FormWell Personal Fitness Training : Resolutions


Links History of Formwell Why Should I Use a Personal Fitness Trainer? Philosophy Questions _______ +Articles +News +Newsletters +Recipes Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Rd Building 400, Suite 475 Sandy Springs, GA 30350 Main Studio Line 24-Hour Voice Mail (770) 804-1898 Fax (770) 804-0330 Join our Email Newsletter	<Back to Articles Resolutions It's that time of year again and I thought it would be appropriate to bore you with yet another article on how to make, and more importantly, stick with, your "New Year's Resolutions." As you might expect, if you know me at all, I will approach this from an inspirational, motivational and psychological perspective. 1. Make sure you are truly ready to change. Think seriously about what it is going to take and decide if you are really ready to change all of the things that it will take for you to achieve your goal. This is the step that most people skip and that is why they stay in the same patterns of starting and stopping resolutions for their whole life. Work with your trainer to decide (together) what you are ready to take on. I have found that once people truly decide that they want something, nothing will stand in their way to get it! 2. Remember (repeat this to yourself every day) that nothing worth having in life comes without challenges and hard work. No matter what your resolution is, change in all forms is very, very difficult and you should praise yourself just because you are trying! 3. Decide WHY you want to change something in your life and why it is important to you to change. Take time to write this down and call it your "personal vision". The main reason most people fail in keeping their resolutions is that when the "fantasy" wears off (usually around January 15th) and the "reality" of life sets in, people forget why they tried to make the change in the first place. Without the why, the how will not make any difference. 4. Remember that some resolutions can be "process" instead of "results" oriented (I think the best are a mixture of both). For instance, you can say that your goal is to work out, consistently, at least 3 times per week and to not let "life changes" interfere with your plan (process). By sticking to this plan, you would also like to loose 5% body fat in 6 months (results). Many times, by focusing on the process, the results happen without you really having to think about them. 5. Once you have decided what your goal is, try to get the people close to you on the same "path" as you. I have found this is best accomplished by just sticking to your goals, no matter what. Once they see how great you feel and look, they will come over to your "side". The best scenario is to have your spouse, family, etc. all shooting for the same goal as you, but I know that this is usually impossible. Just aim to have most of your "inner circle" at least not pulling you away from your goals. 6. Find something that will inspire you on a daily basis until the new behavior has become a habit. When that inspiration fades, find a new one immediately. 7. Remember that most experts estimate that you have to perform a new behavior for at least 100 days for it to become a habit. In my experience with diet and exercise, I have found that most people take at least double that (6 months or more)! 8. Don't pick too many things to change, wait until you have adopted the new behavior for at least 6 months before you decide to add something new. 9. Be realistic (refer to my goal setting article on our website for more information about this) about your plan. 10. Be accountable to as many people as possible with your goals: your family, friends, trainer, etc., Tell everyone you know about your goals! 11. Write down your goals and track your progress in a journal. I cannot stress how important this is, I have been keeping training and food journals for over 10 years and they help me immensely in making sure I am staying on the right path. 12. Break your main goal down into small segments. For instance, if your goal is to reduce your body fat by 10%, aim for 1% per month for a year. 13. Remember that changes in life do not occur in a linear fashion. There are many ups and downs. Progress, not perfection, is the goal! 14. Be happy with the things you accomplish and focus on what you have, not what is missing. 15. When you feel you have accomplished your goal, immediately begin to plan and write down a new one. Take time to enjoy your accomplishment, but don't let yourself slip backwards too much by celebrating with your old bad habits! 16. Keep reminding yourself that everyday (not just Monday's or January 1st) is a new opportunity to start a new plan. If you have a bad day, bad week, etc., don't spend time feeling guilty about it, just get back on the "plan" as soon as you can. 17. The only way to fail in life is to stop trying! Remember, most people who have truly changed their behavior (long term), tried and failed over 5 times before they found a plan that worked for them. * This, and all past FormWell articles and recipes, can be found and printed out anytime from our website at www.formulawellness.com * Good luck and stay healthy! Rami F. Odeh, MS, President and Owner FormWell Personal Fitness Training Dunwoody Professional Building 5064 Nandina Lane, Ste. D. Dunwoody, GA 30338 formwell@aol.com www.formulawellness.com (404) 628 3184 (24 hour voice mail)

Resolutions

It's that time of year again and I thought it would be appropriate to bore you with yet another article on how to make, and more importantly, stick with, your "New Year's Resolutions." As you might expect, if you know me at all, I will approach this from an inspirational, motivational and psychological perspective.

1. Make sure you are truly ready to change. Think seriously about what it is going to take and decide if you are really ready to change all of the things that it will take for you to achieve your goal. This is the step that most people skip and that is why they stay in the same patterns of starting and stopping resolutions for their whole life. Work with your trainer to decide (together) what you are ready to take on. I have found that once people truly decide that they want something, nothing will stand in their way to get it!

2. Remember (repeat this to yourself every day) that nothing worth having in life comes without challenges and hard work. No matter what your resolution is, change in all forms is very, very difficult and you should praise yourself just because you are trying!

3. Decide WHY you want to change something in your life and why it is important to you to change. Take time to write this down and call it your "personal vision". The main reason most people fail in keeping their resolutions is that when the "fantasy" wears off (usually around January 15th) and the "reality" of life sets in, people forget why they tried to make the change in the first place. Without the why, the how will not make any difference.

4. Remember that some resolutions can be "process" instead of "results" oriented (I think the best are a mixture of both). For instance, you can say that your goal is to work out, consistently, at least 3 times per week and to not let "life changes" interfere with your plan (process). By sticking to this plan, you would also like to loose 5% body fat in 6 months (results). Many times, by focusing on the process, the results happen without you really having to think about them.

5. Once you have decided what your goal is, try to get the people close to you on the same "path" as you. I have found this is best accomplished by just sticking to your goals, no matter what. Once they see how great you feel and look, they will come over to your "side". The best scenario is to have your spouse, family, etc. all shooting for the same goal as you, but I know that this is usually impossible. Just aim to have most of your "inner circle" at least not pulling you away from your goals.

6. Find something that will inspire you on a daily basis until the new behavior has become a habit. When that inspiration fades, find a new one immediately.

7. Remember that most experts estimate that you have to perform a new behavior for at least 100 days for it to become a habit. In my experience with diet and exercise, I have found that most people take at least double that (6 months or more)!

8. Don't pick too many things to change, wait until you have adopted the new behavior for at least 6 months before you decide to add something new.

9. Be realistic (refer to my goal setting article on our website for more information about this) about your plan.

10. Be accountable to as many people as possible with your goals: your family, friends, trainer, etc., Tell everyone you know about your goals!

11. Write down your goals and track your progress in a journal. I cannot stress how important this is, I have been keeping training and food journals for over 10 years and they help me immensely in making sure I am staying on the right path.

12. Break your main goal down into small segments. For instance, if your goal is to reduce your body fat by 10%, aim for 1% per month for a year.

13. Remember that changes in life do not occur in a linear fashion. There are many ups and downs. Progress, not perfection, is the goal!

14. Be happy with the things you accomplish and focus on what you have, not what is missing.

15. When you feel you have accomplished your goal, immediately begin to plan and write down a new one. Take time to enjoy your accomplishment, but don't let yourself slip backwards too much by celebrating with your old bad habits!

16. Keep reminding yourself that everyday (not just Monday's or January 1st) is a new opportunity to start a new plan. If you have a bad day, bad week, etc., don't spend time feeling guilty about it, just get back on the "plan" as soon as you can.

17. The only way to fail in life is to stop trying! Remember, most people who have truly changed their behavior (long term), tried and failed over 5 times before they found a plan that worked for them.

* This, and all past FormWell articles and recipes, can be found and printed out anytime from our website at www.formulawellness.com *

Good luck and stay healthy!

Rami F. Odeh, MS, President and Owner FormWell Personal Fitness Training Dunwoody Professional Building 5064 Nandina Lane, Ste. D. Dunwoody, GA 30338 formwell@aol.com www.formulawellness.com (404) 628 3184 (24 hour voice mail)