Resolve to achieve your New Years Goals

I am going to take a wild guess and say that you may have made a few New Years' Resolutions before.  I will also go out on a limb and say that they are probably eerily similar year after year after year...

Well, 2012 can be different.  As Einstein said - "You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it."

This means that if you are creating the same Resolutions and are going to go about your Resolutions in the same manner that you always have... well... you will most likely get the same result.

Insanity - Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.

Change is hard.  Do not fool yourself into thinking that because you made a decision to change that you will not sabotage yourself or that massive, long lasting changes will come to you without discipline and consistency.  You will only end up dissapointed again.
Here are 5 tips to insure you can break your failure cycle and begin to reach your goals:


Get Specific and avoid "vague" goals.
Weight loss is a very poor goal. Stop smoking is a poor goal.  These are too general and lack passion.
The more specific you get with your goals the more likely you will be to reach them.
How much weight loss?  What is your time frame for reaching these milestones? What are you absolutley willing to do to achieve these results?


Focus on what you are gaining, not on what you are giving up.
If you are focused on restricting items from your day or life and viewing improving fitness levels/exercise as a chore, or, you are focused on eliminating foods from your life - how long do you think you will have the willpower to hold out?
A better strategy is to list out all of the things you will gain by slowly and systematically making changes to your habits.  Improved energy and self-confidence would most likely happen first.  Self-pride and the ability to stick with your goals and plans would surely follow.


Get into the process and out of the outcome.
Change takes time. Be patient with yourself.  No one makes a decision and magically changes.  Everyone makes mistakes and takes missteps.  Understand that a mistake is not the end.  Get right back on track and get going.  An "IFSism" that I use all of the time is -

Habits X Time = Results

Improved Fitness and Reduced Weight of any substantial sum is most likely a 12-18 month process.  There will be plateuas and setbacks.  How you plan for and deal with these setbacks will make all of the difference in your success.  You WILL NOT experience smooth sailing.  And, if you do, you will not maintain it for long.
Use history as a teacher - if you were losing weight and as soon as something derailed you, you gave up because progress stopped - I would challenge you to alter your perception of what is actually happening.

Focus on your schedule.  If you schedule it, you will do it.
This seems pretty simple, but, for many people sticking to a schedule is difficult.  The habit of procrastination sets in and what I refer to as "The Tomorrow Syndrome" becomes a rally cry. If you will always start tomorrow and you justify your lack of commitment to your health and goals you certainly will never reach the goals that you set.
Schedule your exercise and stick to your schedule.  Make your Fitness a non-negotiable priority.  If you do not you will not achieve the desired results.


Avoid "All or None" thinking.
Focus on Progress, not perfection.  If you are moving more than you have been before and eating better than you have been then you are making progress!  Congratulate yourself.  You are doing great.
All or none thinking (as in - I need to eat perfectly and exercise everyday or IT is not working) only derails success and makes happiness unattainable.  NO ONE eats perfectly and exercises everyday.

There you have it.  An altered perception of your goals and how to reach them can help to make 2012 your most productive year to date.

Get the help that you need here - My Dynamic Life

90 Days to a New You. - Weight Loss Day by Day

Yours in Health,
Robert J DeVito

Back to the Business of Losing

Post Holiday "Back to Business" Strategy

We know that the average Thanksgiving meal alone (reported at approx 4,000cal+) can do some serious damage. The holiday, combined with a long weekend can throw even the most committed and dedicated of us off track. Here are some no-nonsense tips to get back to business NOW:   Think short-term. Commit to one week of cleaner eating to rebound from the holiday splurge. Start TODAY. Be sure to maintain your food log for one week to reset healthy habits.  Increase your water intake. MOVE MORE - be sure to get your Strength Training in 3x this week. NO EXCUSES. Plus, increase your cardio by at least an hour over the course of the week. Clean out your kitchen cabinets and fridge! Give away or throw out all of the unhealthy leftovers in the house. No one in your family needs them and if they're not there you won't be tempted by them.  Eat more fruits and veggies.  You will feel better and feel better about yourself. Follow these tips and you'll be back to feeling like your healthy, motivated self in no time! Even Santa is PRE-Burning a few Holiday Calories.  he knows that cookies are coming.

How do I get to my goal?

"How do I get to my goal?"

Are you acting according to your goals?

Unfortunately, there is no one canned answer to this question.  Consider this, pick your favorite store in the world, and now figure out how many different routes you can take to arrive there.  The options can be endless. Now utilize this same thought process for your personal fitness goals.  The same analogy can apply. When you add in all of the marketing that tells you to take a specific direction or route, your friends telling you the "shortcut" that you can take to arrive at the store faster and the feeling that everyone you know has figured out how to get to the store in a timely manner but you, you may not even want to go to that store anymore!  It could get really confusing.

Fat Loss, Health and Fitness, and Sports and Performance goals all place different demands on the body. From the amount of sleep required to the number of meals and calories eaten daily to what they are made of (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats) -  it is slightly different for everybody. If you add in your genetic predisposition for where and how much fat you hold, your given metabolism, food preferences and dislikes plus your attraction or aversion to exercise it can be exhausting and de-motivating to try and figure all of these items out for yourself.

My advice: DO NOT GIVE UP!  That is one surefire method to fall short of your fitness goals.

Now that we have decided that you will not do that let's discuss how to succeed.  Focus on food, fitness and education, the foundation of Innovation Fitness Solutions.

When your actions meet your goals you will experience progress.

Food

It's a good idea to spread your food out throughout the day.  I recommend at least 4 meals daily and sometimes up to 6.  The number of meals depends upon your goal and some of the factors discussed above, but a good starting point is 4 meals.  Do not ever eat less.  It just leads to hunger and hunger leads to poor food choices and over-eating.  Regardless of the goal, it is important to know how many calories you need to maintain your weight daily and how many calories you are actually consuming.  Do you really know how many calories is in that Whole Wheat Bagel you eat?  How about that Chai Tea with skim milk you had yesterday?  Having the facts at your fingertips is a great method to understanding how to be successful, guesswork usually can get you started but never works long term.

The good news is that there are people who have spent their entire adult lives preparing themselves to help you get the success you want. Your Weight Management Specialists and Exercise Specialists care about you and your results and we do know how to help you.  Everyone has different goals, and the strategies that you must utilize for success have to be tailored to you. Realistic, Progressive and Maintainable (R.P.M.) methods for long term success are right here in front of you. Talk to one of us and let us help!

Fat Loss
Fat matters, carbohydrates count but calories are the bottom line!  Do not buy into the myth that some foods are fattening and others are not.  It is not true.  Every food can help make you gain weight and every food can help you keep it off.  The amount of ingested has to be less than the total calories burned or you will get bigger eating sunflower seeds and grapefruits.  It just does not matter! Control your calories and eat as healthy as you can right now.

Health and Fitness

The more consistent and the healthier the choices that you make the better you will feel.  I suggest 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular work 3-4 times weekly + 2-3 strength training sessions weekly.  In addition, maintaining a diet of consistently balanced foods along with your exercise routine will help you achieve your goal with ease.  Your body will thank you for it and your mind will as well.  When we choose healthy options we give our body the fuel it needs to keep going strong throughout the day, fight off cellular damage and be mentally sharp.

Sports and Performance

Eat often, eat well and eat balanced!  The timing of your pre and post workout meals is crucial to your success.  Eating 45-60 minutes pre-workout is essential to providing the energy necessary for optimum performance.  A post workout meal consisting of a 4:1 ration of carbohydrate to protein is important for recovery.  In addition, optimal rest (6-8 hours of sleep) and the proper training intensity is essential too. Try not to workout more than 3 days consecutively if your intensity level is above a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10.

Result

In my opinion one of the strongest variables someone can change is to get out of daily result and into the process. It is a BIG PICTURE way of looking at your goals and your goal setting.  Everything matters but mistakes will be made and they will be corrected.  Nothing is impossible and a great plan makes for great successes.