Beauty and The Geek: How’s Your New Year’s Resolution Going?
We’re now 23 days into 2012, so it’s time to stop and ask ourselves: how are we doing with our New Year’s resolutions and goals? A lot of people resolve to lose weight, get in shape, or some combination of the two. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and intentions, these resolutions can easily get away from us after the first few weeks of January have come and gone. Sometimes the hardest part of a fitness resolution can be the part where we automatically associate fitness with the gym; many of us don’t have the time or (especially) the money to make it to the gym 7 days a week. Jamie already suggested one great alternative to the gym last week, but what else can we do to keep from falling off the wagon when it comes to our New Year’s fitness resolutions?
Turn vague resolutions into specific, attainable goals.
“Get fit” or “lose weight” are good resolutions for the new year, but they are rather generic, and therefore easy to forget about as the end of January draws near. Make a specific goal– and be realistic about it. For example, if your resolution was to “get fit,” what exactly does that mean? Instead, use that resolution to create a goal like, “build my upper body strength” or “run a 5k race.”
If your resolution also involved losing weight, you most likely have a goal in mind, but break it down. If your resolution is something simple losing 10 lbs, make a goal to lose 1 pound per week. This is an especially good idea if your resolution is something more daunting like losing 50 lbs, where that number can be scary. Break it down into smaller goals: lose 1-2lbs per week, burn X amount of calories a day, walk for x minutes, and so on. You don’t necessarily have to make weight loss about the number; it can be about the changes you make in your life that will, in turn, affect your weight in a positive way.
If you wanted to “eat healthier,” then make a goal to “eat one extra serving of vegetables a day” or “eat 2 less cookies a day.” Regardless of what your resolution was, all of these suggestions can makes you accountable for your actions and gives you the ability to not only see that you are sticking to your resolution, but completing your goals as well.
Get out of the gym and into your comfort zone.
If you’re like either Jamie or myself, you might feel like all of those 7-day-a-week, do-you-seriously-only-eat-one-grape-a-day-to-stay-that-skinny people at the gym are secretly judging you. Plus, let’s face it: the gym can be pretty boring if all you’re doing is sequestering yourself in the corner and using the machines.
See? It’s not just you that feels that way! So, what can you do? Well, what do you like to do? If you like walking your dog, try walking him for 30-40 minutes a day instead of 20 (Fido will surely appreciate it, too!). If you love to hike, make room in your schedule to head to your favorite trail once a week. Ski, skateboard, swim — pretty much anything physical will get you on the right track and let you have fun while staying on the New Year’s resolution wagon.
For me, my workout has involved 15-20 minutes of Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 every morning when I wake up, and 15-20 minutes of Dance Central for the Kinect with my fiance a couple of nights a week. Dan is a horrible dancer, so that definitely takes the pressure off of me to be good at dancing — and, so, we just have fun.
So, am I keeping up with my New Year’s resolution? If I was a Facebook status, I’d have to “like” myself right now, because with specific goals, planning, a desire to see my New Year’s resolution through, and a weight loss of 6.1lbs so far, I’m well on my way to getting past that January slump and keeping my resolution to look fabulous when Dan and I get married in July.
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