of achieving in a years time.

It’s okay that you ate 15 chocolate chip cookies today.  It’s okay that you confessed to Siri that you don’t feel “hot” in your new snuggie, don’t worry, no one does.  Enjoy the holidays and get back on track next week.  Remember it’s between New Year’s Day and the Holidays that you can really do some damage, that is where your focus on creating new healthy habits needs to be.

Happy Holidays!!
Coach Timmie